When you hear the phrase “puppy season,” you probably think of spring. But here at Rescue Ranch, we’ve learned to expect a second influx of puppies beginning in the late fall. Well, it’s here: winter puppy season is underway. Within two weeks we’ve taken in two different litters of abandoned puppies left in boxes by the roadside.
“Free Puppies” for Halloween
The first box was discovered by a kind-hearted person near a bank of community mailboxes with a sign reading “Free Puppies.” The tiny pittie puppies inside were barely four weeks old.
Without the resources for puppy rescue, animal control turned the puppies over to us. Fortunately their puppy teeth were in and they were able to start on solid food. No bottle feeding required this time. Thank goodness!
Since they arrived just before Halloween, staff gave the babies appropriately spooky names: Annabelle, Boo, Chucky, Freddie, Penny, and Wednesday. I made a beeline to the Sanctuary–ostensibly for pictures but in truth for a dose of pittie puppy love. I wasn’t disappointed. The cuteness and the wrinkles are real!
It looks like the “Halloween pitties” might grow up to be pocket-sized pits. After two weeks of nourishing food they’re still quite small. They’re absolutely obsessed with human visitors. Both times I stopped by, they were so busy competing for cuddles that it was hard to get pictures. And they’re feisty little terriers! Sanctuary operations manager Laura Finley says little blue-and-white Penny is “a pistol” who chases anything that moves. These adorable wrinkly babies will be ready to go home in early December.
“Lost Boys” not lost anymore
The second box of abandoned puppies appeared early one morning at the corner of Oberlin and Fairlane roads in Yreka. Laura thinks the puppies had just been pulled off their mother–they didn’t even have their puppy teeth yet. Three weeks old and these five little boys were left to fend for themselves in a cold world.
Thanks to a good samaritan’s puppy rescue, the youngsters made their way to Yreka ACO and then to us. Dubbed “The Lost Boys” after Peter Pan’s coterie of orphans, Curly, Jimmy, Nibs, Pan, and Tootles are safe and warm in a cozy whelping shed at the Sanctuary. Staff initially tried bottle feeding, but the pups preferred sipping their milky puppy mash. In a few days their puppy teeth emerged and they transitioned to soaked puppy kibble.
When I visited for pictures, the Lost Boys crowded around and nibbled my fingers, and then swarmed Laura. We have no idea what the breed mix is, but one clue is their unusual double hind dewclaws. Only a few breeds have these, including Great Pyrenees, Briard, Beauceron, and Icelandic Sheepdog. Whatever they are, they’re handsome little boys.
Support puppy rescue this December 3rd
Our two newest litters had a rough beginning in life. But thanks to the intervention of good samaritans, these abandoned box puppies will get the care and socialization they need for a long, happy life. At Rescue Ranch it’s all in a day’s work!
This Giving Tuesday, support puppy rescue of litters like the Halloween Pitties and the Lost Boys. Your generous donation on December 3rd will help us save lives and nurture homeless puppies like these. Help us reach our $50,000 goal (early giving has begun!).
