and then there were 2

Our dog Abbagail had her first (and only) litter of puppies 6 1/2 wks ago. She had 4 males and 3 females.

The runt of the group was the first born. He was SOO tiny! We noticed after the first few days that the others were growing like crazy, but the little runt was still the size he was when he was born. Rusty worked with him to try and get him to latch onto Abbagail to milk. Later that day, I picked him up and looked at him closely, thinking something else was going on with him. I noticed that he had a cleft lip. That was it! That was why he was not getting any milk. We ran to the pet store to get some puppy formula and a bottle. We tried feeding him but he wasn't doing well with the bottle. I thought "well if he can't latch on to abbagail, then he probably can't latch onto this bottle". I found a syringe out of a medicine kit that I got for Halle before she was born. I never used it and never planned to, so I thought this would be perfect for him. He was sucking down the milk faster and faster with each drop I put in his mouth. He then started getting more fiesty. It felt like I was a new mommy again, waking up every 3-4 hours to feed him, but if it saved his life then it was worth it to me. After a long, hard fight he just couldn't hold on anymore. He was just over 3 weeks old when we found him not moving or breathing in the dog box. I didn't want to believe that he had given up. He was such a strong fighter! He is no longer struggling in pain, he will always be remembered, we love you Chance!

We are now down to our last 2 males. The other 4 have found great homes! We now need to find 2 more people/families who are looking for a new little friend to make new memories with. The two left are SOOO cute! They are very playful! If anyone would like one, or knows of anyone who is looking for one let me know! I would like to keep one, and so would Halle :) She squeals with excitement when they attack her little feet and toes. I'm already crowded enough as it is in the bed, I don't think we can fit another dog in there with us!