December 14th, 2023 was our one year Fosterversary with Geauga Mama Dogs and Pups. We fostered 54 puppies our first year and had a lot of laughs, puppy snuggles and kisses and some heart wrenching moments. I wanted a way to give back and this is it. Fostering has changed our lives and I’m pretty sure it is something we will always do but probably not as many as we did our first year!
Geauga Mama Dogs and Pups is an amazing group of volunteers who save over 3,000 puppies a year. It is a lot of work between coordinating transport, finding and coordinating fosters, obtaining supplies and medications, and either directly adapting puppies or working with animal rescues such as Friendship APL to find homes for all the puppies.
It all started with our first foster Ms. Clementine who was abandoned in a coal mine in WV, which is how we came up with her name. She was 4 months old and a total sweetheart. I cried when we took her to Friendship APL.
Next were Koda and Zeus that we nicknamed the little carpet sharks because they loved to nip at our heels. They were a Blue Heeler, Dachshund (guessing), and Piranha mix. They were definitely herding dogs! They kept trying to herd Lily. She does look like a little white sheep! We always had to wear foot and ankle protection. They were so tiny and adorable!
Velvet, Sandy, Boots, and Ginger were the Fantastic Four. Four sweet little girls who all had their own look and personality. Ginger is a doppelganger for our granddog Ginger! It is crazy how much they look alike. And yes, I immediately unplugged that cord after I took their picture. LOL.
Starvin Marvin, Skinny Minnie, and Mocha came to us thin and hungry. So hungry that at first, we had issues with food aggression. We had to get slow feeder bowls for them so they’d slow down and not devour their food. We fattened them up and they got better about eating. They were sweet little babies.
Skylar and Sutton were good puppies with very strong jaws! They loved to grab onto our pant legs and not let go! Watching them learn different barks and how to use stairs was fun.
Mia, Tucker, and Lacy were Black Lab/Great Pyrenees mix. They are going to be big and lovable! They are so fluffy! They had such thick fur they and loved to be outside in the snow. They did not want to come in off the deck. We finally put a bed, food, and water out for them so they could stay out for a little while.
Quinn, Rory, and Shannon were all sweethearts! Rory was adopted by a good friend so we get updates and get to see him grow!!
Charlie and Maggie were big fluffy snugglers! They were a Border Collie mix. They were always in a good mood and loved to run and play in the yard.
Our Russian friends named Nadia and Natalie. They were very sweet. Nadia was definitely the lover and Natalia the troublemaker!
Tootsie and Cookie were such sweethearts but did not like to be left alone!
When we fostered Alfie and Arlo. They were about 4 months old. Arlo was timid when we first got him but by the end of the week, he warmed up to me and loved to snuggle and look me in the eyes. When they warm up like that it is hard to take them to the APL.
Cocoa, Honey, and Graham were named by our granddaughter, Ellie. They were so little and liked playing with the cat tunnel. We were told they were a terrier mix, but they seemed more like a chihuahua or dachshund mix.
Patience and her eight 3-week old puppies were found in a shed in Kentucky, very hungry. Patience had 10 puppies, 2 didn’t make it. We had never fostered a mama dog and puppies before so I was super excited and a little nervous. Rob was hesitant but agreed because he could tell how much it meant to me. There were six boys and two girls. Once they were 7 weeks old, we split them off in pairs to other fosters. Having them for a longer time made it harder to see them go in the end.
Dewey, Buddy, and Penny. Dewey got his name because he had a double dew claw. Penny was named for her coat, and Buddy just seemed like a Buddy 🙂
Moose and Peanut. Peanut was adopted by a family that had another dog that looked just like her. We’ve received updates and Peanut (now Cassidy) is almost her sister’s size!
We knew as soon as we got these pups home that something was wrong. We were advised that the litter may have been exposed to Parvo and not to let them in the yard. Ash got really sick, really fast and we took her to Westpark Animal Hospital after only 1 day. Cinder and Ebony fully recovered, but Ash and her 2 other littermates with other fosters didn’t make it. Even though we only had her for a day, that was crushing!
Cinnamon was adopted by a family that lives less than a mile away. We see her all the time still. Pepper was another direct adoption and we’ve received great updates on her.
Sky and Autumn were Pomeranian-Husky mixes and were too stinking cute! They had the cutest husky howls, but our webcams would alert about CO Alarm detected when they started going! We received over 20 adoption responses in 1 hour for them!
Colton, Mollie, and Scout came to us with Kennel Cough. Colton got really sick (we think from coccidia) and would not eat or drink. Betsy learned how to give subcutaneous fluids and nursed him back to health. Mollie was so fluffy, but she was pretty skinny and could squeeze through the bars in our omni-pen, so we had to wrap them with X-pens. She learned how to climb the X-pen right before she was adopted, but she had grown enough that she couldn’t squeeze through the omni-pen any longer thankfully.
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Geauga Mama Dogs and Pups
Go to the Geauga Mama Dogs and Pups website to see puppies and mama dogs available for adoption, learn about our group, donate or volunteer to foster or transport.
