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First off, let me get this out of the way, because writing it does not make me happy – the little boy is not doing very well. He hasn’t gained any weight in 48 hours, and he is having a hard time nursing from a bottle. I am now tube feeding him, every two hours, and supplementing with drops of Nutri-Cal on his tongue every hour or so. So far, all that this has done is allow him to maintain his weight, with no gaining. The Veterinarian has examined him, checking again for a cleft palate, and listening for a heart murmur. Nothing. He is just one of those mystery puppies, that ones that add grey to your hair, fear to your heart, and tears to your eyes. In 17+ years of breeding, I have never struggled so hard with a puppy. I will say this, though – he’s a fighter, and I’m one as well, and I’m not letting him go that easily. I will stick it out with him as long as he can. I challenge anyone to stare at his tiny face and do otherwise.

His black brindle sister remains as fat, shiny and contented as a seal, luxuriating in free flowing, all you can drink breast milk. She naps, squawks, climbs the sides of the pen, and yawns puppy breath into your face when you pick her up. She’s starting to make eye contact, and takes a few tentative, mostly backwards, steps. She seems huge, but mostly that’s just in comparison to her tiny little brother. He seems to prefer sleeping on top of her now, and she occasionally wakes up to a face full of her brother’s belly.

Below the cut, you can see some photos of both pups, a few of which clearly and painfully illustrate just how much difference there is between the two of them in size. They are two weeks old as of today.

Maine Puppy Mill Bust Update

I have some additional information regarding the Maine puppy mill bust that I reported on yesterday. If you are in Maine and interested in possibly fostering one of the Frenchies rescued, or know someone in Maine who might be willing to do so, please pass along this information I received from Charlotte Creeley of FrenchBulldogVillage.Com –

Someone else in the Frenchie community very kindly passed this on to me last week:

>This is very close to where I work and one of the two shelters that will
>be taking the dogs is my local shelter which I’ve both volunteered with
>and worked with as a rescue group for many years. They are being
>bombarded with emails and phone calls and asked me to pass on the
>following information regarding the seizure of Heidi Frasca’s dogs, as
>there are too many emails/phone calls to be able to answer all
>individually at this time.
>
>There is confirmed Giardia, ringworm and Sarcoptic mange on site. The
>shelters know all the risks with Ivermectin with the Shelties and other
>breeds in concern and are treating them with caution. Though offers to
>groom and socialize the dogs are greatly appreciated, no one will is
>allowed on site since it is private property.
>
>No dogs can be moved for another 2 weeks until the most infectious
>diseases are under control and then the shelters will be calling on
>rescue groups to foster most of the purebred dogs as there are so many
>mixes the shelters will have to absorb. They can’t possibly handle all
>these dogs on their own. These dogs cannot to be evaluated prior to
>going to rescues as getting an accurate reading is impossible in the
>conditions the dogs are in.
>
>This case is likely to go for a year, so long term fosters will be needed.
>Very sad situation…but fortunately the dogs will be out of there and
>being cared for with fosters. We’re needed now for the dogs and will be
>needed later for support in court, I’m sure!
>
>Chris Harriman
>Maine K9 Rescue and
>German Shepherd Rescue of New England, Inc.
>
>Sandy Cody wrote:
>> Please crosspost to get the word out. Thanks.
>>
>> video link
>> http://www.wlbz2.com/video/news/player.aspx?aid=24387&sid=69286&bw=
>>
>> newspaper article
>> http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=129268&ac=PHnws

Unfortunately, we cannot foster in MA, even if they did consider letting the dogs out of state, since NONE of the four French Bulldog rescues are on the approved list for out of state rescues, and – like most of the purebred rescues – operate under the radar for instate rescues, with the tacit permission of the DOA. We can, however, donate money, and local people from Maine can foster – to help, contact the Animal Welfare Society of Kennebunk at 207-985-3244. Any persons in Maine wishing to foster, and looking for an instate French Bulldog rescue group sponsor, we will be happy to provide the funding through the FBVillage, if you qualify as a volunteer – our volunteer application is on our website at www.frenchbulldogvillage.com.

Charlotte Creeley, Esq.
cccpups@aol.com
cccreeley@comcast.net

Again, please – if you are in Maine, or know someone in Maine, and interested in fostering one of the Frenchies taken in this raid, please contact the Animal Welfare Society of Kennebunk at 207-985-3244. French Bulldog Village has kindly and generously offered to help cover and medical bills fostered Frenchies might accrue.

If you know of anyone in Maine that might be able to help, please pass this along, or cross post to your own blog or mailing list.

Don’t forget – photos after the cut, or see the whole set on Flickr. Read more →