Birthday Electronics!

Yesterday was my birthday. A Fed-Ex sticker on the front door indicated that someone had tried to make a delivery. Today they were successful! Thank you Moe...this is SO exciting!

Naturally, the curious Cardigans were on hand to inspect the box. Enter Sage, just as I took the picture. And someone else peeking from behind.

There's Denali. Never one to miss out on happenings around the house.

And another great gift, the new HTC Droid Incredible cell phone. It is high time I upgraded (been over 5 years) and my mom's generous birthday present made it possible! (Thanks loads, Mom!)

Between these two it will take me till next year to figure out all the cool new features! But I am sure that Sage and Denali will help! Elbee - she'd rather talk in person!

Pupper Update #3 - He's Gone! (Sniff!)

With heavy heart and tearful eyes, I must report that Atticus is gone.

I know he was only five days old, but we're terribly brokenhearted. We wish him a better life on the other side of Rainbow Bridge.

In response to a prior comment, he was also being tube fed and had been given subQ fluids. He was being cared for by an experienced breeder, and had been since day #2 when we saw that he wasn't thriving. Sadly, it wasn't enough. Evidently it was not his time.

Farewell Atticus.
Be well on the other side.
We miss you.
We love you.

Pupper Update #2 - We have Names!

In the beginning, when a stuffie toy is bigger than you are!

I just talked to the foster person, Denise, who whelped these puppies and is raising them, with help from her experienced friend, Shannon (Huge thanks to you both!). 

We are very concerned about the little male, puppy #4. He's really struggling and the next 24 hours will probably tell us if he'll make it or not. Please keep sending those good wishes!

Regardless of the outcome for our little guy, we felt it was high time that all of them had names. We've given our valiant little puppy #4 a strong, heroic name, which he so deserves. He will be Atticus (from To Kill a Mockingbird).

Here are the names for the "Kansas Litter."

Puppy #1 - male, "Lucas"

Puppy #2 - female, "Abilene" (Abi for short)

Puppy #3 - male, "Dodge"

Puppy #4 - male, "Atticus"

Puppy #5 - female, "Viola" (Vi for short)

Puppy #6 - female, "Kismet"

Puppy #7 - male, "Logan"

Pupper Update #1 - Morgan Litter

Pile o' Puppies - Day #4

Morgan is doing well and proving to be a great mother.

The Puppy Pile

As you can see, there is some real disparity in size between some of these puppies. We have three that are decidedly smaller than the other four.  The two little girls and one little boy have been on supplemental feedings to help them keep up their strength and gain weight. They seem to be coming along, but these first days are critical - they're just so helpless at this point.

What about those tails? OK, we know that the U.S. breed standard says that this is a breed in which the tails are docked, although this is no longer done in the U.K.  But these are never going to be show dogs and the three little ones were weak enough that we just couldn't take the chance of stressing them with unnecessary surgery on day #3 when tail docking is done.  

Therefore, we will have a mixed bag with this litter. Four had their tails docked, three will keep their full tails.  Based on our previous experience in placing Pembrokes with full tails, there will be adopters out there who will be absolutely thrilled to have a dog with a full tail.  Believe me, we will have no trouble finding homes for them - and their tails!

Here's the smallest male, Puppy #4, getting some extra nourishment. 

Please send good wishes, prayers...any and all. He can really use the help!

Even the "big" ones are still pretty teeny. 

Here is one of the biggest males, Puppy #1.

Puppy #2. One of the two small girls with a tail.

And this other "big guy" is puppy #3.

Puppy #5 - a nice big girl!

Puppy #6 - the other small girl.

Puppy #7 - a robust male.

Next to do: Figure out some names for these pups. Stay tuned to see what their puppy names will be. Our theme: Cities and Towns in Kansas.

A Box for Us! (Paws it Forward)

Sage: Hmm...what's this?

Elbee: I know there's food in there!

Denali: Hey look, it's addressed to us! 

Spencer and Scout sent it all the way from Tennessee!

What are we waiting for? Why don't we open it?

A rubber what? Lemme see!

Rubber chicken she said. What do you think Sage?

I like the squeaky noise it makes!

Now we're talking...my personal favorite - tennis balls!

Elbee: When do we eat? What a cool box of goodies!

(Thanks Janet, this is wonderful! I've wanted a cardi sticker for awhile and just didn't get around to getting one. Wonderful treats! And Henrietta in her polka-dot bikini is just a hoot!)

Huge thanks to Spencer and Scout for picking out so many great goodies!

Who's next? 

Be one of the first two to comment on this posting, include your e-mail address, and Denali, Sage and Elbee will Paws it Forward to your house!

Congratulations Morgan - Seven Lovely Puppies!

On Sunday morning, July 25, 2010, Morgan gave us seven lovely, healthy puppies. Four boys, three girls. Preliminarily we're thinking two black-headed tricolored boys, and the rest a mixture of sables and fawns. It is possible that they will lighten some as they develop and not carry quite as much black. This is pretty common so we'll have to see what happens.

The puppies are all nice sizes, ranging between 7.3 to 11.8 ounces at birth. All healthy and hungry! They do not yet have puppy names, but we will be fixing that very shortly. For now, it's by the numbers.

Puppy #1

Puppy #2

Puppy #3

Puppy #4

Puppy #5

Puppy #6

Puppy #7

Between now and about six weeks of age, we will be observing and evaluating the puppies. As we learn more about their temperaments, we will post updates. They will be posted on the ForPaws website and made available for adoption around six to seven weeks of age.  Applications will not be accepted until that time. Our complete adoption process is outlined here.

RAE-Leg#6 - Factors of One

Another successful Rally weekend for Denali. 

Chalk up RAE, Leg #6.

We had a great time in Carmel - beautiful weather, good friends, great vendors, even good coffee!

In a field of eighteen dogs, we placed 5th in both the Excellent and the Advanced classes. So close to the ribbons, but not close enough!

In Excellent, we lost out on a ribbon by ONE point! In the Advanced Class it was a really unusual finish: Two perfect scores of 100 tied for first and second place. Three scores of 96 tied for third and fourth places. We were one of the 96 scores. We lost out on the 4th place ribbon by ONE second! Ahhhh!! That's right - that little Bichon Frise was one blinkin' second faster. Fortunately we know the Bichon's owner and we like her, so we're okay with her getting the ribbon!

The judge was hysterical, a kindly British lady. She reminded me a lot of Mrs. Doubtfire. When I brought Denali into the ring for her first showing she took one look and exclaimed, "Oh, a Beautiful Cardi...a Fluffy Cardi!" (Turns out she has a Cardi too.)

At the end she gave us our qualifying ribbon and told us that we were one second off the time. I told her that was OK because I got to take the Best Prize home, and pointed to Denali. She said, "Oh indeed you do!"

A really nice day all the way around!

Waiting for Puppies...as Morgan gets Bigger...and Bigger...!

Still no puppies, but one big mama dog! Sorry Morgan, but this is definitely the LAST time you'll be going through this!

When the puppies are born we will be posting information about the them on the ForPaws Corgi Rescue website, as well as on this blog.

Complete information regarding our adoption procedures can be found on our website. Anyone seriously interested must submit an application as a first step in the process. However we will not even begin to review applications until the puppies are born and we see how many we have.

We will be evaluating the puppies as they develop during their first 8-10 weeks of life and matching each to a home that represents the best possible circumstance for the individual dog. All puppies will be adopted on a spay/neuter deposit contract and are likely to be available to their new homes around 10 weeks of age.

Previous successful experience in raising/training a corgi puppy is certainly a plus, but each application will be carefully reviewed against the personality and temperament of each individual dog. Finding the absolute best situation that we possibly can for each puppy is the number one priority.

These dogs live to be 12-15 years old very easily and taking a puppy is a big commitment. We're hoping to find wonderful "forever homes" for all of these dogs and will be screening very carefully. That process will take some time. History has shown that we typically get about 10-12 applications for every puppy available.

And, don't forget that Mama Morgan will need a good home too. She's a very nice dog and someone will be extremely lucky to get her!

More soon!

Paws it Forward - Coming our Way!

Whoo hoo...Janet (Simple Things) sent us e-mail last night and it looks like Denali, Sage and Elbee will soon be recipients of the latest Paws it Forward goodies. They'll come all the way from Tennessee to California.

The fur kids can't wait and will provide a full report upon receipt.
Anyone else who wants to play - stay tuned! Be one of the first two to "comment," after the box arrives, and the next box is yours! (Custom-made to suit your pack!)

We'll let you know just as soon as we see it!
Then it will be your turn to Paws it Forward!

Summertime Tip

If anyone is looking for a good summertime tip on how to keep your dog cool, here's one for you: The Kool Collar. For more information see the Kool Collar website

Sage, modeling his Kool Collar. They come in a number of different colors.

In a previous post I mentioned the Kool Collar and how well it worked for Denali recently at a dog show when it got to be 90 degrees. It is a great product and really works to cool off a hot dog quickly. (No, I don't get any incentives, nor am I in any way associated with the sale of this item.)

The Kool Collars Store has sizes Small, Medium, Large at the cheapest price $15.95 (same as PetCo). I also recommend getting a set of the three gel refills. That way you can keep recycling them through your freezer or ice chest so you always have a frozen one to put in the collar.

This is the only source I've found that also has the Extra Small size for dogs smaller than Denali and Sage. I was pleased to find this because I wasn't able to find a Kool Collar to fit my smaller Pembroke Welsh Corgi, who needs the XS size.
In the Company of Dogs

I'm SO Cool!

Any Time Now...Puppies!

Any time now we're expecting Rescue Puppies! This doesn't happen often, but ForPaws is about to have puppies! And in this case we KNOW that they're going to be purebred Pembroke Welsh Corgis. That happens even less often in rescue!

This pretty sable girl, Morgan, just keeps expanding. We were hoping for a relatively small litter...um...keep hoping!

Morgan will raise her puppies in Wichita, KS. When the time comes we will screen for new homes for the puppies and for Morgan. With puppies we can be choosy and will be looking specifically for corgi people with prior experience in raising, training and socializing a young corgi. Puppy experience is a real plus!

But for now, we are just hoping for a smooth delivery for Morgan and healthy pups.

Sage Views Virtual Puppies

Why does Sage look a little agitated?

Find the answer by clicking here!

(Hint: If you haven't seen Carolyn's puppy video, check that first!)

Sage loves to watch TV, but this was more than he bargained for.

Big Weekend for Ginger!

This pretty little rescue girl went to her forever home yesterday.  It's a weekend to celebrate for Ginger!

A true Pembroke Princess, we joked that Ginger should wear her new bling-bling nametag as a tiara. She seemed to like it! And one last shot before she got in the car for her trip home. Look at her smile...she knows where she's going! 

Congratulations Ginger. 
We know you're going to love your new home!