Monday, March 17, 2008

SPCA Foster Parenting- Three Puppies!

On Friday, I picked up three more puppies from the Lakeland SPCA to foster. This little cutie above is the male. He's sleeping on an elephant squeaky toy that my dog Callaghan feels should be his to play with. Don't you just want to squeeze him when you see this picture?!

This is one of the females. She has beautiful, blue eyes. Since these puppies are just four weeks old, I'm wondering if her eyes will stay that color.

This little female is the tubby one of the bunch. She's the biggest and she has the most adorable, perfectly round brown spots on her. You can see one in this picture.
Fostering three puppies is a bit of a handful. The hairiest times are when I'm trying to get them outside to potty. It's always easy grabbing a puppy in each hand and whisking them out the door before they pee on my floor. Scooping up three puppies is difficult, even though these are small. As they get bigger, it will be impossible.
But on the good side, it's easier to spend one-on-one time with one puppy, because the two puppies in the crate can keep each other company. Before, pulling one out of the crate to play with it meant leaving the other alone to cry. Good grief...I sound so ridiculous! But these things weigh heavily on my mind.
Since I haven't had any foster puppies in a few weeks, I haven't mentioned this on my blog, but I want to reiterate how fun and rewarding foster parenting is. If you love pets, but can't afford the full-time commitment of owning one, this is the way to go. The foster parenting hyperlink takes you to the SPCA's application. For me, this experience is perfect. I get all the enjoyment of having a puppy. But caring for them is just enough work that by the time they are old enough to be adopted, I'm actually ready to let them go.
If you simply can't handle the responsibility of foster parenting, but you firmly believe in the SPCA's cause, I hope you'll consider supporting them. The SPCA always is in need of supplies such as dry puppy and kitten food, towels and blankets, bleach, paper towels, unscented liquid laundry detergent, medium and large latex gloves, liquid soap, distilled water, gallon size Ziploc freezer bags, kitty litter and new or lightly used pet crates/carriers. Can't decide what to buy? You never go wrong with gift cards to PetSmart, PetCo or Pet Supermarket.


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

OH MY GOD!!! They are too adorable! How in the world do you handle three??? I have my hands full with just one! You are a brave, brave woman. May the force be with you. I still haven't figured out exactly what my little girl is yet. Every time we go out everyone says, "Oh she looks like ..." and I get a million different breeds.
Yours are just precious!

Anonymous said...

OMG how cute... what type of dogs are they ? Can they be adopted now?

Lorrie said...

These puppies are just four weeks old, so it will be another four weeks before they can be adopted. Check back with me and if you'll give me your contact information, I'll let you know when they go back to the SPCA so you can have first dibs!

Lorrie said...

Oh, and I forgot to mention what kind of dogs they are. Answer: I don't know! They say the mom is beagle/whippet (sp?) cross. The red puppy looks to me like there might be some pitbull in them, but I have no way of knowing.

Anonymous said...

Cute puppies!! Look healthy too. Most likely in my years of breeding experience the eyes will change by the time they are 6 weeks. Being only 4 weeks they will start changing soon. I know they will get forever homes!!!

Lakelandmom said...

This is great, thanks. Someone just asked me yesterday if I knew anyone who needed a pet carrier or it would be thrown away! I'm so glad I stumbled across this post!