Charlotte's Litter

[rpcrowe]

Charlotte is a two year old Chihuahua mom with a litter of 7-puppies who are about a week old. We were asked by a Los Angeles shelter if we could rescue this family because they would have been on the euthanasia list.



Charlotte is quite protective of her puppies She growled at me when I first met the family so I purchased a fast food hamburger (with no dressing) and fed it to her in small bites. She no longer growled at me and licked my fingers. I thought that we had established rapport - WRONG. When I reached in to take her out of the carrier, she must have thought that I was threatening her babies. Surprising how much damage those little teeth can do in a split second.

I was lax. I have a pair of heavy leather welding gloves that I usually wear when handling new dogs with puppies - at least until they get to know me. But since she had been licking my fingers, I didn't put on the gloves...

Not the first time I have been bitten and it won't be the last. It's a heck of a lot better to be bitten by a Chihuahua than by a Rottweiler.

[pnodrog]

Good mum. Yes being bitten is better than being ripped to pieces.

[just me]

Hi Richard....I like your story and photo of Charlotte very much.....you are a very nice and kind person to care so much for these doggies......bless you !

Griddi.....

[Shadowman]

Very nice capture. It was also probably the sudden movement that startled her. She'll calm down once she sees you doing something equally nice for the puppies; other than the already nice rescue.

[rpcrowe]

Charlotte has had a trying time in her young life. First, having a litter of 7-puppies must have been difficult for a dog of her size, then she was given up by her human family. spent a couple of days in the medical unit of the shelter and next she and her litter were transported a hundred miles South with one change of transport. Finally she is in a strange environment.

We have her and her babies in a corner of our family room in a puppy pen. She has privacy and quiet, along with food and water. I am sure that she will decompress and start relaxing within a few days. We keep our other dogs away from her so that she doesn't get upset about the safety of the pups.

We have found that she really likes cheese and cheese should help her with her milk production. We will also supplement her diet with calcium tabs. We have had her stool checked for any nasty things like worms or giardia and the vet gave her a clean bill of health. She was never in the general population of the shelter. She and her pups were kept in the medical unit so she should not have een exposed to kennel cough.

The shelter also asked us to accept a Shih Tsu who was terrified in the shelter and could never get adopted because of her timid behavior.

We took her and she is not a Shih Tsu. We don't know what breed or combination of breeds she is. However, I think that she is a very pretty girl who has a wonderfully friendly personality. She has already bonded to my wife and I. I will shoot her entry photo this morning and post it.

[KimC]

So very sweet Richard.

My grandmother had a Chihuahua (Bambi) - being nippy was part of her personality -- sometimes I think she wanted to be sure humans knew she was there since she was so little.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Richard,

I agree with Kim, they are nippy as a breed (we have one)

and yes; they love cheese

I don't mean to be rude (please don't tell her I said this) but Charlotte seems to have quite a large body for her head, compared to ours, but if she had 7 pups inside a few days ago, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.


Also agree the timid one you mention here: Guess What I Am? is certainly no Shih Tsu (we used to have one).
I'd be amazed if there is any of that breed in her.

Keep up the good work, Dave

[IzzieK]

Nice job, Richard...May God bless you for taking these into your rescue group of dogs.

[Ziggy]

World needs more people like you.

[rpcrowe]

World needs more people like you.

Thanks! And fewer people who don't spay/neuter their pets.

Here in Southern California neutering/spaying can be had free of charge from several sources. There is even one mobile spay/neuter clinic which will travel to your home and spay/neuter Chihuahuas and Pit Bulls free of charge. This is because probably 75% (I am making a guess - but the percentage is extremely large) of the dogs in Southern California shelters are either Chihuahuas or Pit Bulls...

[rpcrowe]

Charlottes Puppies are growing daily

[Nat]

You are a kind man! They are so cute. If I didn't have 3 big dogs and didn't live across the continent, I would take one of these cuties. My mom had a black one, Allie. She was nippy to those she chose not to like!! I was on her passing list!

[rpcrowe]

Seven puppies are a bit much for little Charlotte to nurse. We were expecting to supplement the two smallest puppies by bottle feeding. However, we just received Marlo and her two puppies...



https://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/Pets/MAL...ies_2740-L.jpg

Marlo is about ten pounds and has plenty of milk for her puppies and then some. We bring in the two smallest of Carlotte's puppies and let Marlo supplement their nutrition.

[Shadowman]

Charlottes Puppies are growing daily

Nice follow up.

[Shadowman]

Seven puppies are a bit much for little Charlotte to nurse. We were expecting to supplement the two smallest puppies by bottle feeding. However, we just received Marlo and her two puppies...



Marlo's puppies



Marlo is about ten pounds and has plenty of milk for her puppies and then some. We bring in the two smallest of Carlotte's puppies and let Marlo supplement their nutrition. She accepts them readily!

Very nice.

[rpcrowe]

Marlo has pretty well permanently adopted Charlotte's smallest two puppies. Dogs cannot count (although I have heard that cats can count) and she doesn't seem to know if she is nursing two puppies or four pups. Likewise, Charlotte doesn't seem to notice that she has two fewer puppies. So the litters are more balanced now with Marlo caring for four puppies and Charlotte caring for five!

This seems like pretty much a win-win situation for all concerned: Marlo is not stressed with the two extra mouths to feed, Charlotte has a workable number of pups feeding from her, all the pups are healthy and well fed with mother's milk, while Judy and I are spared from needing to bottle feed the babies

[rpcrowe]

Charlotte's pups are growing and getting more active.

[IzzieK]

Looking forward to their progress, Richard...