Bella's Arrival!

I normally watch several local shelters -- or people contact me when they see a Chihuahua at one...

At the beginning of this week, I'd gotten an email about four Chihuahua puppies that had shown up at a local shelter I don't normally watch... I debated with myself mentally about this because bottle-feeding puppies can be an overwhelming task, but the idea of them potentially dying at the shelter just preyed on my mind... Many of them don't make it without their momma and enough staff to take it all on...

When I called about the puppies (expecting that they had been left there by someone who'd wanted the mom --- or parents --- but not the puppies), much to my surprise I learned that the mom was also at the shelter.... Whew~!!!... But now what?

I debated back and forth within myself over this for at least a day or two... I haven't had a litter of puppies since I was a teenager, and my last litter of kittens was at least 15 years ago before I got out of the cattery business (yes, I was one of those who bred purebred cats sad to say - until I realized we were being over-run by a massive amount of unwanted companion pets at the shelters)...

I went to bed that night with this momma and her pups on my mind, woke up with the same thoughts and continued to worry about her throughout the next day... Until I could take it no longer and had to talk to my family about her as well as a dear friend...

Make a long story short, on Thursday my daughter and I drove to the shelter to ascertain this momma's size and temperament... Then yesterday, we drove back, pulled momma and her entire litter... On the way there, we started discussing possible female Spanish names for her and her puppies... We needed to come up with at least five and as my daughter is driving, I'm searching the Internet for suggestions!

Once at the shelter, the kennel manager cautioned me slightly about the 'not-so-happy' personality of this mom, and I knew already that the mom had every reason to be exhibiting a slightly irritable disposition...

She'd been dumped at Hanson Dam (a popular local spot to dump dogs) either pregnant or had already delivered her four female puppies... Then picked up and taken to a shelter that was doing the best it could, but the extreme amount of smells, sounds and craziness of an animal shelter is just not the environment for a new mom nor a Chihuahua on their best of days... I'd be 'not-so-happy' myself, but I assured the kennel manager this was not bothering me for I expected it... But we'd already seen her the day before and had had the kennel door opened so we could get a better look at her, so I didn't think there would be any surprises...

(smile)... Teach me to think, huh?...

Walking away with the paperwork to another desk to pay the bail-out fees, I thought they had made a mistake... On the paper I read 'mom and 5 unweaned puppies'... "Ah, there must be an error here because there's a mom and only 4 puppies"... "No, that's right because there are 4 female puppies and 1 male"...

HUH~~????

"Did you change your mind?".... "Ah, no... I guess it's OK..."... (just not what I had expected nor anticipated)... And then we heard more of momma's story...

Sidetracking here... For lack of time, we'd tossed out the name "Bella" and it seemed to fit (in Spanish it means 'beauty' or 'beautiful', although it has a Latin origin and is common in Italian as well)... Accordingly, we'd already started referring to momma as "Bella" and although we'd come up with a few other Spanish female names, we hadn't considered any male names... UT OH...

I'm standing in line at the shelter waiting to pay, and the full consequences of all of this just hit me emotionally and mentally... Apparently Bella had been dumped at Hanson's Dam but had already delivered her first puppy - the male... Once at the shelter, they'd gotten a bit backed up in medical and when they came back to check on her (expecting to see just her and her puppy), they also had a surprise... Unable to hold off any longer, she delivered four more (female) puppies at the shelter after her arrival... Many of the shelters abort unborn puppies simply because there are so many dogs that now die because of a lack of homes and willing adopters...

I'm told by my husband that Hanson Dam is a popular spot for dumping not only dogs, but dead bodies, stolen cars, rapes in progress, etc... Besides that, there are not only coyotes but owls that are as big as medium-sized dogs... Bella herself is not that big (even lactating with five puppies born just four days ago), she's not quite nine pounds... And I could easily hold three or four of these puppies in my cupped hands - they are that small... About the size of a mouse more or less...

Isn't it amazing how God works in his timing and plans?... He's got it all figured out... I am BEYOND humbled with how this all unfolded in front of me this week... (clearing my throat here...)

Once home yesterday, we settled Bella into the Xpen I'd set up for her and then it was lunchtime around here... My crew weren't that interested in the new arrival (they're sorta/kinda used to this), but more interested in what I was cooking~!!... (smile)... My daughter is absolutely fascinated by it all and I had to restrain her from touching or picking up any of the puppies... Bella thoroughly enjoyed lunch, and then immediately went back to her puppies...

I'd put a pitty pad inside of the Xpen, expecting she'd not want to go very far from her puppies... After all, she's still a new mom and they're only 4 days old... Throughout the afternoon, she was interested in the smells and sounds she'd heard around her, but I wouldn't say I found her temperament "irritating"... Protective as a mom?... Yes, for she growled at any of my crew who got too nosey, sniffing at the fleece drapes I'd laid across the Xpen sides... But she seemed friendly enough and readily took bits of chicken from our hands...

Six hours later, without warning, she attempted to climb out of the Xpen and I couldn't account for that other than she must have had to go potty and didn't want to inside the house... So I carried her outside and boy, did she have to go!... She'd widdled earlier on the pitty pad and I'd been checking it to make sure everything was functioning OK... I wasn't worried I'd not seen very much, but I was astounded with all that had gone on throughout the day, she still was that well trained to restrain herself...

Bella might not be one of those 'perfectly-bred' Chihuahuas and in fact, is probably a Chihuahua mix... Hard to tell right now because she just delivered a boat-load of puppies and there's no telling what her past was before she arrived at the shelter... Neither ear is totally erect like Chihuahuas normally have, and she's a bit fat from the delivery on Monday... She's solid black with a white star on her chest and she's been so busy feeding these pups and so many strange events in just one day, even a Chi with the greatest amount of self-esteem wouldn't be walking around with that tail up and curled over...

Shelter time is hard on Chihuahuas anyway, not only physically but mentally as well... Most get a bit crazed around day ten, in fact... TOO much stimulus going around for a breed that is always on high alert anyway... But her coat is in good shape, even for this week's experiences...

Considering Bella didn't know me from Adam, she readily came up into my arms and then allowed me to pick her back up several times outside once she was done going potty through the afternoon and evening... And she climbed out of the Xpen and into my daughter's arms once she came home from work as well...

Before I went to bed, Bella was actually coming to me when I called her to go back inside... I haven't attempted to pick up or handle any of her puppies... In fact, to transfer them from the kennel to the Xpen area, I used the fluffy blankee I'd put inside there after unscrewing the top off of the kennel... But I do believe dogs have instincts about who will harm them and who won't... I would not have taken it personally if she'd had growled at me or even had tried to bite or snap - that in fact would have been expected even if I'd raise her from a puppy myself!... What a sweet, sweet little pup she is... Such soulful eyes and yet?... She doesn't seem to be angry at the world for how we have already treated her as humans...

We're not sure which of the black ones are the male yet because it is difficult to tell right now between their small size and color... The brindle colored pup for sure is a female from the paperwork I got at the shelter... One of the puppies has the same white star chest markings as Bella does, but beyond that, we've not investigated to determine which is which...

Other than the unusual small occasional puppy cries, my crew is still not interested in either Bella nor the new smells... Not that I expected them to be... They are all such good pups, all rejected by the human race at some shelter as well... So I don't what to foresee in this new journey we've all undertaken, but this has already proven to be an unbelievable experience...

Hugs, Linda

P.S. Ready for some "AHHHHHS"??? Puppy pictures to melt your soul!