Tasmanian Devil?

[rpcrowe]

Nope, not a Tasmanian Devil! This is Bernadette a new foster Maltese-mix mom whom we rescued today with her five puppies from the San Bernadino, California, Animal Shelter (hence the name, "Bernadette"). She was absolutely filthy and stank to high heaven...



Here she is with her pups after two baths and a bit of trimming! Judy says she was dirtier than any dog we ever received (and that's saying a lot!). She still needs more baths but further bathing will wait until tomorrow.



She is very protective over her pups and because of that, I just did a couple of quickie shots. I always like to get a baseline image to see from where we have progressed. However in this case, I decided to get both the baseline image and an image part way through her restoration...

We honestly don't know what breed the father was. Perhaps as the puppies mature a bit, we can make a calculated guess. Mom and puppies seem healthy and that is the important thing...

[Marie Hass]

Dear Richard, it has been a very long time since I commented on your images, and I want to say what wonderful work you folks do. All of our animals are adopted from rescues. I have admired what you have done.

Regards,

Marie

[rpcrowe]

Marie, I post the images of our foster rescue dogs in order to bring attention to the need for foster families and rescue homes and the need to spay and neuter pets to prevent indiscriminent breeding. I also hope that people will contact rescue organizations to rehome their pets when necessary rather than placing the pets in animal shelters...

Some of my images are pretty nice while others are basically just snapshots like these two of Bernadette. However, I will post better portraits of Bernadette and her family later when Bernadette is ready for adoption and when her puppies are old enough to be adopted.

Good news! One of our rescue coordinators has just said that she wants to adopt the little white puppy (top right above) with tan markings. So that is one out of the five puppies already spoken for....

[Trina]

Poor Bernadette I hope she is soon able to relax and realize she is safe. If she didn't have those little pups around her in both pics, I would be hard pressed to believe its the same dog... Hard to believe its all dirt. Can't wait to see more pics of her and her puppies as they grow.... You do such wonderful work.. Thank you for sharing.. I always enjoy seeing photo's of your rescues.

[rpcrowe]

Bernadette (the ex-Tasmanian Devil) is now totally clean and her puppies are growing. I would estimate that the total weight of the puppies is close to Bernadette's own weight. She eats voraciously and drinks large quantities of water in order to produce the milk for her brood. We supplement her diet with calcium tablets and with vitamin tabs. She is also at ease with my wife and I and allows us to handle her puppies.


Our big Goldendoodle, Holly, loves puppies and takes advantage of when Bernadette away to go potty to sneak up and love the little pups. After Bernadette weans the puppies, Holly will become their foster nanny and continue providing them love.



This puppy, whom we named Annie (for: Little Orphan Annie) was found by a passerby who heard her crying from a Southern California trash dumpster. Some low-life piece of excrement had tossed this darling little puppy into the trash. There are a lot of similar things that I would enjoy doing to that type of person. Anyway, Annie had been washed by her rescuer and this is her entry picture into our program. She had fleas, ear mites and even lice. All of which we have cleared up.


On a happier side; CoCo was relinquished because her owner suspected that she had ingested a poisonous substance. The owner was unable to afford the vet care and turned CoCo over to our American Maltese Rescue. The happy side is that the puppy had not eaten anything poisonous and our vet states that she is in perfect health. She is as happy and enthusiastic as any pup could ever be. We will find her a "furever" home with a loving family that can afford future vet care if needed...


Bentley, about two years old, was picked up as a stray and we rescued him from a Los Angeles, California shelter. He is clean, in good health and just loves eveyone. I think he is a handsome boy!


As with shooting portraits of good looking people; it's certainly easier to take nice pictures of good looking dogs.

BYW: We usually estimate the age of our rescue dogs by the condition of their teeth. Bentley's teeth are sparkling clean which means he is young, probably under two-years old. Annie still has her puppy teeth and of course, CoCo also has her puppy teeth.