13 Puppies Rescued ...

The tiniest of the 13 puppies that arrived:
Lenny, Lazarus, Lancelot, Lulu and Loretta

On Saturday August 27th I went up to Leech Lake reservation (3 hours north of the Twin Cities) to help with a transport ... a group of volunteers are working with the Minnesota Partnership for Animal Welfare coalition (MnPAW, www.mnpaw.org) to help rescue dogs from the reservation. On this particular transport 13 tiny, vulnerable puppies came down with us. Because they had just been vaccinated the prior Thursday they needed to be observed and monitored for a week prior to being taken into the Animal Humane Society where they would be checked out, vetted, and placed up for adoption. All 13 landed in my home. Yes, 13 adorable puppies. Quite a few were sick and extremely weak. A few were so young they were still trying to nurse ... they were aching for their mama. The 6 days they spent at my house was an experience I wasn't quite prepared for ... but it's amazing how we find it in ourselves to step up to the occasion. With my friend Jenny we did what needed to be done to care for these puppies. A couple we had to bottle feed. Then.... there was the poop, the diarrhea, the precautions taken in case they have parvo ... the lovely de-worming experience :) Legacy was one who caught my eye early on. He was shaky and wobbly. On a couple occasions he would shake and fall over. I feared he had some neurological issues. Lenny, Lancelot and Lazarus (3 from the smallest litter of black and white puppies) were extremely tiny, young and weak (1.6 lbs upon arrival). There were mornings where Lazarus and/or Lenny would simply stand over the food bowl, motionless and hang their heads.

Legacy - thriving!!
No more shaking or wobbling!

I feared we couldn't save them all. But we kept on going day and after day while balancing all of life's other responsibilities the best that we could ... Thursday morning 10 were transported to the Animal Humane Society where they were then placed into foster homes where they will stay until they are old enough and healthy enough to be spay/neutered and placed up for adoption. I kept 3 back (Legacy, Lenny and Lazarus) because they were the ones I worried most about. I took a bunch of photos and threw them into a video .... all are thriving now and on the road to recovery. For a few days we thought we would lose Lazarus. He had to be tube fed and given fluids. Thanks to Dr. Vicki of ActV Rescue for nursing this little guy back to health.

If you would like to meet Lenny, Lazarus and Legacy they will be at the Eden Prairie PetsMart tomorrow, Saturday, 9/10 from 11 am till around 5 pm. We are accepting applications for them but they will not be placed into an adoptive home till early October.

and here's a video of them playing in their 'bin' :)