Precious Cargo: The Journey Continues: The Girls are Back in Town

I suspect the Penny Foundation thinks I'm a jinx. First there was Mickey, the sweetheart lab/pit bull who took over a month to get a home. Then there was Murphy who, sweet as he can be if he likes you, can't seem to find someone he likes enough to finally get a home.

And now it's the three amigos.

The one named Charmaine has been renamed Baja (much better), and is currently enjoying the good life in a foster home in Beverly Hills. Not bad for a whiney runt from Mexico.

As for Loki and Shia, their journey was a bit more troubled (karma, perhaps for beating up the little one?). They were also enjoying Beverly Hills for a few days and then were headed back up to the pet store to sit in the window, play all day, and get adopted. However, within a few hours of being there, it was suspected they were sick. They were rushed to the vet where no signs of sickness were present, and ended up in boarding there until Saturday morning.

Eric, who had kindly taken in Mickey after I no longer could, was once again willing to tag in and take these two pups off my hands too, but not until Sunday afternoon. So, Christy asked if I could take them Friday night. I was working and no one could transport them before the vet closed, so at 9am Saturday morning before work, I picked up the little tykes.

I have to give many thanks to my co-worker who, learning that I meant to take on these pups for a couple of days, allowed me to borrow her x-pen so the pups could play safely while I worked as well as a wire crate so I could transport them safely while seeing out my side mirrors.

And the biggest gift of all from her: many many peepads.

To begin, let's get the names straight: I had named the black and tan Loki and the beige one Shia. This was before we received the paperwork with their names or someone else re-named them. Friday, I was told their names were Lucy and Pixie respectfully (interesting how Loki and Lucy are quite similar in sound--clearly her personality indicates that sort of sounding name). When I arrived at the vet's, they found none of the four names, but had two puppies brought in together named Stormy and Thunder.< Talk about identity crisis. I confirmed they were the dogs I was to take, but their neat little harnesses had been taken off when they arrived, and my harnesses were too big. So, after some ridiculous maneuvering and lots of patience from both me and the girls, I got them inside the wire crate which I had lined with my ever handy towels.

Fast forward ten minutes later as I'm almost to work, and look over to see Pixie start the ever-recognizable motion of "I'm going to hurl." Seconds later, she pukes. I tell her it's okay, but since she's inside a locked crate, I can't get at her or the puke. Oh, but Loki can.

So for the next three minutes, I'm driving while poking my figures through the cage trying to get Loki to stop eating her sister's puke and trying to convey to Pixie that it's okay that she puked and we'll be stopping soon.

Delightful. Did I mention it's not even 9:30am yet?

I must convey my thanks to the security guard who let me park illegally near my office while I hauled up the doggie playpen, baby gate, food, toys, etc. and left the pups in the car briefly. They made it upstairs on my second trip and I was happy to learn I'd have the entire office to myself for a couple of hours before anyone else got in for the day.

And when the boys did come in, they each had their own play time with the pups, even though Loki and Pixie need their nails trimmed and don't get that people aren't as rugged as they are and don't appreciate being bitten.

And these two are pretty rugged girls. They still go head to head and match each other well, although I noticed Pixie's new name also brought with her some new confidence as she took on Loki. (I just couldn't call her Lucy--I tried, but she's still Loki to me).

Peepads smell. Puppy pee smells. As does dog poop. It's hard to get these dogs to go outside to pee and poop since they give so little warning. It takes a few minutes to get out down the hall, in the elevator, and out the front door. So I spent most of my day putting peepads and crapbags (I don't know if that's an official word, but I'm using it) into plastic bags in an effort to keep the room smelling better.

But I'm sure you don't want to hear about that. You're here for the puppy pictures. So here they are:

At the end of my day, I left the playpen for my co-worker and had another co-worker of mine help me haul my stuff and the pups down to the parking garage. Leaving work was far easier than arriving.

I had finally opted to use my giant harnesses for the girls since the collars Christy had given me weren't working well. But taking two puppies for a walk is just as un-protective as trying to get three to do what you want. There was no peeing or pooping; just exploring and putting everything in their mouths. My friend told me her child has reached the point where she's mobile now; which means you can't look away for even a second and spend most of your time taking something inedible and inappropriate out of the child's mouth: grass, twig, carpet, etc. It's the same with puppies.

So once we got inside, lo and behold, they stopped and peed on the carpet.

This is why puppies are cute. So we don't get upset when they don't understand that peeing isn't appropriate everywhere.

After an evening of much play and snuggles, I put them back into their crate and put them in my bedroom while I got ready for bed. Baja had been the whiney one, so I was surprised when these two howled for my return from down the hall. I returned to see that although a part of them wanted me to return, their biggest problem was the dog outside the cage. Loki stared and curled her lip and let out some playbarks to this intruder:

It's a testament to the artistry that Loki thought this was a real dog.

Perhaps being able to see out the wire crate wasn't a good idea. So, I put together the giant airline crate thinking this would help them sleep and they'd stop crying. And they had; once I had finished making the crate, the two were asleep in the wire crate. I moved them over (my time was not going to be wasted), and went to bed. Thirty seconds later, I turned the light back on to find they had discovered the corners of the towels and were eating them. I didn't want to wake up to find one of them had choked to death, so I took out all extraneous towels, laid back the towel so no corners were evident and put them back in.

My reward: six hours of sleep.

At 6am, I was awoken and decided that since I had the harnesses, I'd give them a chance to pee outside. However, the two of them together wasn't going to get the job done. I took Pixie out first, and just as she ran to the corner of the yard to pee, Loki let out baleful barks, entreating me to come back--and waking up my neighbors.

I bustled back, got Loki out, put her on a leash, and rather than risk having Pixie bark while I took Loki out, I carried Pixie while Loki was supposed to be finding a place to pee. It took her longer, as she's easily distracted--especially by the fact that I was carrying her sister and not her.

Five long minutes later, we were back inside for some play time.

Play, nap, and I put them back to bed for another two hours. As much as I enjoyed snoozing on the couch with them, sleeping in my own bed is nice for longer stays of slumber.

Yes, puppies are a hassle and I'm not about to get one for myself any time soon,but sometimes moments like these make up for it all. I mean, for me, this is a fabulous way to spend a Sunday morning:

I didn't have to clean up as much pee and poo today, and I got to watch them play and run as well as have some cuddle time.

Loki already has some interested parties, so she might be adopted by this coming weekend. As for Pixie, she's not getting as many hits, but I'm hoping she will soon. If you know someone interested in the LA area, please send them the girls' links:

Lucy (a.k.a. Loki): http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/16439045

Pixie: http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/16438935

Baja: http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/16438961

They'll be here for one week only. Snatch 'em up, or they'll be headed to our neighbor to the north where they'll forever be Canadian citizens.

And finally, your puppy fix for the week: