3/25/06: Nora, who came to us from a puppy mill, is approximately 3 years old and quite pregnant. Because of having little to no contact with normal everyday things she is scared of most things. She has beautiful big brown eyes with a soulful expression. Right now she keeps her head hidden if anyone gets too close but she is coming around. I think when she has the puppies it will help her to relax. She is a pretty red color and will need to put on some weight when she has her babies. With time and love Nora is going to blossom into a sweet girl.
| Breed not specified | Born: March 2004 |
| Female | Weight not specified |
Status: Adopted
3/25/06: Nora, who came to us from a puppy mill, is approximately 3 years old and quite pregnant. Because of having little to no contact with normal everyday things she is scared of most things. She has beautiful big brown eyes with a soulful expression. Right now she keeps her head hidden if anyone gets too close but she is coming around. I think when she has the puppies it will help her to relax. She is a pretty red color and will need to put on some weight when she has her babies. With time and love Nora is going to blossom into a sweet girl.
Here are a couple of new pictures of my girl Nora. When she is in the back yard playing you would not guess that she has issues. As you can see in one of the pictures, she is giving me the "look" like she is saying "stop pointing that thing at me!" Just before I took the pictures she was roo rooing at me.
Nora and I are getting a routine down, hopefully it will help her to continue to learn to trust. She now loves the crate and not only sleeps in it at night but often during the day. It is one of her "safe places". The other is behind the rocking chair in the same room as the crate. She is now being hand-fed all her meals so she knows that everything she gets comes from a person. Nora is enjoying having her last puppy, Tibbs 06-143, with her. They play together and when I watch them it brings a big smile to my face because she seems so happy and carefree if only for the few moments while she is playing with her baby. We take short walks now up and down our street, I am always on the lookout for anything that might spook her, if she seems stressed by something I stand between her and the scary thing until she calms down. If she is able, we proceed, otherwise we go out and around it. For now it is a balancing act between letting her experience new things but not making her so stressed that she regresses.
Nora and Tibbs in the crate
Nora and Tibbs playing together
I haven't sent as many updates for Nora as I have the puppies. 10 little fluff-balls full of energy tend to demand your attention much more than one quiet momma dog. Nora is on the road to learning how to be a normal dog. She is learning that humans can be trusted and they also give out treats. We are still working on getting her fattened up, but as you can imagine feeding 10 babies takes a lot out of her. The vet recommends the pups stop feeding from her so she can get healthy. There are no complaints from the baby chow-hounds, you can't imagine how much and how fast they can eat.
Nora now walks well on a leash but still gets spooked easily. Instead of shutting down if someone new approaches her, she is more likely to keep a watchful eye on them to see if they have a treat. I am able to get her to lay beside me and let me rub her. As you can see in the latest picture she has a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. She loves to run off with hard plastic objects (probably from buckets, etc. that were in her kennel at the puppy mill). I am trying to convince her to chew on Nylabones instead. After the puppies are adopted I will be able to focus my attention more on Nora.
Nora has had her puppies. Each time I thought she was done I was WRONG. Finally I think she is finished ( I know I am). Drum roll please........................ 5 girls and 5 boys - yes folks, that adds up to 10 puppies. All seem to be doing well and I will get individual pictures and names as soon as I can. For now here is a picture of momma and babies. You can see them all. If you look you can see number 10's tail sticking out under mom's back leg.
Jo Ann, Grandma to 10 little furballs
