Miss Darby was found by the Baltimore Area Dog Police on May 30th, she was close to starving in an abandoned warehouse, surely the only place she felt safe at the time to birth her 9 beautiful babies. We believe that Darby spent 2 weeks here, alone, starving, enduring in climate weathers, through it all keeping all nine of her puppies alive. When the BARCS Volunteers laid eyes on her, she was nothing but skin and bones. During her week long stay in the shelter she proved to be very friendly and an incredibly good Momma! Helping The Helpless stepped in and brought Darby and her little rock stars home on June 7th.
We are confident that Darby is finally feeling some relief and peace knowing that she now has a constant source of food, water and shelter for her and her babies. Darby has a long road a head of her, she has a lot of weight that she needs to gain to maintain herself and her babies. She is, through it all, the most devoted and loving Momma to her puppies. She lays all day long allowing them to nurse, not one complaint. She is exhausted as she barely has enough nutrition to keep herself healthy and what little she has is going to her little rock stars. She is still extremely emaciated, every rib cage and her pelvic bones are all visible, she is just skin and bones.
All of this tho and she is the sweetest of Angels! Since she won't get up to eat herself while the puppies are nursing, which is 24/7, we sit and hand feed her. She is eating over 6 cups per day and taking extra Calcium, DHA, Omega 3's, Pro biotics, Vitamin A, Vitamin E and Glucosomine to keep herself and her babies healthy! She is just the sweetest girl, she knows she's safe now and is very grateful. She shows it by continuing to be the incredible Momma she is and allowing us to help her when needed. Darby stole my heart at first site, her dedication and devotion to her little lives is remarkable.
June 10th, 2009
Darby already knows the morning routine...she gets so excited when she sees me in the morning, not because it's me but because she knows she's getting her morning meal! Her tail wags with delight and what little energy she has is exhausted in her excitement! She comes out of her crate, the only time of the day she will leave her nursing puppies behind, even if their still latched on:-) She eats, puppies are pulled out and their bedding gets changed. She takes a break from eating every so often to check on her babies then lays patiently back in her crate waiting for me to replace her babies and they vigorously begin nursing once again. Every day she seems to regain some energy, her tail wags happily to greet me and she continues to show her gratitude for the situation she has found her and her family in. We are blessed to have her here! Tho she eats the hamburger and rice, it's
NO WAY to the asparagus and apples, ha, go figure!
Tonight is really the first night that Darby ventured out of her crate to visit with me, other than to do her business on the newspaper or for her morning feeding. I could hear her tail thumping at the crate from the moment I walked into the room. She immediately came out to greet me with her little butt wiggling with excitement. I cleaned up her business and re laid newspaper where she promptly tinkled again. All through she just kept nudging me for pets and scratches. I laid down a towel that I was going to put the puppies on so I could clean their bedding and down goes Darby, looking up at me with those soulful eyes saying 'I just want some human time, I need a little break from being a Mommy!' We sat together for some quality time and I and fed her dinner. No sooner was she done being scratched, loved and fed that she insisted on venturing back in to check on her babies :-) What a sweetheart! She's finally re gaining her energy enough to show us that she really does enjoy human affection! Off to the Vet's tonight for a heart worm test, exam and nail clipping! Wish us well!
June 11th, 2009
"So now that I have some strength, thanks to the great food and supplements I now have an endless supply of, I thought I would begin telling the rest of my story...My Foster Mom took my babies and I to the Vet tonight for a check up. OK, here is where I get to gloat...all 9 of my little rock stars are 100% healthy, even my littlest, the one that these humans call 'the runt,' if you ask me she's just my little angel. I am such a good mom that I just let them take everything that I had from me and because of that, even in my condition, all of my babies pleasantly surprised the Doctors at their incredible growth and health! I'm such a great Momma! As for me, that's a little different. Other than the obvious weight I need to gain and the healthy coat I'm looking forward to having some day, I also have cataracts in my left eye and the Vet's were able to explain to my Foster Mom that I most likely only saw blurred visions from this eye. When I am about 10 years old (approx. 8 years from now) I may end up being blind in both eyes. This sadly is due to my malnutrition as a puppy. I also have a stage 3 Heart Murmur. With all of this my Doctors still expect me to live a decent and happy life with the right owner, a Human who understands my possible special needs as a 'geriatric' dog. On the good side, I was Heart Worm negative! My Foster Mom is going to treat my ears for the slight infection and keep me on wholesome food and hearty supplements. I was so well behaved for the Doctors, let them check my teeth, look in my ears, clip my nails and draw blood! I happily met them both with a wagging tail and was thankful to come back home. I will be honest; I thought my Foster Mom was taking me to yet another place during the ride to the Vets! I gave her those sad eyes and she promised me that we would come back home, we did and all of my puppies were happy to be re united and latched on immediately! Earlier today I spent some quality time with these little 2 legged people, my Foster Mom said one was 3 yo and the little girl was only 2yo, they were very sweet, fed me treats and I let them pet my babies, they did so very gently so I licked their little hands to say thank you! I look forward to spending more time with them soon. I've had a long day so it's time to call it a night!" ~ Darby
"p.s. keep your eyes open for mine and my babies adoption info on this site! My Foster Mom is going to list our information now in hopes to have homes waiting for us when we're ready! I for one will need a very special home and she's hoping that the sooner people know that I need that home, the better my chances are of finding one some day!"
June 13th, 2009
"Well, I had a bath today and I weathered it well! I cannot remember the last time that I felt water other than from mucky puddles or being caught in the rain! I smell so nice and look SO pretty, or so my Foster Mom tells me! I was a little apprehensive about the whole situation, but I stood there and let them scrub me, clean my ears and dry me off as tho it barely fazed me. I still love to curl up on my Foster Mom's lap for good quality time to be scratched and loved. I get so excited every time I see her and literally purr while she scratches behind my ears, often times I fall sound asleep! I'm just the sweetest girl! ~ Darby
June 23rd, 2009
So I have gained some much needed weight, even through sustaining 9 nursing babies and a heart murmur! My Foster Mom estimates that I have put on about 7lbs! I look terrific and she is working on posting up dated pictures of me soon, I am beautiful! My coat looks great too thanks to healthy food and nutritional supplements! I continue to be a doll, very gentle, docile and sweet. My babies have started weaning and eating puppy food which works for me! Their getting little teeth and their nails aren't very fun during nursing! My Foster Mom started my daily walking routine with me now that the babies don't need to nurse as frequently and are becoming less susceptible to illness. I walk beautifully on a leash and greeted strangers with affection. I even met some of the other dogs today in my foster home and I just loved them! I don't get too excited at play; just calmly enjoy their company, lounging outside with them, lying on the soft doggie bed. I very much enjoyed my time this afternoon with the 'children' in my foster home, one is 7 years old and the other two are 3 and 4 years old. I watched them run around, ride their bikes and color chalk on the sidewalk. Every now and again they would come over to give me attention and I just ate it up! I do like these little people! Now that my babies are almost weaned, it sounds like I will be revisiting the Doctor for another physical and to check on my heart murmur. Please remember to visit frequently for updates and new pictures! ~ Darby
