The Pups are Gone!

I'm really late in  posting this. I advertised the puppies on Craig's list December 21st. "Free to Good Home, 8 Pit Bull Mixed Puppies."  I included about five pictures of the ones I've posted here before of them at 5-6 weeks old even though they were almost just shy of 8 weeks old. I couldn't believe the response! Within five minutes of posting them I had four calls, text messages, and emails inquiries. Within 45 minutes I had to delete the ad. I had ten inquiries to sort through and six more I had yet to sort through.

The selection process was simple. No, I wasn't charging a rehoming fee and no, the pups had not had any pf their shots yet, wormed or anything yet. On the call backs, they each answered the questions I asked. Yes, they understood that these would be 75-100  lb dogs when fully grown, yes, they had room for them (full grown) to run and play in, and yes, they had raised/had big dogs before. What kind of life could they expect living with them? Vet? Feeding? Environment? Who would be around them? etc. Puppy mill type calls or suspected were immediately deleted. That wasn't what we wanted for our puppies. We'd rather keep them than go that route.

Mel and I went through the likely candidates and picked four. All but one had acres of land and that one that didn't had a double lot in her subdivision equaling a quarter of an acre. .All the puppies were going to families with a child(ren) or stabile home lives. In fact they were Christmas presents for them. 

All said my post was an answered prayer. This was not a requirement but it didn't hurt. All had made an appalment with their vet or TSC and bought what the pup(pies) needed before pick up. It was not a requirement, but we liked their proactive quality. They even called me and told me before they picked up the pup(pies). They were all enthusiastic and excited about their new family member. This also wasn't a requirement, but it reinforced our ease with the owners we picked.

We all agreed to do the hand offs of the puppies at the local McDonald's in Gainesville (about halfway for all the new owners to meet with us).  They all were not local. One person drove from Atlanta wanting four puppies for his nieces and nephews for Christmas. They lived in a 20-avre farm west of Atlanta. One decided not to get her puppy at the last minute, but the guy west of Atlanta gladly took that extra pup for his cousin. He was the person that reserved four prior to the listing. He got Bruiser, Star, and two others, he was also the last to arrive because of the traffic in Atlanta.  

.Another lady took two puppies for her twins boys. The boys (7 y/o) had been asking for a dog for a year and she couldn't afford the bulldogs they wanted at the pet shop even though the boys compromised and said only one puppy for the both of them. She explained to me that they had lost their father in the Middle East a little over a year ago. Yes, they had been a military family. When I told her she could have two picks of the litter that weren't already spoken for, she cried happy tears over the phone. In fact she texted me eight times prior to picking them up the next day filled with news about her preps for the pups. She was so excited about her puppies that she was waiting for us when we arrived. Her enthusiasm and happiness was infectious. She actually drove almost 100 miles to get them. She took Frankenbaby and Bully because out of the eight, they looked the most like bulldogs. She kept thanking Jesus and us for answering her prayer.

Now, sweet Baby Girl went to a lady that had mourned for her last dog, 17 year old German Shepherd, for the past six years until she saw this puppy's picture in the ad. She was my first caller after I placed the ad... only 3 minutes after. She just went on and on about that puppy, and how she had to have her. When I called her back and told her she was hers, she immediately went to the store and pick up everything she would need for the puppy, and then some. Her young-ish children picked out the name Rory for her after the character in Gilmore Girls. Baby Girl/Rory started licking her face and wagging her tail furiously when I handed her to her, and I knew I had made the right decision.

In checking with the new owners the next day, all was fine with the exception of Baby Girl/ Rory. It was a day and night full of firsts for her. Her first car ride, her first new owner, first time in a strange place, first time dealing with children, and the first time she'd been alone without her siblings. According to her new owner, she had a fitful night until she brought her to bed with her. She snuggled next to her under the blanket and finally slept the night through. We had warned the new owner that this might happen.

As of that morning the pup ate a bowl full of food, did her business outside, and was now playing with the children, and getting to know her new surroundings. I think she much prefers the children to the chickens because they won't steal her food and they will interact with her. I did warn the new owner about making her a lap dog.  She said, "Oh I know that! My Sadie was all the time trying to get in my lap. All 100lbs of her."

As we breathed a sigh of relief after gave away the puppies, we realized how strange the house will seem without the puppies, It's so quiet! There are less chores to do three or four times a day. We can walk without swarms of puppies clambering up our legs or tripping us up. In some ways we miss it, but not enough to have them all back. For now we'll just kee)p busy cleaning up the mess they've left us. with ..tearing up the carpeting in the formal dining room (we'd planned to do this anyhow) and scrubbing down the back porch.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Cockeyed Jo