Happy 1st Birthday Joanie's puppies!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY MY DEAR SWEET  PUPPIES!!!

Oh how happy I am to hear you're all doing well!

I can't believe a year has gone by.

Prepare for a long post...I've included most of the posts from their time at our house--and then the updates after.

(For others who may read this post...this is a Happy Birthday post to an awesome litter of puppies we fostered last year)

I tagged some of the dogs in the old pics...but left some for you to figure out..I think I can guess most of them :)
A little key if you get confused:
Boys-
Chumbo-now Lilo
Waggs-now Bailey
Scrappy-now Raider
Girls-
Sassy-now Sassy Bru
Twinkle-now Scout

Here is the first of my Joanie and puppies posts from a year ago:

Meet Joanie

I'm guessing Beagle/JRT mix?? Her mouth makes me think differently...either way, she's momma. She already has a home lined up when her maternity leave runs up (Which ended up falling through). She's a sweet little thing and a doting mother. She was found as a stray and delivered 5 little puppies at the shelter. She came to our house as a foster. Puppies should be ready by Christmas.

Born September 25th.

Pics taken here at 1 week 1 day of age.
Can you find your pup in there?  (Scout is an easy one :)

They will be raised with young children, other dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, horses, nearby cattle and lots of love.

(What terrible pics of my kids, lol)

We are excited to see what exactly they are mixed with. They are all black and white and a couple have spotting on their muzzle.

Week two--opening their eyes

Peek-a-boo, looks who's eyes are opening.

The little guy in front is the explorer so far, we find him outside the nesting kennel at times. The guy behind him is the crybaby of the bunch.

The one with more white is a little girl. There are 2 girls, 3 boys.

Mom enjoying some attention

This is our crybaby at 2 weeks of age.

This is the puppy with the most white. She was happy to lay her head on my husbands hand when he brought her up to see the girls.

Yawn. It's exhausting being so cute.

I was wrong, they are not all black and white. See that little brown blush?

This little guy conked out after his nail trim. The world is an exhausting place when you are only 2 weeks old.

Aw, mom and daughter. Sorry about the glow eyes.

Here they are at 3 1/2 wks..

Here's a tummy shot of each one. The one little boy is huge. (I'm pretty sure I meant Bailey at this point though Lilo quickly overtook him)

(Bailey)




(Lilo)





(Scout)

(Raider)






(Sassy Bru)

5 weeks-first bath

Today was the first time we gave the puppies a (much needed) bath.

All cuddled up!

This is the little girl I love to take pictures of...I'm calling her Pansy for now. She acts (and kind of looks) like a little fru-fru dog--shivery and shy, but so cute!

"May I get out now pretty please?"




Didn't like your bath little guy?

Keeping warm



Little man in action.




The older girls were outside and Abriella was having a FANTASTIC time with the puppies all to herself--she was so funny to watch. She was following them around and, I believe, telling them what to do.





She thinks she's a puppy too it seems.





















Right now I'm pretty certain they are mixed Beagle/Terrier/English Springer Spaniel.
Their tails kind of come up over their back though-throws me for a loop...any thoughts on other breeds?
(Pam knows the answer to that one!)









Momma.










Settling in for nap time. They smell so good, like fields of lavender (though I have never actually smelled a field of lavender, I imagine it's similar to the puppies after their lavender baths).

Some video clips of the puppies.

#1 Curious puppy

#2 Playtime (the slapping sound is me hitting the floor with my hand)

#3 Abriella in her lovely outfit playing with the puppies

#4 Hoping my daughter doesn't develop an interest in the dog fighting circuit

Six weeks

"Scrappy" (Raider)

Oh, how time flies! The pups are now 6 weeks old and we're really seeing their personalities. They are all so very different. We've been trying out names and it seems we might be settling on some.



In the first video is the pup we've had no choice but to name, Waggs. His first trial name was Dozie because he was always napping...but now he's woken up and he's always wagging his tail. As I was taking pictures of the other dogs he was laying next to my leg and I could feel his tail just wagging away. He is sweet, calm and happy-such a nice boy!
The second video is a clip from puppy playtime at our house. It's a crazy time of day.





7 weeks

It's some quick blogging this week.
Brief discussion and not-so-great pictures.
But I feel I have to stick a 7 week posting on here one way or another.
Look how big the one boy is (at the water dish)! Right now we are calling him both Rambo (for his war-like behavior) and Chumbo (for his size).
The one next to him is the little girl we are calling Pipsqueak (for her squeaks) and Sissy (for her behavior).
The little boy out in front is Scrappy. He has the shortest coat of all and is pretty sporty.
Sassy, the one looking back at the camera, is the other female. She's well named.
And Waggs is bottom of the pic.












From left to right below-

Scrappy, Sassy, Waggs (drinking), Pip/Sissy



8 weeks
Today the puppies got their first round of shots. I had waited a couple weeks extra....and might have waited a little longer if they were my own foster pups. At 6 weeks only 25% of puppies get any benefit from the vax...at 9 weeks only 60% of the puppies are protected. But since these guys will be ready for adoption soon, I figured I better get one in.

This is mommy--Joanie--looks like she might need a home as well.

She is a great dog. All around sweet-loves to sit and be pet and great in the house.

Pipsqueak/Sissy (still deciding)
(which actually became Twinkle then now Scout)

She is very soft and will need a gentle home. The kids are drawn to her like a magnet so she'll need gentle kids and plenty of supervision. She is really beautiful and looks the most froofy of all the pups.

This is Sassy. She is just like her name says, Sassy. But also sweet. She is going to be a great all around girl and will be happy as long as she's involved in her new family's lives.

Rambo (sometimes we call him Chumbo). He is twice the size of his littlest litter mate. He is also very bold and the most dominant pup. He will do well in a home with a loving/assertive owner. He seems like he might be the kind to challenge you. These types of dogs might take more work but the payoff can be huge.

Waggs.

He is always wagging that tail. Very laid back and go with the flow kind of guy. Doesn't like drama so a quiet home will be a better fit for him. Loves to cuddle.

Scrappy.

He is a Scrappy little guy. Small and the short coated version in the litter. He is Mr. All-around. The most sporty of the group as well.

Each of these pups is going to be a great dog!

They all have great temperaments and we are guessing they will be 20-30lbs-ish? (I was right for a couple...and some of the personality descriptions...and totally wrong on others--goes to show what I know!)

Hard to tell for sure.

Will be ready for their new homes soon...if we can let them go :)

Posted on Petfinder

It's a bit of a sad day round here. I finally had to post the puppies on Petfinder today. I've put it off for as long as I could, hoping that they could stay here forever...but I suppose they need homes of their own.
We have grown to love each and every one. It's really a stand out litter.
I was hoping to find them all homes with people I know...but no one has stepped up...so they are available to the public.
They took a field trip today to my children's daycare and were a huge hit! They were perfect little furry friends and made the kids very happy.

Here is Tayla with her favorite, Twinkle.

Kisses



A little game of tug.

Waggs hanging out.

Mother

and


Daughter

Here is little Miss Angel beating up her brother.

Not so sweet now, eh?

And a little video clip of a team game of tug. It's a very old tattered tug--but perfect for lots of little mouths.

Herd is thinned
We have two boys left as of today.
Chumbo and Waggs.
Some people are interested in coming down to see them...so they might all be placed by the weekend's close.
Sassy-now Sassy Bru (for Brunette--a cute name that coordinates with her sister to be-Blondie, another beautiful Beagle mix) has been adopted by a wonderful couple from Colorado. We are figuring out transport--anyone heading west soon??
She is the little fast one in the video.






Waggs and Sassy
Shame on me for not giving updates for our pups' families in waiting! It's been a crazy week around here....but today we are snowed in and I will try to get more pics for you guys than this...here is a little taste of the first snow outing.

Sassy Bru on the left-Waggs on the right.

Sassy better like it, she's going to Colorado!

Waggs will be a surprise Christmas puppy! shhhh!

He's practicing his "dashing through the snow".

Couldn't find Sassy Bru the other day....

Please disregard the messy room and messy child.

Pup's cute though :)

Waiting

Back to sleep.




Sassy goes home
My husband just left to meet up with Sassy Bru's new owners who are making a drive from the far side of Colorado to get this little girl.
I know it'll be worth their trip. She is fabulous!
My daughter cried--we sure loved her!

Waggs goes home

Santa stopped by the house this morning to pick up Waggs. He is on his way to meeting his new family and is upgrading from only 3 girls to 5 girls! What a lucky puppy!

We will miss our sweet little man.
Merry Christmas to his new family!

Waggs did not like his bow--we had to make it smaller to keep out of his mouth.

Darned bow.

Whatcha lookin' at Waggs?



Oh, you want a Christmas present too?





This was the dog Waggs did not like when he first came. They actually became great play buddies. That's where we keep all the bibs under the highchair, Waggs favorite spot. It's been destroyed in the play.

1 year Updates


Bailey (formerly knows as Waggs)

"Overall, Bailey has just been wonderful.
He is still much a puppy. My wife has gotten used to Bailey's smallish stature.
She wanted him to be bigger at first.
His smallness has caused some problems that we did not have with our big 105 lb Golden Retriever.

All the girls love him especially Jackie, our little 7 year old.
She does a lot of things to him and he doesn't not mind one bit.



Bailey is @16 inches at the shoulder and according to the Wii he is 22.5 lbs.



He weird traits are he loves anything that is plastics, especially old margarine containers and water bottles.

He has gone through a lot of the old stuff animals we have around the house.
He follows a lot of commands(most of the time) and loves to play fetch in the house.
He does a funny little hop right before he picks up the objects.
He when lays down, he likes to lay his back hips flat on the ground. It looks like a chicken that has been cut and at its lay spread apart.

He likes to hang out under neath the dinning room table or under an overstuffed chair in the front room.

He is becoming a bit of a squirrel dog. He likes to chase the chase squirrels and likes to eat acorns.
He does have free range of the house just as long as there is someone in the room. If left alone, he does get into things that he should not.



Overall, Bailey is a great dog. He is loved by all in the house. He is always excited to greet everyone that comes in the house. He is just the right size for snuggles on the couch.


It seems weird that he has been in the house for almost 9 months."


Lilo (formerly known as Chumbo)

"Lilo is 18 1/2" tall and weighs 23 lbs.




His coat is just a little thicker than it was when we got him. It's longer on the bottom but across his back it's shorter and right after a bath the short hair gets curly. He hardly sheds and still is not sure if he really likes to get brushed or comb but he loves to take a bath. In fact, when the sprinkler is on in the yard, he loves to play in the water.


Lilo is a pretty laid back guy but when he wants to play watch out. He gets everyone going!!



He loves to be the tease with Taz (who is in one pic with him) and they pick on the cats to make them growl and hiss. It's like a game with the Lilo and Taz. The one cat usually puts them in their place while the other one stays very still until they leave the room otherwise they will chance her around the house. Lilo hardly barks but when he does it's usually when he is playing. He has a deep voice like a beagle. To get your attention he likes to sit by you, looks at you, and whimpers. We needed to teach him to ring the bells when he needs to go outside and if you have music on, he loves to dance with you. Lilo gets very excited when he hears the word "ride" so if you say it you have to give him a ride otherwise he keeps whining. I guess you might say he has a stubborn streak to him. Lilo also does not like to see his or Taz's food dish empty. If he finds it empty, he picks it up and carries it to you and is not satisfied until you fill it and put in back in it's spot.


Lilo loves to say hello to everyone. He discovered that he can put his head through our fence so he can make sure everyone going by can see him.



When we go for our walks, he makes sure he stops at every house that has a furry friend in hopes that they are outside and can play for a little while. Lilo loves to play but when it's bedtime, he never complains because he's usually pretty tired.


Lilo loves the outdoors so he can't wait to be able to play in my flowers or help dig holes no matter how mad we get at him. One time he even helped with the weeding. Apparently, he didn't like where some of my perennials were planted so he tried to rearrange them as he was pulling the weeds. We also discovered that he love fresh green beans that he can pick himself.


The other day, Lilo sat near our kitchen counter and whined. We had a hard time trying to figure out what the problem was but we could tell that he wanted something on the counter. After many trials and errors, we discovered that he could smell the peppermint candy that was in a little tin. Now everyday, he stops by the counter until we let him have one. Thank goodness they are very little so they last awhile.


Lilo is very loving. He loves to give kisses and loves to snuggle. If you have a little sore, he insists that he helps clean it up to make it heal faster. He's prances when we go for walks and he keeps his eyes on the squirrels, rabbits, and chipmunk so they know they are in his way. He is such a mild temper dog that we even take him to a local nursing home to visit with people. Everyone loves him!!!"

Sassy Bru (formerly known as Sassy)



"Sassy Bru is 14.5 inches tall, and weighs 18 pounds. She has the coat of an American Eskimo Dog - full fluffy ruff, heavy hair growth on the rump and upper legs, not very curly but thick. We keep her trimmed down fully during the summer; she had to be groomed three times this summer so she's a fuzzy girl.

Personality - Sassy Bru is smart and totally understands our commands, but she likes to do what she likes to do. And that would be digging and eating cat poop. After which she puts herself in a time-out in her carrier upon entering the house, so we know she's done one of the two (digging or eating poop).

Quirks - Sometimes one or both of her ears flip open/backward, and she just leaves them there and doesn't shake her head to flip them back down. She looks like a Doberman with a bad ear trim.
Endearing qualities - Sassy Bru loves playing with her sister dog Blondie, which is why we adopted her in the first place. The two of them definitely have "terrier play habits" that are VERY noisy (almost vicious at times). Bru also likes to come to me after she's been sleeping or outside and away from me, to be picked up, after which she proceeds to smell my breath and neck. She can be a snuggler!

Funny stories - The outside cats love Bru. She's not much bigger than they are, and they come up and rub against her. Sassy Bru doesn't seem to know quite what to make of this affection. She knows if she chases the kitties she'll be in BIG trouble (back to that time out in the carrier again...). Lately Bru's been trying to chase the local crow, who sits just above her and caws at her to tease her. Drives her nuts, her bark changes totally when she's trying to get that bird.

In general, when I have the two dogs in public together, folks gravitate to Sassy Bru because they can tell she's curious about them. She has the sweetest face, I think she'll look like a puppy forever."

Scout (formerly known as Twinkle and Pipsqueak, and Sissy and Pansy...)


"Here are a couple of recent pics of Scout. She is such a good dog!

-How tall is your pup? Measure from the floor to the highest part of the shoulder. Scout is about 13"
-How much does your pup currently weigh? Scout weighs 10 lbs (yes, only 10 lbs!! :))
-What kind of hair/coat does your dog have? she has a soft undercoat and a longer soft topcoat that we sometimes shave off.
-What kind of personality? Other than being curious, Scout is pretty mild-mannered for a dog. She loves to run and play with the kids and other dogs, though
-Any naughty/cute quirks? She is always into the garbage... she can't reach the kitchen one, so we'll find her in the bathroom and/or kids' room digging. She likes to eat paper, too.
-Best qualities? Scout is great with the kids, very gentle but playful.
-Any funny/sweet stories you want to share? Even after a year, the kids still fight over who 'gets' to take her outside and feed her every day. I work from home, so she's usually home with me, but when I have a busy day outside the house, we take her to doggy day-care... she prefers to play with the 80-90lb dogs rather than the ones her size... we truly think she's convinced she's a 80 lb dog.
-Anything else about your dog in general. She's been the perfect size/personality for my son, who before getting Scout was petrified of dogs. A great addition to our family!"





Raider (formerly know as Scrappy)

"The first Pic is Raider alone, it was hard for me to get this because the two are always together!

The second is Addie and Raider how they often sit together.

The third pic makes me laugh because Raider actually sat on Addie that way for about 10min and chewed his bone and in the picture Addie's expression is like "Are you serious, get this dog off of me!"

Scrappy/Raider

1.Height- about 12 in from floor to shoulder



2.Weight- 17lbs



3.Coat- Short hair/ black and white



4.Personality- We have a 2 ½ year old Australian Shepherd/Terrier mix who is very high strung. She goes CRAZY (that’s and understatement) over anything that moves; squirrels, rabbits and other dogs. Raider, however, could care less. He is very laid back and really has very little interest in other dogs. He does like people more but is not hyper like his big sis Addie.



5. Quirks- Although we thought he would outgrow it, he is still a mama's boy. When I leave and come back (even if it has only been 20 mins) he cries like he hasn't seen me in days. He has to sleep in between my husband and I every night and during the day he does not leave his doggie sisters sight. He just discovered he likes to get into the garbage and shred Kleenex. Raider and Addie are always a team (double the trouble) the other day I found them with a chewed up Barbie doll-- it was left with only stubs for arms and legs!



6. Best qualities-sweet and laid back



7.Funny/sweet stories- When we got Scrappy/Raider he was the runt and he came with a load of issues that we were not prepared for. In the beginning he started to get aggressive with our kids and us and even the vet. Our veterinarian even told us we should consider getting rid of him. I was heart broken because I was already very attached to him but the aggression really scared us especially with having 3 young children. Then our vet discovered that as the runt, he had several health issues. As we started to treat him and as he got better the aggression went away. It made sense then that he didn't want to be touched or bothered because he just didn't feel good. I am so glad we did not give up on him he is a great little dog and a perfect playmate for our other dog which was our main reason for getting him!



8. Even though he was the runt, we somehow thought that he would maybe be the size of our other dog Addie who is 30 lbs. However, when Raider reached about 15lbs our vet could tell he wasn't going to get much bigger. It is fun and funny to us that he will look like a puppy forever! One last thing even though Addie is the boss of Raider he lives up to his original name Scrappy. He can really hold his own when Addie does something that rubs him the wrong way! So the name Scrappy really fits him but unfortunately my husbands favorite football team is not called the Scrappys'!"




Joanie (also known as Momma)
 
This was a sweater made just for her when she went to her new home.

"Joanie didn't cooperate much when I was trying to measure from highest part of shoulder to ground, think about 12 inches. Last time she was at vet, she weighed 16.5 pounds.

She likes baby carrots and a dog biscuit or two for breakfast, "snacks" like greenies & the dog biscuits I make for her (whole wheat flour, quick-cooking oats, flax seed, peanut butter & water), & for dinner she eats about 3/4 cup of Science Diet Nature's Best natural chicken & brown rice small bites dog food. When I go to work, I put either one of the snacks I make or a Kong ball treat inside a Kong ball for her to keep her busy for awhile (not long!).

She wants to play with the cats, but Sally (from Humane Society in Clinton) doesn't like her - in fact Sally (who weighs a whole 7 pounds!) will block a doorway so Joanie can't get in (Joanie is afraid to go by Sally, as Sally growls, spits & bats Joanie in the head!). She also chases Joanie (but sometimes Joanie chases Minnie, my other indoor cat).

Joanie likes a rawhide chew bone on occasion & after chewing on it awhile, she'll hide it somewhere (various places - like under my bed pillow, under the couch cushions, under the padding in her kennel, under magazines on the floor by the bed, etc.!). She loves to go for "runs" in the yard - I bought one of those leashes that extends to about 16 feet, so she can run ahead of me. Since we don't have a fenced yard, I'm afraid if I just let her loose, she'll run out to the gravel road.

She does have a bad habit of trying to eat the cat poop in the litter box (have to try & clean it asap after cats have gone), so had to move opening close to wall & block the sides. The cats don't appreciate this habit of hers! She also tries to eat anything in the yard (dog & raccoon poop, etc.) & a couple of times ended up gnawing on chewing gum Rick had thrown on the ground when he was cutting grass. I try to keep her from doing this kind of thing, because inevitably she ends up throwing up the stuff on my bed in the middle of the night!

I sometimes take her to the nursing homes to see my hospice patients (& other patients there who like dogs) - the people get a kick out of visiting with her, and she behaves pretty well.

Joanie can sit and will shake hands (reluctantly - she puts up her paw like "why do I have to do this?") to get a treat.

She likes to sleep beside me on my bed. I put a little dog/cat bed on the floor for her in my room (because sometimes she'll sit in the one in the kitty room when I'm getting ready for work), and she did sleep in it one night - not sure if she thought she was in trouble and had to or what. But the next night, Sally (the meanie cat) plopped herself down in it, so Joanie slept on the bed again!

She used to cry & bark for about 45 minutes when I first put her in the kennel to go to work. But now, when she sees me getting ready, she just goes into her kennel and no longer barks or whines.

Overall, she's a sweet little dog, and we enjoy her. She gets along well with our other dog and our big white "indoor/outdoor" cat who prefers dogs to other cats.

Forgot about Joanie's funny little habit of after going to bathroom, she sometimes turns around and throws grass & dirt all over it with all four feet!"



Joanie's "What's for dinner?" look.

Looking for a run down on those stats?
Joanie-12"/16.5lbs
Lilo-18.5"/23lbs
Bailey-16"/22.5lbs
Raider-12"/17lbs
Sassy Bru-14.5"/18lbs
Scout-13"/10lbs

Sounds like they got a fair share of Momma's personality :)

I should have been better organized...but of course, I wasn't.  I dug and dug through old emails looking for picture updates I had gotten from you guys after the puppies went home...I know I'm missing some (I'm very sorry--I found as many as I could) and so here are some more puppy pics.....

Scout

Bailey (he was a Christmas gift for his girls).

Evidently that was exhausting.

Sassy Bru and her sister Blondie

Lilo

Sassy Bru and Blondie again

Lilo and Taz

I hope you all had as much fun as I did looking back on puppyhood and seeing what great dogs they have all grown up to be!

We sure had fun fostering them and I am eternally grateful that wonderful families like yours have opened your hearts and your homes to these guys!  Just a year ago they were born in a cold dark shelter and now just a year later they have soft beds and families of their own.

Give them all some Birthday hugs and kisses from us!

Here is the hold up for the post this morning....didn't get it done last night...little rough around the edges...but you get the sentiment :)