No Such Thing as a Perfect Puppy

Just about the time I get tired of so much poop so many kisses, the puppies take off for their forever homes. All eight have forever families waiting to adopt them this weekend. If all goes as planned, I’ll be scrubbing out an empty puppy pen by Sunday afternoon.

The puppies had quite a few final adventures this week. They were visited and loved upon by a group of girl scouts on Sunday afternoon. It was a win-win. The pups were helping the girls fulfill some badge requirements, and the girls were helping to wear out the pups in preparation for their microchipping.

The microchip needle is VERY big and puppies are small, add a bit of squirmy to that equation and the job becomes daunting. Juanita, who is one tough nurse with a super-soft heart came to chip them. I think it just might hurt her as much as it does them, but she got it done and now all the puppies (and Dixie) will never get lost again (hopefully). Thanks Juanita!

I have to mention that the pup who cried the least (in fact, his tail was wagging throughout most of the ordeal) was tiny little Ramblin’ Man.

Ramblin’ Man was also the star the next morning at the vet’s office, but for all the wrong reasons.

My dear friend Lisa, once again climbed aboard the crazy dog train and helped me take all eight puppies for a well-exam at Cape Horn Veterinary (a wonderful practice in Red Lion which offers us a discount on rescue work).

As expected, the hilly ride over (and back) produced memories of breakfast for several of the puppies. But not to worry [Gross alert], the others cleaned it up before we’d even arrived at our destination.

Lisa and I hauled the carrier inside and wrangled the puppies while they were weighed, had their temps taken, and were examined. Tiny Ramblin’ Man was only 4 pounds and Chattahoochee, who has led wire to wire, was 9.7 pounds.

Other than a few ‘slight’ over or under bites, Dr. McFarland pronounced them perfectly healthy. She also commented on what nice puppies they are.

The only concern was Ramblin’ Man. While he is happy and feisty and fine right now, he does have luxating patellas, a condition that may right itself or may require surgery down the road. Long time readers of this blog may remember another similarly diagnosed puppy, ‘Pigweed,’ whose third birthday was yesterday (and who is still doing fine).

I contacted Ramblin’ Man’s adopter to tell her the news and offer her the opportunity to swap him for the remaining puppy (at that time), Honey. I assured her that OPH would completely understand as veterinary surgery can be extremely expensive, never mind the heartbreak involved when your dog has medical issues.

Her response?

“I just can’t give up on my little guy. I’m in love with him.”

Rachelle is my new favorite adopter. When I tucked Ramblin’ Man in that night, I gave him an extra snuggle and told him that he hit the jackpot with his forever family.

As I said the last time I had a puppy with luxating patellas – there’s no such thing as a perfect puppy. The vet pronounced the other puppies fine, but who knows what’s lurking inside their DNA. True for any of us.

So enjoy your health at this very minute and take care of it in the days to come. It’s important for a puppy with luxating patellas, that you keep her at a healthy weight and give her plenty of regular exercise to strengthen her muscles. But isn’t that what we should be doing with every puppy (and ourselves)?

So, just one more reminder to count your blessings.

I’m counting each of these puppies a blessing. It has been my privilege to welcome them into this world, keep them safe and loved as they’ve grown, and prepare them for their forever families. Fostering may occasionally bring a tear to my eye, but it also gives me a front row seat for a lot of joy.

If you’d like to join the show, apply to foster today with OPH or your local shelter/rescue.

Thanks for reading!

If you’d like to know more about my blogs and books, visit CaraWrites.com or subscribe to my monthly e-newsletter (which is scheduled to come out next week!! Yikes, better get back to work).

Watch for the puppies to be featured on Frankie’s new YouTube channel tomorrow!! Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode!

If you’d like to know more about the book, Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs, check AnotherGoodDog.org, where you can find more pictures of the dogs from the book (and some of their happily-ever-after stories), information on fostering, the schedule of signings, and what you can do right now to help shelter animals!

If you’d like to know how you can volunteer, foster, adopt or donate with OPH, click here. And if you’d like more pictures and videos of my foster dogs past and present, be sure to join the Another Good Dog facebook group.

I love hearing from readers, so please feel free to comment here on the blog, email carasueachterberg@gmail.com or connect with me on Facebook, twitter, or Instagram.

Best,

 Cara

Released August 2018 from Pegasus Books and available now