What a difference a month can make....

It is a just a month since the "Hollywood" litter arrived and they have made remarkable progress... This is what they looked like when we first got them:

Two weeks later, Bronson went from this:

And at four weeks, Bronson is healthy and ready for adoption (our 'Curious George') of the bunch!

Originally, Garbo was the one who was 'all out there' - here she is at two weeks of our care:

And now at four weeks, Garbo has grown into our shy girl of the bunch... Her two brothers have gotten larger and she's been more apt to give them their way in just about anything!  But isn't that what a big sister is supposed to do?


Bogart got the worst of it in the litter of five... At two weeks:

And now at four weeks... Pretty 'dapper' now huh?  He still has the most progress of the five to go, but he is the most loving of the litter (even if he is the biggest one!)... :)

Bardot is in the mid range of her rate of progress... Here she is at 2 weeks:

And now at 4 weeks - Bardot is a 'crack up' too... Her photos don't show this, but she is a happy, happy puppy, ready to play and if someone is not, willing to keep at it until she sparks a game of something or other... She's also the one I refer to as our 'naked child'... Put a sweater or something on her and Bardot is apt to do her UTMOST to get it off in any manner she can!

Our little DeNiro is the runt of the litter... He's gentle and kind, more likely to respond to gentle handling and cuddling... Here he is at 2 weeks:

And he's just a major snuggle bunny, so I don't think he can take a bad picture - here he is at 4 weeks:

Amazing what a little TLC can do, huh?

 

Almost two weeks later...

It is almost two weeks now since I took over fostering the 'Hollywood Kids' (now numbering 6)... But of the first original five, they sat for me today and got updated photos taken.

Each has developed into unique and special personalities as their health conditions improved.... 

Bogart has become my husband's personal favorite and the pup waits to meet him at the door each evening as my husband comes home from work... Bogart is the worst of the five and his progress - although at the same rate - had an unique challenge to overcome... Bogart did not much more for the first week but lay under the covers and sleep... Walking was pretty darn painful on those huge swollen pads of feet he had... I remember thinking one day that when my feet hurt, I hardly want to move on them - what if my hands were hurting just as badly?   That must be how Bogart (now called "Bogey" around here) felt on a day to day basis... 

Bronson had the least amount of damage done by the demodex... From the beginning, he was the most active one of the five... It turns out he is a white and tan as his coat grows back in, and he's not going to be that big at all... Maybe 5 pounds at the max as an adult... 

I'm hard pressed to pick my fav... I absolutely adore DeNiro's little 'floppy ear, ga-lump, ga-lump' run/walk... And it never fails to make me laugh when I see him run after the big guys... He's the most shy one in the bunch, and it probably has to do with his small size - he's about 3 pounds and I don't expect him to get much bigger than 4 as an adult... 

But Bardot?... She's another one I love dearly... She's SOOOO kissy face and sweet... Pick her up and she'll smother you with kisses, and then clean your face all over again!... Her coat is not coming in as quickly and it is not much more than peach fuzz now... She's going to be a beauty when the treatments are done though... She has this way of sitting and looking at you --- almost like she is trying to read your mind or something along those lines... 

Finally there is Garbo... She's still the most mischievous of the crew...  If there is a barrier put up to keep the litter somewhere, she'll find a corner and worm her way out and then fence-race the others until she encourages at least Bardot to join her in the bid for freedom! (smile)... She's also sorta/kinda the mother figure in this crew - herding them around when need be and finding the food first, then woofing at the others about the news!

GREAT pups and easy enough to foster - all great personalities and now all potty trained too!  That's a blessing! 

Now the Hollywood Six...

We have a new edition to the demo crew... We've named him Rooney although he is not part of the Hollywood Five litter.... 

He's alone so as soon as he is well enough to be part of the puppy pack, we'll integrate him and allow them to adopt him.  Right now Rooney is too sick with an URI to be with the other demo pups but as soon as he is better, he'll meet his new BFFs to play the day away with!

BTW, the five demo pups are now all potty trained - WHEW!  What a job!

Bardot's got a new look!

All of the Hollywood Five are growing in peach fuzz now... And some are growing it faster than others... But as some get a bit healthier and their coats come in fuller, we've noticed that some are actually changing colors on us!  Bardot is going to be a black and tan - not just a black only pooch!

A whole week!

The Hollywood Five have been with me for a week now... And they have all turned into real love bugs!... My 'fav' is Bogart who finds me consistently, stands and looks at me with tail waggin' and I cannot help but to stop what I am doing and pick him up for cuddles... He's now walking about a bit more... His feet are still pretty swollen but at least they are no longer bright red and irritated...

They now have a few more buds to sleep with last night and it becomes a dog pile up... The other pups keep them warm, and because demos generate heat due to a lack of coat, the other pups get to receive back the favor!

I have never understood why demos become so absolutely sweet... Is it because they get so much extra handling with the baths, the meds, the sweaters, etc.?  Is it because they understand how bad things truly can be and so they appreciate a good foster home after the shelter?  Is it because slowly they start feeling better?... Dunno, but it happens to every demo dog I've ever fostered...

The Hollywood Five now run with the 'big boys' and are about 90% potty trained already... They sleep in a HUGE Xpen at night, but as soon as it is opened in the morning, they scamper outside to do their business!... And throughout the day, they go through the doggie door and continue to do their business in the backyard... Seldom do we have an accident inside the house and if needed, they use the pitty pads in their Xpens at night... But they're smart - they know the pitty pad is for nighttime use only and otherwise, they are to go outside... 

Bordot already has some peach fuzz growing back in all over... Scabbies are gone and the new coat is ready to rejuvenate itself... Bronson and Garbo are about 40% re-coated now... DeNiro and Bogart still have a ways to go... But we have made amazing progress in a very short time... 

I'm so proud of these five - and still can't believe someone opened a drop box in the middle of the night and abandoned them at a shelter... (sigh)... They don't have any idea how much they missed out in lovin' and sweet moments as these five are getting back on their feet!

I took video this week, so it should be posted very soon as well!

They

Bedtime... been a long day!

Well, we are back into our sweaters (with the exception of Bronson who took his off again) and cuddled up for bed now... 

We've had many emails asking how people can help, or offers to adopt one or two of the pups, etc.  Basically, about the only help we can use now is donations to cover their care for the next 6-8 weeks if you feel in a giving mood... You can donate at the website online - DONATE.  We'd had pulled this litter regardless of pledges or donations... Just the way we roll in TLC.

We try to blog about our hard cases in the hope that it encourages others to take these 'not so easy to adopt' dogs out of the local shelters... BabyLove REALLY had bad demodex and she eventually found her furever home... We currently have Peanut and Butter, a set of blind Chihuahua puppies...  And this is Paris' story - she just got spayed this week as a matter of fact... And our main blog is located HERE....

Back to the topic at hand, the Hollywood Five will not have regrown their coats and be ready for adoption until the first of the year (but please continue to follow their blog to see their progress)...

Once they are back up on their feet, they'll be spayed and neutered, micro-chipped, up to date on their shots including rabies, etc. before we put them up for adoption.

New collars....

The afternoon was spent playing with new toys, getting dried duck treats and fussing about their new collars... 

Just a normal kind of day, ya know?... <EG>...

Even DeNiro got into a tug of war over a duck treat! ... The little fart!

This is the sad side of demodex - the chaos it not only creates on the skin, but the layers beneath it... And the swollen feet as the toes themselves swell up and become painful to walk on... 

Demo pups feel extremely hot all the time but they get cold easily... And the smell?... Well, once you've smelled it, you never forget it...  

And for as miserable as these pups must feel, they were happy with the little things today... Not barkers, they were very content to be with each other and "regenerate their batteries"...They have been doing a lot of sleeping today, followed by food and water, a bit of playing gently with each other and napping all over again...


Watching them today and interacting with them, I just can't believe someone dumped these five pups in an overnight box at a shelter... This kind of health issue didn't occur overnight and will take just as long to correct, so why not take them to a vet and get them treated????