PuppyGal Welcomes You To...
Events & Happenings At Dogwood Pond
If you have the sound turned up on your computer, you can hear "Old Time Rock 'N'
Roll". Bob added it to the Events Page as a Surprise Christmas Present. It's the theme
song of Dogwood Pond where the Bullies and I do the Bully Butt Wiggle every time we hear it on
the radio!! Dancing is good for the soul and keeps us doing our "range of motion" exercises.
Wednesday - 01/22/03 - 3:00 AM
Kate's smallest male puppy "passed away" peacefully in his sleep, Bob was holding him.
Kate's other two puppies, a male and a female, are doing great, for them the crucial first week
has passed. Smart Cookie's puppies are doing fine, with her smallest puppy nursing
well.
Yesterday it rained most of the day so all of "our gang" were less spirited than usual,
plus their sleep has been interrupted by our activity with the puppies. I also firmly
believe these guys can sense a pending death.
It was a low day for The Champ, I believe due to lack of sleep, plus he missed his
playtime with Fluffy, the Spitz. He spent several hours lazily looking at the cats
through the glass in the back door, or dozing beside first one, then another of
the female Bullies.
Please notice the time on this posting, we are very tired, but are unable to sleep more than
couple of hours at a time, due to the demands upon us. Don't despair, I have 53 e-mails
that I have not answered but will soon.
Judy
Yesterday, we finally got grouchy!!! Very little sleep, stress and highly emotional situations will do that!!! Bob had been sharp with me, which he never is, I was hurting really bad because I had done too much - we yelled.....we hugged. We have a strong love and forgiving hearts.
Expect a delay in my response to e-mails, Kate's tiny male puppy is dying. It's palate is improperly formed, not open like a cleft palate but with a deep depression, which prevents it from being able to nurse like the other puppies. Bob had been feeding it with an eye- dropper but we think it had a negative reaction to the Milk Replacer. It really hurts our hearts when we lose a puppy so we have to keep reminding ourselves, with nature only the strong survive. Many breeders, just drown them in a bucket of water ...... that sentence makes me sick!!
We received The Champ's medical record yesterday, but the possible "rare spinal diseases" were not named. We will be taking him back to Dr Frank for further evaluation before making the appointment with Mississippi State University, College of Veterinary Medicine. The records could be interpreted to support my theory of an injury.
Smart Cookies' puppies are doing GREAT!!
Judy
We have had several e-mails wishing "The Champ" well. An extraordinary lady, who is owned by one of our Bullies, has extensive experience in physical therapy. Nan is wonderful!!! The time she has spent corresponding with us, explaining procedures and why they are needed is priceless.
Dr Frank has gotten us a referral to MS State Vet School. We are waiting on the summation of Champ's visit with the neurologist on 1/6 before making the appointment. The former owners advised they had made several requests for this information but have not received it as of yesterday.
In regard to Kate & Smart Cookies' puppies. Each litter has one pup which is of concern, but so far they are making a little improvement each day.
My rib is better. I can't take pain medicine but a friend from NY sent me a couple of bottles of her homemade wine, Thank You Mary Ellen!! Also, I've learned how to hold that side rigid, which helps to prevent pain when walking, or moving my arms and hands in a limited way, therefore I am able to do a little of the work and we have plenty, with 15 puppies and "The Champ" to get well ...Bless Bob!
I don't want you to think our life is pitiful right now, it's just trying!! We have a host of things for which we are thankful - great friends, a deep love for each other and lots of puppy kisses to make us smile. That is much more than many people!!
Judy
If the definition of a Hero is an ordinary person doing extraordinary things...I'm married to my hero!!! Isn't that a wonderful thing to be able to say!!!
Friday - 01/17/03 - NOON
We've decided to give the crippled puppy a new name - "The Champ", because he's in training!! I've posted the e-mail we sent to the former owner on Tuesday when we got back from seeing Dr Frank. It contains information which will help you to better understand this situation. Enter Here
One of Smart Cookie's puppies is not doing well and we will probably lose it. I had a hard time reviving it after the c-section.Enter Here
If I wasn't as stubborn as a Bulldog, the events of the past week would have been enough to make me quit raising Bullies!!!
Judy
On Monday, we took back one of our Bully pups. This is a very sad story about a wonderful puppy. He's 5 months old and crippled. I have tried for 7 weeks to get the people to let me have him back but they refused, swearing undying love and spent mega dollars, against my advice, on invasive tests. Suddenly they changed their minds and drove 30 hours round trip to bring him to us. We were expecting puppies so I couldn't meet them half way for a few days. They made the long drive because they were determined to return him to us on that day.
Our Vet says it has probably been too long since the onset of the problem to help him, but...the little guy is finally home. The latest diagnosis that they were given is "a rare non-genetic spine disease" which one of four possible could not be determined without $700 more in tests. By this time they were already planning on giving him back to us therefore I refused to allow any more invasive tests until he was here and the need was verified by MS State Vet School. How he could have gotten a disease of this nature has not been explained. I have never thought his problem was genetic!!! I've always thought it was an injury due to it's "sudden onset" - he went out to potty and when he came back in he couldn't control his hindquarter.
This has been the worst ordeal regarding one of our Bullies that we have ever experienced, but we could not turn our backs to him. In the past, we've held on to each other, as we hugging up one of our "old guys", cried and sang lullabies to him while he died...this has been worse.
I will give you more details later, today I'm not very objective. They didn't mention it until I asked...they got a new Bully pup on their way home from returning him. That was why they were putting so much pressure on me to meet them on Monday, although we had 2 pregnant females who could go into labor at any time. I wish they had been more considerate.!! I don't blame them for getting a healthy pup, my heart is just hurting for the crippled one.
Judy
P.S. Smart Cookie had an emergency c-section last night, 4 puppies - 3 males and 1 female. More on that tomorrow.
Smart Cookie ate this morning so she's not going into labor and so far no milk!!! Maybe tomorrow!!
Just to let you know how many e-mails I get, I answered 67 yesterday...that was 3 days worth of incoming e-mails so please don't be upset if you don't hear from me right away!
Judy
Smart Cookie is still on her eating spree so she won't be going into labor today. Poor Bob!!! My ribs hurt so bad if I lift anything, bend over or walk normal, so he is having to do everything. He is "one in a million"!!! The Bullies are looking at me like "No Bully Butt Wiggle Dancing for how long?"
When the other person living in the house with you uses (the brand new bought at Home Depot, 2 pair for $2.99) stainless steel scissors to cut a thick crust pizza, they will no longer cut anything else, but they are still great to cut those pizzas.
We were getting severely low on anti-static dryer sheets but had piles of clothes to dry, in desperation I cut the sheets in half, they do just as well as a whole sheet.
I was just wondering if the unregistered bulldogs could be registered? Are they full blooded?
These questions offend me. If they could be registered, don't people think I would have done so??
Are they full blooded - I tell people all I know, so why do they ask this. Just wanting confirmation and not thinking when they ask?
Smart Cookie ate a can of Puppy Food, a bowl of my special blend of mother-to-be food and a cup of boiled custard. She wanted to eat everything in the kitchen so we knew she wasn't ready to have her "babies". Dear Kate was a different story, she just looked at the food, her temperature had started to drop according to our thermometer, but she didn't have any milk....dilemma. We decided to take her in to see if she had dilated very much, by the time we got there she had milk so the c-section went forward .
We're back from the Vet's with 3 beautiful puppies, one female and 2 males. The female is the biggest puppy we have ever had, three times the size of one of the males and twice the size of the other.....we'll just have to call her "Big Mama". You sure can tell Mr. Big Stuff is her father.
I called the doctor and he said all they can do for what I think is a cracked or broken rib is to x-ray to confirm which it is cracked or broken, then maybe wrap it and give me drugs which I can't take. He said not to do anything that makes it hurt... so don't lift anything!!! I just laughed when he told me that and replied but I've got work to do. I didn't get any sleep last night for it hurting. About the time I dozed off, Bob would get in or out of bed taking care of Sleepy's puppies, causing it to start hurting all over again. The trip to the vet's was very painful indeed for both Bob and I. He hit every lump in the road and I kept "hitting the ceiling" (a little attempt at humor).
Got to run. Bob had to go take care of some business so I'm here alone taking care of the "babies".
Judy
PS Interesting Puppy Application Response:
- Only the name and telephone number have been removed
Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted by XXXXXXXX
on Saturday, January 11, 2003 at 19:33:52
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
telephone: nnn nnn nnnn
location: MIDDLE VILLAGE NY 11379
getpup: PICK IT UP
pets: NONE
family: NONE
looks like: ENGLISH BULLDOG
color: BRINDLE AND WHITE
sex: FEMAL
comments: I want a puppy because...BECAUSE I JUST BOUGHT A HOUSE A CAR JUST GOT MARRIED AND MY WIFE WANTS A ENGLISH BULLDOG. WE WANNA START NEW WITH EVERYTHING SO WE WANT A PUPPY
==================
My Response:
From: "Judy Cooksey-Cowling"
To:
Sent: Saturday, January 11, 2003 10:37 PM
Subject: Re: Puppy Application
Gosh, you are probably 15+ hours away making your around trip 30+ hours to get a puppy from us. Might I suggest you try to find a breeder closer to you. You can request a listing of breeders in your area from AKC at www.akc.org.
Good Luck in your search.
Judy
www.puppygal.com
==================
His Reply:
From:
To: puppygal@earthlink.net
Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2003 10:40 PM
Subject: Re: Puppy Application
i have family in memphis tennesse so i was gonna go there stay with my family buy the dog stay for longer at my familys house then come home. i dont fly especially with all the bad things that been happening with the planes. but if u dont wanna sell me a puppy i understand your probably looking out for the puppys sake or your just being a jerk i dont even want one of your puppies now. u should give all of the animals u have away they should be with better people not scumbags
Sassy's little girl died just a few minutes ago. I knew this morning that it was only a matter of time, "the fading puppy syndrome" but Bob wouldn't give up. He is so very sad right now, because he tried so hard to keep her alive. Emotionally it is terrible because during the last few hours they cry out...I call it the "death cry". It's times like that when I would like something to help them along their way. (I don't know that I could use it.) If the vet is open you can take a pup in and they will end it's pain but if not...it is terrible.
Sunday - 01/12/03 - 10:00 AM
Bob was up with Sassy's little female puppy most of the night bottle feeding her every 2 hours and we had her in the bed with us to insure she stayed warm, but she is eating very little this morning which means it's the "fading puppy syndrome". When it's over we'll just have to shake out our tail feathers and go on, but right now it's TOUGH and it's even tougher to gather up the courage to shake it off, when your heart wants to lay down and cry.
I just got an e-mail from my friend, Lisa, who has one of our female Bullies. Her male has been doing very well in the show circuit so she has meet a good number of breeders. She said two long time breeders have sent her e-mails this week saying they lost a mother Bully and a complete litter, at least my Sassy is still alive.
Sunday - 01/12/03 - 1:00 AM
Sassy's hernia baby died about an hour ago. Lordy it is impossible to go back to sleep after something like that.
Today, Lowe's is going to change out the Maytag washer and dryer for Whirlpool Duets. Oh Mercy, what a price to pay for appliances but I do more washing in a day than a family of four does in a week, trust me!!!! When we have puppies, the TWO washers and dryers are running at least 10 hour a day. The minute I get up I start changing out dog beds which means starting the washing machine, the dryer is filled with the load I put in the washer before I went to bed the previous night and next the sink is filled with hot soapy water to clean last nights dog dishes.I prewash them then put them into the dishwasher.(I'll need a new dishwasher soon!!)
The below is an e-mail I sent to my "kinda cousin" Mona, part of the extended family but not blood kin, who was worried because she hadn't heard from me...
I'm working my behind off!!! I feel in bed last night without supper, a shower or any of the normal preparations because I was so absolutely tired. I awoke at 4 AM, to Bob crawling into bed with Sassy's two puppies. An hour earlier, he realized she was not giving enough milk so he started bottle feeding them...OH GRACIOUS!!! They can get sick so quickly from germs.... I sterilize everything, he usually just washes, but God Love Him, he is so absolutely wonderful. The pups were a little cool because it got so very cold last night. We snuggled, you can't call it sleep, with them until 6 and then forced ourselves out of bed to take care of "our gang" and see if we could tell if Smart Cookie and Kate were going to go into labor today, the Vet Clinic is only open until Noon.
When Sleepy's puppies saw me they started squealing and clambering over to the side of the pool..they were hungry. Gosh you should have seen them!! I had to hold them back with one hand and change sheets out with the other. Marie decided if the breakfast wasn't coming to her, then she would just go find it. She crawled out of the pool and found Sassy and started mursing before I could retrieve her. Sassy just looked at her.
I'm trying to update Events because I have a 100 e-mails wanting to know if we have more puppies yet. I suppose I'll go ahead and tell people about Sassy's hernia puppy, but I don't want them to be distressed because he only has about a 20% chance of surviving.
Kate & Smart Cookie could go into labor any day now, I'm already working myself into the ground, never again will I bid online, I'm going on a diet, I'll give up chocolate, I'm going to be a better person, I'm going to .............................(written to be funny)
On 1/09, Sassy had her c-section, 3 pups - 1 waterbaby who died, one with a severe hernia requiring immediate surgery. (we've only had 4 in all this time - of the other 3 only one lived but we can't help but try.) I almost lost him on the way home I think he went into shock, was gasping for air and turning purple...we made a u-turn back to the vet and got doparam (?) I worked with him all the way home, 45 minutes, put the doparam under his tongue 3 times. Put him under my shirt to keep him warm and kept massaging him, finally he started to breathing normal. Goodness what we do for a Bully and how our heart hurts for them.
So far I have my little girl. Wouldn't you know she is so absolutely ugly, just like her mother, where as the waterbaby that died was too much to wish for and the hernia male is beautiful!!! Also I had told Dr Frank that depending upon how the delivery went we were thinking to spay her....as it turned out he had to because she had too many adhesions. Sassy bless her heart is my favorite!!! I told him I didn't want to put any pressure on him but if it came down to a matter of her life or the puppies, he was to save her. She's 6 years old, too old in my opinion to have babies, but I desperately wanted this little girl. By the way Sassy is fine, already sassin' me and the female puppy came out of her Mama talking back to the world!!!
Got to go Bob just told me he thinks Smart Cookie is showing signs of going to go into lobor.
Judy
PS Smart Cookie isn't going into labor today!!! Whew!!!
Finally, pictures of Magnum, Stud For Hire, that we borrowed to bred Happy.
I must say life gets interesting when we have Available Puppies. We're sleep deprived the first 2-3 weeks, therefore it is the worse time to attempt to deal with some very "over the edge" people and strange behavior from others.
We have a Waiting List and I send Birth Announcements to those people. If they are ready to get a Bully then they are given preference. If we have additional available puppies, we open it up to everyone, but there is always an approval process, via an application.
For every pup we have, I'm sure I declined to sell to at least 4 people. Unfortunately, because I sell my "babies" at a lower price, so I will have a large selection of people to choose from, people get mad when they are declined or if a puppy is purchased before they have made up their mind. These are exactly the ones I do not want getting one of my puppies.
I'm not meaning to be rude, just blunt. By the time we get a pup ready to go to it's new home we have invested lots of loving care, emotions and energy, so I make every effort to make sure they are going to the best possible homes. I have been known to return deposits if I find a person to be irresponsible, rude, making a pest of themselves, or if "the hair stands up on the back of my neck" for any reason.
We live off of our retirement income and raise Bullies because we want to. Any money made thus far has been offset by me taking in stray dogs, cats and occasionally a kid.....I'm putting up a banner across the drive that says you can drop off your dog, but not your kid!!
Take care and have a Wonderful Weekend!
Judy
Events & Happenings Prior to 12/02/02 - Click Here
Someone is always asking, "Are all Bullies laid back?"
My response is, "Click Here!!"
Why I'm Nicknamed PuppyGal
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