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????

Day two...

The "Hollywood Five" slept through the night without crying and were happy, happy, happy to see me this morning... Especially when they realized I'm the 'food person'... 

From left to right in the photo ... Bogart, Bardot, Bronson, DeNiro and Garbo... They are very closely bonded with each other...  And unlike some litters who can be vicious with each other, no squabbling amongst them!  I'm amazed... And I believe I've gotten kisses from each one by now... Sweeeeeeeeeeet pups!


This morning we began our day by getting sweaters on... That was a joy AND a job!  (smile)... 

Bardot was the first to get one on and once put back in with her siblings, everyone else had to check it out!!... Don't ya just love DeNiro's little butt!  What a little cutie he is (he's the runt of the litter and the others treat him very nicely too)... 

Oddly enough, we did a mobile adoption event at the Barkley this past Sunday... There was a vendor there selling a particular line of sweaters we really like (Zack & Zoey)... It is pretty hard to keep sweaters on Chihuahuas, and none really stay a long time if a pup or adult wants them off, but these seem to stay on better then most... As it turns out, I bought all of the Zack & Zoey sweaters the vendor had in the sizes of XXS and XS... I really didn't need them, but I couldn't pass them up for some odd reason... Little did I know that this week would bring 5 pups that needed them!  Isn't it amazing how things work out at times?

Sweaters on, meds are done, breakfast has been served, play time is over and now they're taking a nap!. 

First step on the journey....

It seems that TLC (Tiny Loving Canines) will receive an email from anywhere in a 50 mile radius when the situation involves a Chihuahua.  Apparently a litter of five Chihuahua pups were dumped in the nightbox at Riverside County Animal Control on earlier this week (approximately October 17th).  I started getting emails on Tuesday... 

As we don't normally pull from Riverside County, I assumed rescues who do would step up and take on this litter of five, so I ignored the first few emails...  By about the 30th email in my box, it dawned on me no one else either had space (not like we do), others did not want to take on the whole litter or didn't want to deal with the demodex which is a long term, but labor intensive rescue and can be costly...

While I waited to hear that they were safe, I started thinking about the back-up plan for the plan should no one rescue this litter... Finally, I inquired about the litter to learn that no one was going to take the entire litter and keep them together through the rehab... And we as a rescue, started trying to find a way to transport this litter... 

Cindy (Sorenson) began this journey as their first guardian angel... She advocated their safety and agreed to get them out of the shelter if we could find transportation from a halfway point (Riverside / Simi Valley)... I reached out to our volunteers to see if anyone could transport... Three stepped up, including Sandy's husband who offered to pick them up and fly them into us... 

At the end, Holly drove and Gherry went along to help... Cindy picked up the litter on Thursday morning and drove the first leg, meeting Holly and Gherry for the second leg of the journey... As Gherry has taken on the fostering of our 2 blind Chi puppies (Peanut and Butter) to make room for this litter of five at my home, it was decided it made more logical sense for us to do the 3rd leg start at his home... 

The 'Hollywood 5' arrived yesterday afternoon in Thousand Oaks and Gherry tended to their needs until I could pack up Peanut and Butter for him... I arrived in the afternoon with their 'crib', food, pitty pads, etc. and was shocked when I saw the litter... Not as bad as our BabyLove was with secondary infections, I just can't believe someone dumped these five pups in an overnight drop box at a shelter.... (sigh)... 

We did our 'puppy exchange' and I headed home... The pups were pretty quiet for the trip but stunk to high heaven between the demo and some 'presents' in the two large kennels...

Once home, the task began to weigh, photograph and get their medicated bath and meds routine going... I (unwisely) chose Garbo as the first one... Turns out, the litter is TIGHTLY bonded and once bathed, dried off and medicated, she was NOT going to stay in the Xpen as I proceeded on to take care of her siblings... 

I grabbed DeNiro next, worried about his small size and being lethargic, having set Garbo down in the Xpen already set up and waiting... I hadn't even started his bath when Garbo climbed out of the Xpen and flew over to the kennels where the rest of her littermates were... I put her back in the Xpen, she climbed back out immediately... I put her in again, she'd climb out (as I was still holding DeNiro)... 

I'm not sure if it became a game to her or what, but it turned into a 'Laurel and Hardy' routine...  Oh yes, she'd give me lots of kisses but as soon as I set her down, she'd start climbing all over again... 

I finally improvised a makeship 'top' to the Xpen and managed to get DeNiro into his awaiting bath... 

He's small and tiny, but seemed to be more interested in food than climbing (thankfully)...

I thought I had the climbing situation under control and after reaching in to pick up Bogart, Garbo decided she was NOT going to stay in the Xpen no matter what... A phone call to my daughter was made to ask her to bring home an Xpen top from one of the other volunteers was promptly made as I used bungee cords to secure the Xpen with a puppy gate I happened to have here...

After putting Garbo back in the for upteenth time, I returned to Bogart, snapped the photo and then started his bath...  Of the five, Bogart's feet are the worst ones - they are swollen up like pontoons on a flying bi-plane... It must be painful for him, but he didn't even cry as I soaped them up along with the rest of him in the medicated shampoo... 

He too was very interested in dinner and stayed put as I then started with Bardot... Both she and Bronson seemed laid back (so far),  but it could be the long, LONG journey they had throughout the day too... 

Finally it was Bronson's turn and he had sat quietly throughout all of this, waiting for his turn at leaving a poopy kennel and into a nice warm bath... 

Two and a half hours later, all five were nicely bathed, tucked into a nice warm velour blankee and ready to sleep off the exhaustion (as well as I was~)...


Long day, but their first day's journey has been undertaken and accomplished thanks to the vast amount of help and networking amonmg the humane community... 


THANK YOU every one for insuring these dogs were not left to die!!!