A Bumpy Start On The Road To Forever

C O V E R S T O R Y

“I want to have my babies in a shelter,” said no dog ever.

Story and Photography by Jeanne Taylor

Yet, on December 27, 2021, that’s just what Vida did. This beautiful young female landed herself at Berkeley Animal Center on Christmas Eve when her humans lost their housing. She was scared and confused – hormonal – and in a new place filled with the barks of other dogs she could hear but couldn’t see. She was stressed for certain and just three days later, shelter staff came to work to find seven new intakes had joined them overnight.

As you can imagine, a shelter is no place for newborn puppies or a nursing mother. Neonates are at risk for contagion especially and no matter how clean the shelter is, this is always a concern with new animals coming in daily.

Thus began the networking to find a foster who could manage an entire family and give Vida and her babies a safe space to grow until they became adoptable. Two words that always inspire relief among shelter staff and volunteers: FOSTER FOUND.

I had the honor of transporting Vida to her new foster in Mount Pleasant. Kristin Villa, a local pet community staple, business owner (Ziggy’s Dog Parlor and Ziggy’s Villa) and friend, who is very experienced with these situations and was happy to bring Vida and her babies into their quiet new digs. Allowing Vida to decompress was the first order of business as she cared for newborns. What many don’t realize is that the first couple of weeks of a new litter in this world are basically a cakewalk. The mother does all the work, the feeding and cleaning and monitoring. The foster really just needs to ensure babies are gaining weight and appear healthy and that the mother dog is eating well, thriving, and the family has a clean living space. The few weeks that follow start to require a little more effort with cleanup and eventually feeding, sure, but overall, it’s a relatively easy proposition with an incredible emotional return on investment. There aren’t things more heartwarming than watching baby animals grow and be adopted into loving homes.

In the first week of a puppy’s life, their eyes are not open yet. They find their way around and to their mom by smell. Mom is responsible for feeding, cleaning and keeping their body temperatures warm.

Fosters make this possible.

Shelters and rescues locally are in desperate need of foster support for these situations as well as many others, including medical cases, high-energy dogs, seniors, or animals who simply aren’t doing well in the noisy shelter environment.

The custodial shelter or rescue will typically provide all of the tools a foster would need to be successful – food, supplies, bedding, toys, treats, and veterinary care. Foster homes provide a temporary but soft place for a pet (or pets) to land, and the opportunity for them to become their best self so they can move on to their forever homes. YOU can be a part of this life-changing process. If you would like to try your hand at fostering, please reach out to any of our local groups, whether shelter or private foster-based rescue.

While they had a rough start, this litter also had the best possible ending as all the puppies have since been placed in their forever homes. At this writing, Vida is now available to a loving home as well. You can contact Berkeley Animal Center to schedule a time to meet her if you would like to bring this special girl into your home.

I visited this litter weekly at Ziggy’s Villa, photographing their growth and documenting their journey to forever homes. Take a moment to enjoy their progression – I know I did.

Luckily, these puppies had their momma, Vida, to nurse them and care for them in addition to their amazing foster mom. Many newborns end up at shelters with no mother or their mother rejected them, causing for round-the-clock care in foster care or rescue for the first few weeks.

Most puppies’ eyes open between day 12 and day 14. Standing seems to be easy, it’s the staying up part that needs practice. They are entering their third week of life, so they will only become more animated from this point. So this may be the last smiling group shot. Each day they get just a bit heavier, their eyes and ears are open, their ears are beginning to flop a bit instead of sticking straight out from their heads and their personalities are coming into focus.

At three weeks, they are standing and walking easily! Barking, howling and growling and play time has started! Plus they are getting their baby teeth! OUCH!

At four and five weeks old they are big enough to venture outside the walls of their little puppy den. Their immune systems have finally caught up with their desire for lots of space to play. The need a safe place to play so they won’t be exposed to anything dangerous for puppies. Dog parks and other public places are still out until they have had all of their vaccinations, which they get their first round at 6 weeks old. By eight weeks old they have had two rounds of vaccinations and are big enough for adoption.