New Beginnings

First and foremost, Little Bit is doing great. The loss of her eye doesn't stop her in any way, she is alternatively a diva and a little monster, and we love her dearly. At her first shots appointment at Cedar Lake 3 weeks ago, she was 7lbs 9oz ... at her 2nd one, last week, she was 12lbs something ... she'd put on 5lbs! The staff were like "is this the stray puppy?" as she now has some long legs and is almost pillow length when she curls up next to us on the bed.

How things change! The past couple of weeks have really been a hectic scramble. August changed things so much with Mama and also changed the direction of everything going on with us. The last couple of days of July, she began taking food out of my hands. It was amazing. She was still very timid, but oh so gentle. I was so excited, I knew we'd reached a turning point and that we would progress from there. Saturday and Sunday ushered August in, and she was quite happy letting me hand feed her. Monday the 3rd was my wedding anniversary, I'd hoped to see her but she and the puppies didn't show. We left food out for them anyway. On Tuesday the food was still there. That bothered me but there had been times before when there'd been a day or so of not coming over, but when Wednesday came and the food we'd left was untouched, a sense of dread hit me.

That night I messaged the local rescue and humane society, sent pictures of Mama and her puppies, and asked if they had them. Thursday morning a lady at PAWS had responded, yes, they had them. We talked. Mama and a young male (actually about 5 by his teeth, and def not one of her puppies) were sharing a pen, were totally shut down and had not eaten anything since being admitted on the Monday. She asked if I wanted them? What could I say? I'd already intended giving Mama a safe space, and since the lady said the two were bonded (although we'd never seen him on our property) we brought both back that evening. The shelter vetted and spayed them that day, so actually saved us a lot of money.

Unfortunately, there's an old saying "no good deed goes unpunished", and oh boy! We found that out the next day. We'd given them free rein of half of our barn, put down blankets, food and water, and figured we would leave them alone to decompress from everything that had been happening. We came back to a screen ripped out of a window, and insulation torn out of walls. They'd obviously been trying to escape. Thankfully, when the workman had finished the barn back in March they'd had a roll of insulation left over, and were happy to let us keep it so though repairing will be time consuming, it won't cost us anything, which is a blessing.

However, we couldn't risk it happening again, so we brought one of our goat pens inside the barn and set it up. I hated confining them again but they actually seem to prefer it. We gave them blankets and dog beds, and they immediately lay on them and just started watching us.

Since then, they've been taking walks on a leash (Sonny, the male, was very eager and has come out of his shell to be a very playful boy) and are actually happy to see us and be around us. They're settled in very well.

So, the next thing is to fence in a nice outdoor area for them that's escape-free. I asked on a local FB group for fence panels and a lady paypaled me $300 towards fencing. Hubby's SS came in, so he went to Tractor Supply and bought fencing, poles and fittings, but the lad who helps him couldn't help this past weekend after all, so it'll be a little longer before it gets put up.

With hubby having leukaemia, diabetes and long covid, he tires easily and doesn't have the strength he used to (the reason he retired early at the beginning of this year) so it makes it easier for him to have a helper.

Meanwhile, a friend who actually has a 501(3)c rescue (Upstate Animal Rescue) gave us 6 panels to make a smaller outdoor enclosure so that we can let Sonny and Mama (who the shelter had named Bonny) just hang out in it, outside, on nice weather days.

Hubby managed to set it up over a couple of days (and reinforced around the base in a few areas) and they are now able to run in and out when we are over there ... but want to just hang with us, and pop their paws on my thigh and get lovings. It's amazing to see how they are coming on, they are definitely bonding with us, and feel safe.

I have been watching the pics on the site to see if I see any of her puppies, or the other tan females, but we are now looking to get another pen inside so that we can go back to the shelter and get the other little female they had asked us if we could take, if she is unadopted by then. It's just taking us longer to get everything done, but we are trying to help them.

We have a mama dog and her pups, and an additional female—possibly the mama's sister or a puppy from a previous litter, though we aren't sure. For about five weeks, we've been feeding them and doing our best to keep them safe. Our goal is to get them all vetted, spayed/neutered, and eventually find loving homes for each one.

The smallest puppy, now called Little Bit, was struggling to get enough food because the older puppies bullied her when she tried to eat. You can see in the picture how she was only half their size, so we took her home to help her gain weight separately. After a vet visit, where she was treated for worms and fleas, we were scheduled to take her back for her first shots. Unfortunately, on Monday, Little Bit was accidentally injured by our larger dog, Rover. He snapped at her, and because she was so small, the injury was severe. She suffered fractured bones in her face and her eye popped out, requiring emergency surgery. She still needs ongoing care.

We will take Little Bit back to the vet in 10-14 days to have the stitches out where her eye had to be removed. She is eating and drinking well, and sleeps most of the time as she is on painkillers and other medications. She is a lovely little girl, and we are hoping all will be well as she heals.

We need to start catching the other puppies so we can get their vetting done. I have put wormer in their food to get ahead on that, but we really need to get them vetted and spayed/neutered as soon as possible so we can find them homes.

We are committed to helping Little Bit recover and making sure the other dogs get the medical attention they need. We can't do this alone. Any support you can offer will help cover Little Bit’s surgery, vet visits, and spaying/neutering for all the dogs.

Your kindness will give these dogs a chance at healthy, happy lives and safe, loving homes.

Update 7/10

We were back at the vet with Little Bit last night as she wasn't eating or drinking. Whilst we were there, the swollen area on her face "burst", it turned out that the swelling from the injury that we'd been told to expect, wasn't all from the injury. An abscess had formed. Thankfully, with them seeing it burst, they drained it and gave us additional antibiotics for her, and it seems that's what was causing her to not want to eat or drink.

Today she's back eating heartily, for which I am very thankful, as she def needs to fill out a bit.

When I hold her, and she rests her head on the side where the abscess is, it seeps, so I've been draining it by popping a paper towel under that side and letting the action of her lying on it, do most of the work.She is sleeping, curled up against me, right now. She is a sweet and happy little girl.

Update 7/20

Back to the vet today for her stitches to come out, and am having them give her her shots instead of on Wednesday, get everything done at one time. The big abscess that she had, that kept coming back, has finally disappeared but - oh she just loves to keep the stress on - now hse has a weird one popped up just above her nose, on her forehead between her eyes. Going to have that checked out this morning as well. She keeps me on my toes, that's for sure.

Mama and 2 puppies have come by the last 2 days, the same 2 puppies, a boy and a girl so we are going to try to catch the little girl and start her vetting process ( since girls grow up to have puppies, and that's the cycle we are trying to stop).

Thank you Steph and Ruby for donating. This has been such an overwhelming time, you are both greatly appreciated.

Update 7/21

Yesterday's appointment went well in that Little Bit had her stitches out and no longer needs to wear the collar (that made her VERY happy!).

She had her first shots but still cannot go outside until after she has her second set, because we seem to be having some issues with her immune system.

The vet drained the cyst between her eyes, on her forehead, and she is now back on an antibiotic. She's gained weight though! 7.8lbs now, so her 5 times a day feedings are working. She was so underweight before, and this time, no need for fluids, so my trick of adding them into her food is working. Apparently, she doesn't like drinking water!

The vet changed her flea/heartworm med to Symparico, which is great as it's what I have my others on.

Unfortunately, today when the mama and puppies came to eat, the biggest male had a bare patch on his chest with red spots, so I'm trying to figure out how to deflea him. He runs and yelps when I even try to touch him, let alone catch him. I can add wormer to their food for worming but am at a loss for this as I can't guarantee a particular animal would eat a chewie or that one wouldn't eat more than one. It's a dilemma.

However, one puppy today decided to explore the barn because the door was open. I was too far away, but I said to Mark that maybe if it happens when I'm on the porch, I can just shut the door and trap it in there for him to actually catch. She has only brought the same 2 puppies the last few days, so I don't know if maybe somebody has seen them and taken the others. Both mama and the other adult female were there today though.

Update 7/24

The boy puppy is riddled with fleas, and has red marks on his chest along with losing fur there and on his shoulders.

He is still very timid as far as not allowing touch, and skedaddling when we move. Since we can't touch him, I've bought Capstar and I put a tablet in a ground beef ball ... and he ate it in one gulp. I'll be doing that over the next few days to get his flea problem under control, I've been worming them all with Safeguard in their food.

Mama has only been bringing him, and a female who looks like a bigger version of Little Bit, to feed so I am hoping people have seen the others and taken them home.

I'm going to try to have help on Sunday so that, if /when they come to feed, we can try to catch these 2 puppies. Being unable to stand or walk unaided makes it really hard for me. I can't move stealthily or quickly, but we need to get them soon and get them vetted and into homes, so that they can get settled and gentled. So far, I've not been able to touch them, I tried to the other day and he squealed like I was torturing him. They run happily over to the bowl to eat, and it's onlya foot or two away from where I sit, but they are not as tamed, as I'd have liked.

Update 7/30/2026

https://whoisrosedempsey.blogspot.com/2026/07/mama-ate-out-of-my-hand-today.html It was a lovely moment!

Update 8/6/2026

https://whoisrosedempsey.blogspot.com/2026/08/oh-what-day.html Things have changed abruptly. This explains what's happened and what's going on.