Tag: dogs

Diary, dog rescue, fostering, puppies

Diary of a Rescue Week Four: A Week of Growing Puppies

Cara Achterberg

The puppies are doing well. Growing plump and busy.

litter 4-23

It is odd to be raising them in such isolation. Normally, by now, we would be having lots of visitors to help with socialization and even a few potential adopters would be stopping by to meet them. Until they get the all-clear from the vet next week, the rescue has not offered them to the people on the Puppy Waiting List (approved adopters who have been through the application process and are just waiting for the right puppy) or put them on the website. I expect them to be cleared on Monday, but I qualify my assumptions these days.

Below are the diary entries from this week. Continue reading “Diary of a Rescue Week Four: A Week of Growing Puppies” →

dog rescue, fostering, heartworms, hookworms, litters, poop, puppies

Hookworms & Heartworms: Lots of Healing Happening Here

Cara Achterberg

I’m breathing a little easier now. I no longer walk into the puppy room holding my breath. Instead, I hold my nose!

Last Friday, the pups finally breached the side of the box, so we moved them to bigger digs and they are enjoying having plenty of room to play and poop.

The Broadway Babes are busy, happy, messy pups! Their biggest fault is Continue reading “Hookworms & Heartworms: Lots of Healing Happening Here” →

Diary, dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, hookworms, litters, puppies

Diary of a Rescue Week Three: A Tough Development

Cara Achterberg

This last week has been a tough one. Just like my beautiful tulips that were bright and healthy a few days ago and now droop and struggle in the below freezing temperatures, the puppies’ story changed drastically this week.

Below are the entries from our week in rescue. If you’d like to read them in real-time, you can follow the daily diary on my Facebook page, Cara Sue Achterberg, writer.

Diary of a Rescue Day 15: Continue reading “Diary of a Rescue Week Three: A Tough Development” →

fosterdogs, fostering, heartworms, puppies

Quarantined with Puppies: Saving Lives in Uncertain Times

Cara Achterberg

If you have to stay in your home for a month, it’s not a bad thing to be stuck home with puppies.

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Caring for this little family is a wonderful distraction; it gives me a purpose and is defining the days that have begun to blur together – is it Tuesday or Friday?

Mia, for her part, is Continue reading “Quarantined with Puppies: Saving Lives in Uncertain Times” →

Diary, dog rescue, former foster dogs, fosterdogs, fostering, litters, oph, puppies, rescue flight, Updates

Combatting Quarantine Stress with Foster Dogs

Cara Achterberg

I’ve realized that there is a correlation between how many dogs are in our house and the amount of stress in my life.

I’m pretty sure the stress brings the dogs, not the other way around. I tend to pile on the animals when I’m feeling stressed or uncertain. Their needs, their affection, the immediacy of their presence is calming for me.

Yes, the world feels upside down right now, but Continue reading “Combatting Quarantine Stress with Foster Dogs” →

dog rescue, emergency transport, fosterdogs, fostering, shelters

There’s Never Been a Better Time to Foster

Cara Achterberg

Are you feeling as unsettled as I am?

I waffle between let’s-just-get-through-this-and-it’ll-all-be-fine-(different-but-fine) to OMG-what-if-what-if-what-if. It really depends on how much news I’ve been reading.

Last Thursday, Nick and I took Fanny and our foster pup, Shenanigans, and Continue reading “There’s Never Been a Better Time to Foster” →

adopters, dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, puppies

Fosterless

Cara Achterberg

And poof! He was gone.

I warned you we wouldn’t have Bo very long. They don’t make them much nicer. We had a fun week with him and packed in as much as we could, but on Sunday Bo left for his forever home.

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It’s a great home with Continue reading “Fosterless” →

adopters, Dixieland, dog rescue, Fanny, former foster dogs, fosterdogs, fostering, Gracie, puppies

Who Doesn’t Love a Happy Ending?

Cara Achterberg

What a special week it is for ten lucky families! All of the PA Pups went home to forever families last week.

It is always fun when families come to pick up their pups – so much excitement and joy! Of course, that joy is likely tempered when they get home and the whining and housetraining and teething begins in earnest, but from my end it’s always fun! Continue reading “Who Doesn’t Love a Happy Ending?” →

adopters, dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, litters, puppies

Last Day of Puppies!

Cara Achterberg

The countdown has begun. Puppies will begin leaving tomorrow!

Normally, we have ‘adoption day’ on a Saturday and all the puppies leave the same day. This keeps it simple for me and less disruptive for the family. I like them all to go on the same day so that I’m not left with one crying puppy.

This will be the first time the puppies leave their siblings and it will be their first experience ‘all alone.’ There tends to be a great deal of Continue reading “Last Day of Puppies!” →

booktour, dog books, dog rescue, fosterdogs, fostering, poop, puppies, writing

A Day in the Life of a Puppy Foster

Cara Achterberg

I’ve mentioned before that puppies are a lot of work. So I thought I’d give you a peek into a typical day of caring for ten large puppies.

5:15-5:45am

Someone, somewhere in the house flushes a toilet and the puppies wake up. The pipes run through the wall in the puppy room which is our converted mudroom. It is somewhat miraculous that they don’t seem to waken if the flush happens earlier than five. Puppies commence yipping for breakfast, pooping, fighting, and zooming through poop while yipping for breakfast and fighting.

5:45am

Nick gets up and has breakfast, completely ignoring the puppies, and more amazingly, the smell of the puppies.

6am

I accept the fact that the puppies are not going back to sleep and Continue reading “A Day in the Life of a Puppy Foster” →