I've done it again...

Taken too long for an update!  So here goes another jam packed post!  Here's what has happened during the last 3 days - Day by Day...  But, let's start with 8 week "mug" shots!

Monday...

Really, Sunday night - I had my one-on-one good-byes with Waino.  He's such a handsome little guy.  I will miss him and his independent personality.  He reminds me a lot of Jo Jo as a puppy.  I told his new family that they will often say to him, "It's a good thing you're cute!"  

I picked Harrison up at the airport at 8:30 Monday AM and brought him to the house to meet his new puppy and the rest of the clan.  I first introduced him to Jo Jo and told him that THIS is what that cute little puppy you are taking home will grow to, so make sure you remind him daily that you are the human and he is the dog!  Harrison was unphased so we we went on to meet the puppies.  It was love at first sight!  We had a couple hours to visit and take Cal on his first leash and collar walk.  He actually adapted quickly.  Cal is for Cal Ripken because Harrison and Jordan are originally from Baltimore and are Cal Ripken fans.  (I suggested that Ripkin might be more fitting than Cal for this puppy!  LOL!). Harrison's flight back to NYC was supposed to be at 1:45 so I dropped them at the airport at about 12:30.  They had no problems checking in and were appropriately adored by all the AA employees.  Sadly, their flight got delayed to 5PM.  I offered to come get them, but Harrison assured me they were fine and Cal was being a really good boy.  Ultimately they got home and all is well!  He's doing great and going to the Macy's parade tomorrow!  I'm having Dave record it because I figure if a TV camera spots this cute puppy, he will be on TV!  I'm so happy that Harrison and Jordan found us!  I think Cal is going to have a great life with them!

Tuesday...

Tuesday was "relatively" quiet.  No visitors!  By the way - before any puppies left our home, they had met 47 different people (some multiple times) including a variety of ages.  There are two puppies left at our house now.  In some ways it is quieter, but NOT MUCH!  My "to do" lists still remain largely undone.  For puppies, 8 - 16 weeks is a critically important development period.  One thing I've always tried to do is to take puppies in that age range somewhere different every day.  So Tuesday, I found a couple collars that would work and took Goldy and Albert for their first leash walks in the neighborhood.  Their resistance to being collared and leashed was minimal and soon gave way to their curiosity about the great outdoors!

Wednesday....

I still try to add something new to the puppy's environment everyday.  Today I tossed in an empty Jose Cuervo Margarita jug.  Albert and Goldy liked it so much that they drug it into their den!  Do you think I should be concerned?  

​After that, their first adventure was a trip to the salon.  My friend Salina works there and texted me yesterday to ask if I could bring the puppies in while I got my nails done.  Two of her kids - Jade and Lucas -  wanted to come while I was there to play with puppies!  Well, of course, I would do that!  The puppies, the kids and pretty much everyone at the salon enjoyed the visit!  On the way to my car, Goldy nabbed "something" in the parking lot.  After much effort to remove it from her needle teeth and surprisingly determined jaws, she swallowed nearly almost all of it.  What we did extract was some kind of sticky substance - probably not chewing gum - but we weren't sure.  (Sugar free gum is toxic to dogs!). So I called our vet to ask how much peroxide to give an 8 week old puppy to get her to throw up.  They recommended against that, so off to their office we went to safely induce vomiting.  I still have no idea what she ate, but she is fine now!

---

Next on my list was to take Rhani for bloodwork and BP check.  Dr. Cocayne was "over the moon" happy with her results.  All values are normal.  We are to continue with the medication regimen she is on less the subQ fluids and bring in a 3 day urine collection in 2-3 weeks for another Urine Total Protein analysis.  Paws crossed.  For now, she looks and feels great!  She and Jo Jo are playing hard as I type this.

After that, I had just enough time to take Jo Jo for not quite a 2 mile walk before I had arranged to hook up with Stephen, Cindy, Cat and Lexi for a very short park walk with Albert and Goldy.  The puppies pretty much act like they've walked on a leash forever rather than having had their first encounter with one just yesterday!  The park was very exciting to them!  They saw other dogs, got to walk with their Great Aunt Lexi (who was fairly tolerant of them), lots of children and all kinds of new smells and sights!  They walked about 1/2 mile split up by us carrying them part of the way in the middle.   Young puppies should not take long walks until they mature.  I always feel bad for the obvious puppies that I see people jogging or walking long distances with.  Patience for the first year will help ensure long distances for many years to come.  

Until next time....Happy Thanksgiving!