Jewel
Jewel is living up to her name! She truly is a precious little jewel. She arrived at our house about a week ago with her sister, Gillian. All seven of the “Rocky” litter had a bit of a rough time at first—they hadn’t had any vet care, ever, and likely picked up a little bug when they were living outdoors and “roughing it.” Both Jewel and Gillian were pretty sick for the first few days, but with the help of the right medication and plenty of rest, they have bounced back in a big way!
As Jewel is feeling better, her personality is starting to shine. She is just total sweetness. A bit more apprehensive about the unknown than her sister, Gillian, she approaches things with a little more caution. Don’t get the idea, though, that she doesn’t like to play and roughhouse! She and her sister run through the house and the backyard, going 50 miles an hour. They play and play, and then, in typical puppy style, just crash while they recharge their batteries.
The girls are making up for lost time and they really enjoy their food. They try their best to see what’s up on the counter, but we’re teaching them that counter surfing is not very polite. They just can’t help it sometimes – they know there has to be something good to eat up there!
Jewel is one of the smallest dogs I’ve ever seen. Every time I start to pet her, or just look at her and tell her what a good girl she is, she stretches the sides of her mouth back and gives me a big smile. It’s absolutely adorable! The combination of the smile and the little tail wag is enough to melt your heart instantly.
Just like her sister, Jewel loves her walks. In fact, they’re so anxious to get going that they “walk” the other dogs around the house when we’re getting everyone leashed up—they grab the other dogs’ leashes in their mouths and lead them around the house until we’re all ready to go. Fortunately my other dogs are good-natured about it, and play along for the most part. The girls must feel very important!
The walks go very well considering the little amount of practice they’ve had. Jewel is a bit apprehensive about random noises such as garbage trucks, etc., but with just a moment to regroup she’s off and running again. She loves to meet other dogs and people. That tail is just wagging as fast as it can go!
Jewel loves to look through the house for “toys.” I thought I had puppy-proofed my house before the girls arrived, but found out quickly how many tempting things I had left within their reach! Fortunately, Jewel is willing to surrender her toys easily, and gets just as much enjoyment from a true dog toy as from a shoe.
Jewel’s potty training is going very well. Both she and Gillian go immediately as soon as we let them outside. Both girls sleep through the night without a problem and don’t make a peep until they hear our other dogs start to stir in the morning.
Jewel does great with our cats, no chasing or barking. She is fine lying right next to them. Keeping her out of the cats’ food is a bit more of a challenge, but our other dogs certainly haven’t been a good example in that area! There’s just something about cat food…
Jewel loves to cuddle up next to us in the evening, and through the day she’s usually lying right next to my feet while I’m working. She loves to sit on the stairs for some reason. She’ll go halfway up and sit down on one of the steps for a few minutes. Maybe she just likes getting a bird’s-eye view of the place, scoping out her next adventure!
She is a total love, and with her adorable smile, she will steal you heart as soon as you meet her.
The rain has come to Central Texas!
… and we don’t mean the weather, either.
No, at GRR it’s raining PUPPIES! In just four days, TEN adorable Golden pups from two litters have arrived in GRR care…
Litter #1: Rocky and Friends
The hotline call came in on Tuesday, September 8th: a few days before, a Good Samaritan had found seven pups abandoned by the roadside as he was heading to his ranch outside of Austin. He had a Golden himself and recognized the floppy-eared little charmers as Goldens. But what to do once he had the whole crew home? Taking in a single pup is one thing, but seven all at once? Time to send out an SOS! Volunteer Jacki was on the case and headed out to meet the pups that same evening. “Four girls, three boys, maybe 4 1/2 to 5 months old, all adorable, but they’re wet and dirty and need to get into rescue pronto,” she reported. In fact, the smallest boy looked pretty miserable. Turned out he hadn’t eaten for over a day and was coughing and listless. “I’m taking him to the ER right now,” said Jacki, as she scooped up little Rocky (“because he’s had such a rocky start”)—“and I’ll be back for the rest of you pups tomorrow!”
…. And just as promised, with Rocky already resting comfortably at the clinic, the Great Puppy Convoy began to roll the very next day. SUVs? Check! Crates? Check! Lots of towels? Leashes? Six more collars in different colors? Check! The wonderful Tanglewood Animal Hospital notified and ready to receive & examine & microchip six more 25-pound, dark gold “packages”? Check! Foster home hunt begun? Check! Ready, set, GO!
With plans in place (after a sleepless night for the intake team and an early morning featuring too much coffee), the collection and transport went like clockwork, and GRR welcomed its newest members: girls Gillian, Mystic, Jewel, and Pearl, and boys Trooper and Mica. Meanwhile, Rocky had been diagnosed with pneumonia and giardia (an intestinal parasite), but with just a few days of vet care he’s feeling much perkier and has already been discharged from the clinic and whisked into a foster home. The other pups are in foster care, too (Trooper, Pearl and Mystic in one home; Gillian and Jewel in another; Mica in a third), and we’re just starting to see personalities. Girl Pearl is social & a leader & thinks “It’s all about me!” Miss Gillian is another confident one, “super active and alert even though she’s the runt of the litter!” Jewel and Mystic are more timid than their sisters, but becoming more curious and active. Mica stayed with the vet one day longer than his siblings to be treated for dehydration, “but he was still droopy. Dr. Abbott thought he was depressed without his dog family & urged me to bring him home. Once he spotted our canines, he perked right up! All the big dogs really like him. We are really enjoying him... such a sweetheart.”
Litter #2: The ABC Girls
… After such a whirlwind start to the week, we figured we were due for a break. BUT – who should show up in the shelter’s photo gallery on Friday, 9/11, but an adorable Golden fluffball of a tiny puppy? She was shown in three different shots, each cuter than the last. The pound is no place for a young pup, and a foster family quickly stepped up to take her in. However, Tracy looked at the photos again and e-mailed, “Uhhhh, are there THREE? There are three different shelter numbers??? And three different links?” !!!!!!! That’s right, “she” was really “they” – three tiny puppies, likely just 6 weeks old, only 5 pounds each, turned into the pound by an owner who couldn’t keep them.
OK, action stations again! Jeanae promptly organized a second convoy, heading north this time. And by Saturday afternoon, 9/12, the puppies had been to the vet, travelled to their foster family, chowed down with great enthusiasm (several times), spent an exciting afternoon meeting new dogs and people, and then suddenly keeled over, puppy-fashion, for a much-needed nap. So as to do it all over again tomorrow! And of course they got their rescue names, too:
“A” is for Aspen, the littlest girl.
“B” is for her sister Bristol.
“C” is for her other sister, Cypress.
…and “E” is for our exhausted but elated GRR team, admiring ten lucky puppies, now safe and sound and on their way to great new lives.
The next few weeks will be eventful ones, as all the puppies continue to feel better, grow, learn, and entertain their foster families with all those puppy antics! Do you want to adopt one of these girls or boys and watch her or him grow up firsthand? If so, just let us know.
You may also find it extremely helpful to review the puppy-care information from Dr Ian Dunbar's website; go to http://www.dogstardaily.com/free-downloads and review "Before You Get Your Puppy" and "After You Get Your Puppy."