Josie and the Spuds
Josie and her nine spuds.
A Call For Help
Earlier this year in June, our rescue was tagged in a post on Facebook regarding a local situation involving two adult dogs and a litter of nine puppies. Unfortunately , it was an unplanned litter and the owner was in a situation where they wouldn’t be able to continue to care for the dogs. The real pickle was that these puppies were only four weeks old and much too young to be separated from mom.
Four week old spud puppies.
The Plan
Luckily, a creative plan was formed to create a safe space for mom and babies, and another rescue was able to take dad (who has since been adopted!).
In the days to come, mom, (Josie) and her nine spud puppies had an incredible journey of growth. Each week of life was focused on age appropriate activities and experiences to help give them the head start they deserved.
The puppies and mom were introduced to toys of all kinds, food and treats of all kinds (favorites included peanut butter and hot dogs) and an introduction to the building blocks of future training. They all learned very quickly that a clicker meant good things and they could do more than look cute for a treat. They could interact with a new object, sit, or even go in and out of a kennel for treats.
Things that your dog at home may do daily, were very novel, even to mom. They learned that the outside was for running, playing and pottying and car rides weren’t so scary. They had to get used to wearing a collar, eating regular dog food and being on a normal sleep schedule. They got to interact with new items everyday, like paper towel tubes, different textured blankets and they got to meet new people. They also got to meet dogs once they were able to have their first round of vaccines. When they reached eight weeks they even got to spend a few hours at puppy social with our friends at Practical Obedience.
Josie and babies enjoying puppy food soaked in water to help with weaning.
Josie feeding all nine puppies.
Josie and Yukon snuggling.
Spud puppy mosh pit.
Growing Up
Their care entailed loads of laundry, mopping, mopping and more mopping, and daily and weekly planning to make sure they had age appropriate vetting and socialization. After 5 weeks of growing and learning together, they were ready to go off to their big kid foster homes. It was an exciting day on their journey to adoption. As they settled in with their individual fosters, each pup grew more physically and in their personalities. They were able to travel to dog friendly events and places and were the stars at yoga events and farmers market nights.
Poutine on his first weigh in day.
Tater Tot on his first weigh in day.
Gnocchi being photographed for foster selection.
Yam Bake trying peanut butter.
Baby Red snuggling with a toy.
The Reality
It is an incredibly large commitment to responsibly and fully take care of a mom and litter. One that should not be taken lightly. We are happy to report that all nine puppies have been adopted. While their story is a happy one of rescue, it is unfortunately not uncommon to see a request in our inbox for an unexpected litter of puppies or for someone to unexpectedly find it difficult to find placement for a litter of puppies, but it is preventable.
While their owner did the right thing for them in the end, and they were taken care of prior to surrender, a littler of nine bully breed type puppies is a big strain on an already difficult rescue landscape.
The term “bully breed” is a generic term used to identify a variety of terrier-type dogs such as American Pit Bull Terriers, Bull Terriers, Bullmastiffs, Staffordshire Terriers, Boston Terriers, Boxers and French Bulldogs. The term “bully” dog also includes dogs who resemble these terriers in some physical way, but who may or may not actually have any genetic relationship to these breeds of dogs. You can find out more about the breeds that make up this group here:
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeds/meet-bully-breeds/
Yam Bake, Poutine and Lefse.
Hash Brown and Pierogi playing in the yard.
The Truth About Bully Breeds
Bully breeds are lovely dogs, and ever growing in popularity. Unfortunately, there is also no shortage of them in the rescue world, and yet there continues to be constant breeding of them as well.
Why is this a problem you might ask? There are many difficulties with placing bully breeds for adoption. For one, there are just so many bully breeds in rescue. You can look at any humane society, shelter or rescue and find them available for adoption. Every age, size, color, and temperament.
Unfortunately, while they are a favorite of many, they are still subject to breed discrimination. Did you know, even in Wisconsin, there are multiple places that have bans on bully breeds? In addition to that, many home owners' insurance won’t cover them and due to this, a lot of doggy daycares won’t allow them for daycare either.
The struggle continues for those who rent as well, as many rental properties discriminate against breed or size. Most bully breeds are over the weight limit for rental properties and other dog friendly lodging situations.
In addition to breed discrimination, it is also hard to place larger dogs. Large dogs are disproportionately affected by a lack of affordable housing and breed and weight restrictions like those mentioned above. Additionally, care costs also tend to be higher for larger dogs, making it financially impossible for some people who would otherwise welcome a large dog into their home.
How We Can Advocate
So, what can we do? Leave people and their dogs to suffer? Crucify people that have found themselves in difficult situations or have perhaps waited too long to ask for help?
Hopefully, the obvious answer is no. It will always be our belief as a rescue that judging people not only isn't helpful, but actively causes more harm than good. Instead, we want to share resources, help where we can and let people know that they can reach out. As a small rescue, we cannot take in every dog that needs help, but with the support of our community and the resources in it, we can help people discover the capability within themselves to find the right solution for them.
Low Cost Veterinary Care
The first thing we want to stress as a rescue is age appropriate vetting, including spaying and neutering your animals. While there continues to be a growing discussion about when the right time to spay or neuter your pet is, it is an essential part of controlling an ever-growing population of dogs in search of homes. Finances of course play a huge role in vet care and so here are some resources/low cost options that can help:
https://www.wihumane.org/spay-neuter
https://www.wihumane.org/vaccines
https://www.heanokill.org/spayneuter.html
http://www.pawsandcoclinic.com/surgeries-/-procedures
http://www.pawsandcoclinic.com/pet-wellness-care
https://www.wicvc.org/spay-neuter
https://www.wicvc.org/financial-assistance
https://www.wicvc.org/services
https://safehavenpet.org/events/
https://www.oahs.org/low-cost-vaccine-microchip-clinics/
https://www.oahs.org/spay-neuter-resources/
Speak up
You can also speak up to help advocate for large dogs and the people who love them. Encourage landlords to welcome pets without breed or weight restrictions and petition lawmakers to repeal breed specific legislation and instead focus on the behavior of individual dogs that do have an effect on safety.
Foster
Perhaps having a large dog long-term isn’t in the cards for you right now, but you could help foster one temporarily. Even respite fosters, a foster that helps dog sit short term while their long term foster is away, play a vital role in being able to help. If you’re interested in becoming a foster, please apply here:
https://www.lucky7dogrescue.com/foster
Donate
As previously stated, care costs for larger breeds tends to be more, and is a factor rescues have to take into consideration as well. Donating financially or with time is another way that you can help! If you are able to donate financially you can do that here:
https://www.lucky7dogrescue.com/donate
Volunteer
We are always looking for volunteers and would love to have you join our team! You can apply to volunteer with us here:
https://www.lucky7dogrescue.com/volunteer
Share
We know that you might not be in place where you are able to foster, or donate and that’s okay. You can still help by sharing the dogs and their stories and speaking up for those who don’t have a voice. Let’s continue to help people prevent accidental litters and help dogs like Josie get adopted. Check out Josie and our other current adoptables here:
Foster parents Emily and Jesse with the spuds.
The spud puppies with their individual fosters: Brian and Cheryl (not pictured), Sandy, Abi, Tamara, Dawn, Chris and Joe, Jake, and not pictured Rachel, Ali and Elena.
Photo credit: Mallory Kinchen Photography
