Lexi's Pups Six Months On

Back in February we enjoyed an emotional day when Apollo and Lexi's puppies left our care for their adoptive homes. Those pups are now six months old, and here we catch up with a few of them and their pawrents.

First we catch Evie, adopted by Cathy and Chris.

We we are a retired couple who live in the Norfolk countryside with an enclosed acre field for our GSDs, and so were in a position to offer one of the Welfare puppies a loving home. We had/have two boys: George 6 and Milo who was only 11 months old at that time. Sadly we'd lost our girl Meggie Moo to a tumour on the spleen which had then burst, she was only 9 yrs old and we were devastated.  

We certainly had room in our hearts and our home for a new little girl, but weren’t actively considering getting another puppy at the time.  Then the pups were born and Debbie said that Welfare were giving first consideration to people who had previously adopted from Welfare. Although being long time supporters over 30 years we had never adopted. Then I saw Debbie’s post about two pups looking for homes and I contacted her and asked if any girls were available.  And the rest as they say is history 😁. 

Evie settled in really well with us and our boys, in fact, I would say she chose us… I sat on the grass and she came running to me. This is amazing as she really is cautious in nature and takes time to get to know new people, not worried at all but she does things at her own pace. We feel blessed to have her in our lives and she has gone a long way to healing our hearts after the loss of our darling Meggie Moo.  We can’t thank GSDWF enough for the opportunity of letting Puppy Evie share our lives. 

Jane also shared some lovely photos of Jackson with us.

Young Dickie Hill is probably the more famous of the litter with his own social media channels (you can follow him on Facebook here -  https://www.facebook.com/DickiesDiary), and was adopted by our chairman Debbie Hill.

  

The day these wonderful puppies were born, is a day that I wont forget easily. Just over eight weeks previously we had taken in a male and female GSD that had been presented at the vets for euthanasia. They were so frightened that we couldn’t touch them. This particular day, 10th December 2021, I had visited the kennels to get updates on our 

Welfare dogs. I had interacted with several of the dogs and then they brought out Apollo (the male of the pair that had come from the vets). I was blown away with his progress. He interacted with me and was no longer the terrified boy that I had brought here. When it was time for Apollo to go back to his kennel, the kennel owner told me she was fetch Lexi (the female from the pair). I waited, quite excited to see how she had progressed. 

Nadine came back out of the kennels and shouted something to which her husband Craig went running over. He then came out and called me over. I was getting a bit worried that something had happened to one of our dogs. In no way did I expect to hear what they told me. Lexi had a puppy. I went and looked, and sure enough, there she was laying on her bed with a puppy. We all sprung into action. Nadine, who had a wonderful bond with Lexi, went in to help her and supervise the birth. Craig was arranging another kennel for her, where she would have more privacy and I went off to source a whelping box and all the nutritious food mum would need.

A total of 9 puppies were born but sadly mum lay on one, despite having roll bars in the whelping box. And so began this new journey. It was quite worrying that not only were these puppies born in rescue, but mum and dad were both nervous so not the best temperaments to be producing puppies, and also, we had the madness that the pandemic had brought about in the dog world. The market was flooded with puppies.

We couldn’t do anything about the parents’ temperaments, but we could give the pups the best start possible. We took advise from behaviourist Lisa Hird and from day one we provided stimulation for the puppies. Different obstacles and surfaces. As the days passed, we watched their characters emerge. Cuteness overload! We took them on car journeys to the pet shop. We needed these pups to be bomb proof.

The thought of finding the right homes for these puppies was terrifying. The world and his wife were asking for them, but we were concerned people were seeing them as a chance to have a cheap puppy. They had not had the best start in life, being born in rescue, we wanted to do our very best to ensure that they found forever homes. We decided that we would give first refusal to our members and to people that had adopted our dogs previously. We were very lucky in that the homes we found were all people known to us, or recommended to us by trusted friends.

At six weeks, we started the puppy parties, introducing the pups to their potential pawrents. As the pups all came running out, exuberant and full of confidence, I couldn’t have been any prouder of them. We paired them with their potential parents and I almost sighed with relief. I felt really comfortable with the selection we had made.

The day for the pups to go off to their new homes came around so quickly. It was a very bittersweet moment. We were so pleased and proud to see them starting their new adventure, but by the same token, it was sad to see them go. We have a Facebook group, especially for the puppies so that we can all keep in touch and share the highs and lows that having a puppy can bring and offer each other advice. It has been amazing to watch their progress and see them grow.

Sadly, one of the pups, Sparkle, was taken ill. She was diagnosed with a brain degenerative disease which means she suffers seizures and has trouble using her back legs. Her pawrents have been amazing and have done everything in their power to get her the right treatment. Unfortunately, this is the risk of breeding from dogs with no health tests. Most back street breeders do not health test and this is precisely why we advise against it. In this instance, we had no choice. Lexi had come to us already in whelp. Also, when adopting rescue dogs, you never really know their background. That said, there is so much more to gain from adopting a rescue dog.

Although I had no intention of adding to “my gang”, one of the pups really took a liking to me. He was the naughtiest and was always at the centre of the mischief. I did worry what would happen when he was adopted. I had a home lined up for him and they came and met him, but then changed their minds at the last minute. It seemed fated that he should come home with me. Mr Green became Dickie Hill.

Dickie is a working dog, although working in media rather guarding a flock from wolves :-) He helps us promote Welfare and the work we do. We desperately need to educate people so that so many dogs do not find themselves in rescue. He features in training videos, not only demonstrating the effectiveness of positive reinforcement, but also sharing the fun of growing up as a pup. He recently made his first public appearance on behalf of Welfare at a street collection helping to raise funds for us and was a star.

We are so proud of all these puppies, and eternally thankful to their adopters for giving them the most amazing homes that we could ever have wished for. We may all be a bit greyer and a few more wrinkles but we are all ready for the next six months of our journey.

Sincere thanks to all our supporters that were there for us when the puppies were born. Also, heart felt thanks to Lisa Hird for her continued support.