Nice and Quiet Today

This is Greg Cook who found his dog, Coco, alive and well in what remained of his home after a tornado.
The picture is all over the internet, so you've probably all seen it already but it is heartening to look at.

Something last night that warmed MY heart: one of the weather guys was talking to a shelter director in a near by town and asked if people could bring their animals with them to the shelter. The reply was an offhand "Certainly." How great is that?! So many places won't let animals in.

I still think about the lady who called me about Cotton and Peri from the church where she worked and said they were going from door to door trying to get inside. She didn't let them in. Every time I think of that, I wonder what God would have to say.

Peri
The dogs... the boys... are hinting to me that Peri is starting to cycle....

Puppy News Plus

First, nothing on Cotton.

Second, Peri did fine with her "reduction" on Monday and I brought her home... again... yesterday afternoon. Poor girl is going to have to live with the burrs for 2 weeks while her leg is bound up. And I MEAN "bound." It is all scrunched up into one big ball (sort of) so there is no way she can put any weight on it. She's hopping around just fine on 3 legs but has to live in a crate so none of the other dogs knocks her over and injures the other leg. Right now, she's out, lying by my feet while everyone else is either outside or locked up elsewhere.

Third, the puppy news
No, NOT about the current pups but about another litter. I am leasing a Wheaten girl from a friend of mine. She was bred on Sept. 6th to her gorgeous apricot standard Poodle. Pups due mid- November. A family situation came up after the breeding which makes having pups right now a bad idea, so this works out for both of us. I would welcome either of these dogs in my own breeding program and have NO qualms about the pups. Will post parental photos and other info on the website in a day or two.

And, current puppies
If you use the url I sent... http://whoodledogs.com... you'll get ALL the puppy pictures that were used in picking. Each pup has it's only page. Just click the link.

Lastly, the dog in the barn
This is the very beautiful stray dog who is not Cotton. He/She is a youngster, smaller than Cotton and to me, looking nothing like her. But apparently it looks like her to everyone else. The lady who called me about it was SURE it was my dog even though the timing was all wrong and the distance too far. I went to look simply because I just CAN'T take any chances and took several pictures. Just like Cotton, it is scared to death and runs when it sees a person. It ran when I opened the car door and let Diamond out. The lady who called me is taking it food and water every day and is planning to get a humane trap from the shelter... I pray someone is doing the same for Cotton. I put the photos on craigslist and got a phone call and several emails telling me there was an ad on craigslist that showed MY dog was found in a barn.... Cotton's pups are due the 12th to the 15th. It is getting harder and harder to see a happy ending.

I HAVE PERI!

Larry's daughter called about a half hour ago and said Peri kept coming into the house but would bolt back outside before she could close the door. So I grabbed Diamond (Peri's mom) and went over there. And Peri was IN the house, the door shut so she couldn't get out. I walked in and she was peering around the corner at me... or rather, at Diamond. She stood there just a second and when I said "Come on, Peri, let's go home" she ran to us. To BOTH of us. She couldn't decide which one of us she wanted the most. She whined all the way home in the car. And now she is in the room with her mom and Keogh and her 2 pups, playing with the pups. Thank you all for being there with me. If she could only tell me where Cotton is!

Peri

A call first thing this morning from a lady who had just seen Peri in the same area as she was seen yesterday. No sign of Cotton. I took food up there last night and today I'm going to take a blanket the other dogs... Diamond (Peri's mom,) Keogh and her pups... have been sleeping on for the last two weeks. I'm hoping their smells will calm Peri and we'll eventually be able to catch her. Also going to call the animal shelter and see if they have any of the large traps available.

As for Cotton, I'm afraid. I guess that says it all. Several people have warned me there is a man right there who shoots every dog he sees because he has horses and people "should keep their dogs locked up." One lady, who was in an altercation with him last year, told him the next time his horses were on her property, she was going to shoot THEM. The lady who called this morning said they heard shooting over his way yesterday.

The weather has gotten dramatically colder... highs in the 50s (versus the 70s) and lows the last couple nights in the 40s, supposed to go down into the 30s tomorrow night. 30-50% chance of rain over the next couple days as well.

We need prayers and incantations and anything else that might help.

Later update
It's possible that they got separated because Cotton did not look out for Peri. When I saw them, a week ago Friday night, Cotton was running a good 50 feet ahead of Peri. Peri saw me and something was going on in her head... I could tell by the way her gait changed... but then she looked ahead and saw Cotton still running, and ran after her. Or maybe someone was able to trap Cotton and Peri wouldn't let them get her. Or something terrible could have happened. It's interesting that Peri found her way back to Larry's place because they were a good distance... miles... away. AND yet, she hasn't been able to find her way home. Larry saw her last night, inside the crate on one of his decks, eating, but she ran away... a short distance... when he opened the door. She went back to the crate and food when he went back in the house. And this morning she was sitting on the same deck, and left again when he went outside. As he and his wife were going to the car, he saw her go under another deck so he thinks she's making a little home there. Maybe, if nothing startles her... if nobody chases her, she'll settle down and let herself be caught. I took a blanket... a VERY smelly, dirty blanket... over and a dirty bowl her mom and pals have been eating out of, hoping the smell of the dogs she knows will calm her. And I got a trap from the shelter. Didn't leave it because Larry wasn't home and I don't know if he knows how to set it... will take it over tomorrow. I'm not very good at not being in control. It's frustrating. And very tiring. Never having been much of a sharer of MY feelings, I'm surprised at how much it helps to be able to post about the pain and sorrow to sympathetic people. I hope this experience hasn't created a monster!

So Far Today

This morning (Friday) a farmer I talked with LAST Friday called and said he thought he had just seen Peri run up the road toward his daughter's house. It's the area closest to me where they hung out for several days last week. So I went down there, but there was no sign of either dog and the dogs that live there were sound asleep on the porch... I woke them up when I started calling Cotton and Peri's names.

Just ran off 300 more flyers and we're going to put them out this afternoon. The problem is they could be anywhere now and I may be targetting the wrong area with the flyers.

It might help if I could keep from crying every time someone calls or asks about the dogs. I'm not a lot of fun to be around right now. And when I'm not crying, I'm in a terrible mood. Wish I had someone to take it out on!

The current flyer is at http://breeders411.com/lost.html

Back to Puppies

This has been a big week for awareness. The pups have gone from living in their own little world, a little startled by my presence whenever they discover me in the pen, to looking for me and the other dogs. Every one of them LOVES being massaged along their spines and will gather around waiting for their turn. They've learned when I open the gate, Mom is going to disappear for a while. Today, when I let Emy out for the first time, MOST of the pups tried to go with her. Then they all sat right at the gate and watched as the rest of us left the room. They now stand up on their back feet, front ones on the cardboard "bumper" for support and touch noses with other dogs or sniff my fingers when I put them close enough. They also look up at me when I call "puppy, puppy" and they know the sound of water or puppy kibble being poured into their bowls. They are fairly steady on their feet and running short distances. Their blanket is a great source of fun... they grab an edge and shake and sometimes pull it over themselves or another pup. They also play tug of war with it. All this is spread out over the 24 hours as they probably sleep 22 hours a day and only play for a few minutes at a time.

Next photos
I will be doing individual pictures of the pups this weekend to help you make up your minds about picks. So far, the only one definitely picked is the black with the most white. Both blacks have red highlights which means they will lighten up and my black-and-tan pups always lighten up as they mature.

Cotton and Peri
Nothing to report. Your continued prayers are requested. Thanks.

Again, No News

Had two phone calls first thing this morning. Both from ladies who thought they had seen Cotton at animal shelters... different shelters, one 30+ miles from here. I went to look but she wasn't there. (In fact, there weren't ANY dogs there that looked even a little bit like her.) But for a couple hours, I imagined....

A number of you have asked how Tommy (the guy who left the gate open) is doing. He's among the living. And no, I didn't fire him. He IS getting a little concerned about the gallows I had him build in the front yard....

No News

No phone calls last night so nothing to report. I went by the church and checked the food bowls. Only one had been touch and it was probably by a raccoon... lots of half eaten kibble on the top layer. So I picked up the bowls. I'm almost resigned to not getting them back. These swings from the highs when someone calls to tell me they've been spotted to the depths this morning are wearing me out.

Puppy picks
Definite picks have to be made in the next week or so (by the time the litter is 6 weeks old.) Those of you with the earlier picks, especially first pick/each sex, if you've already made up you mind, please let me know. The suspense is killing everyone!

Quick Update on the Dogs

I learned today that the girls are "all over the internet." All the vets and the two animal control shelters I visited told me they had already seen the flyer info on the internet. One vet added the girls to his Facebook "lost dogs" section last week some time. I appreciate this BUT if any of you Have or put the girls on your social networking site, please do not mention they are Whoodles. I'm afraid someone will get their hands on them and NOT give them back or keep them and try to sell the puppies.
Thanks.

Puppy weights

There is a considerable spread here in weights. The smallest by far is the mostly white parti girl while the largest by just a tad is the blond boy. Here they are, ladies first
mostly white parti -- 2.05 pounds
fifty/fifty parti -- 2.60
blond -- 2.20

blond boy

and the boys
black, most white -- 2.40
black-and-tan -- 2.40
black, least white -- 2.70
blond -- 2.75
So, from largest to smallest, it is boy, boy, girl, boy boy, girl, girl.

Mom makes the best cushion!



Cotton and Peri
I spent the entire day, Saturday, running around. I went to the church very early and waited around, with Diamond, for about an hour. Then went home to take care of the others and to update my listings on the internet. Wasn't there a half hour and a lady called... twice in 10 minutes... because the dogs were at the church, trying to get in the doors. Of course, I'm on dial up, so I didn't get the calls until an hour later. By the time I got back there, all the people were gone... on a day trip of some sort... and there was no sign of the dogs. Sat around, again with Di, for almost 3 hours... put out 4 big bowls of dog food and 4 of water... in various places around the grounds and left more flyers. Went back home and an hour later a guy called to say he'd seen them... a half hour before... by the church but on either side of the bridge over the interstate. I was hoping they'd be spooked enough to stay off the road, but no such luck. Back I went, no sign of the dogs at the church or on the roads. Pulled into a guy's driveway and he said he'd seen them a couple times the day before and twice today... going back and forth across the bridge. So I went into town, ran off another batch of flyers with updated info and spent two hours driving the roads, taping flyers to mailboxes. Had any number of calls saying they'd seen the girls... 2, 3, 5 hours ago... and one saying a dog had been hit by a car a couple hours before right at her driveway. The dog lay in the driveway for over two hours and the next time the woman looked, the dog was gone. She had called animal control... I didn't think they worked on weekends and they have a bad rep for taking days to respond... but maybe they came and got the dog. When we went to her house, the dog she described sounded like a large purebred Poodle I'd seen at a home earlier AND there was a Jack Russell with it just like at that house. So we went down there but the people weren't home. I told a neighbor about the dog that had been hit and he said he'd tell the people. About 6, a car flagged me down and the couple told me they were headed off to cruise the roads, looking for the dogs... not for the reward, but just to help. And there were a couple of teenage boys, with their Lab, walking down the road, going into the woods, looking for them too. They grinned when I said "I guess you guys could use the money when you find them." There are a lot of people paying attention, so maybe, just maybe they'll be found. The dogs are getting about as desperate as I am.

Sunday
Quiet. No new sightings of the dogs. A couple people called to say they had seen them the day before and a couple others called to ask if they'd been found. But no one saw them on Sunday. I'm assuming this means they've moved on. One person had seen them near the church but in an entirely different direction than everybody else, so I don't know which way they are going. ANY way is bad, except back up over the ridge, through the woods. They are getting to more and more crowded, heavily trafficked areas and close to two intersections. I'm going to the two shelters this afternoon, although I know they haven't been picked up and mailing flyers to all the vets. Other than that, I don't know what to do. Cotton's pups are due around the 15th.

So

Thinking they may not have run far last night and might still be hanging around the church grounds, I went back very early this morning and took Diamond with me. She's their mom/grandma and was the one who ran off with them but came back hours later. There was no sign of them, but Di and I walked as much of the grounds as I could. I called for them even though I know that isn't going to mean anything to them. Guess I was thinking if they looked toward the sound of my voice, they might see and recognize Di. She stays right with me, but I was afraid to let her off lead just in case she spotted them and ran to them... and all 3 disappeared.

I know a number of you don't understand WHY they don't come to me. Once dogs are loose and away from their home area, they go into a different thought process. Everything reverts to instinct and they just don't see things the way they did before. (People are the same way under extreme stress.) I know a number of people who have gone through the same thing as I am and the only thing that works is to either catch them or to trap them some place quiet where they can't escape easily and you can sit, talking to them until they calm enough to recognise you. Unfortunately, I don't think either of those is going to happen with my girls. I'm afraid they are going to get down to the interstate or over to the next road which is just as busy.

I've pretty much decided this is over and I'm going to have to move on. I just can't do it yet. I'm putting out flyers this afternoon when I have someone to help me. My head is constantly working out senarios where the girls stay off the roads and make a big circle back to this area. Not much chance of that, but it's all I have right now.

Re: EMY's pups, my apologies
I know I've been neglecting my promise to all of you for pictures at least every 10-14 days. AND the puppies were 4 weeks yesterday but I didn't get them weighed. I will do both today and tomorrow and get everything posted.

I have Bad News

I'm now certain I'll never have Cotton and Peri again. This evening, I called Larry (the man where they had been hanging around all week) and he hadn't seen them all day. Apparently we just spooked the dogs yesterday. Larry suggested they might have gone on over the ridge and thought I should check the church grounds on the other side. I thought about doing it tomorrow but went right away instead. There were some people in different areas of the grounds... it's huge... and I asked one if he had seen any dogs. He said "Look like Poodles?" And I told him yes and gave him a flyer. He said yes, he had seen them run across the parking lot about a half hour before, avoiding all the people. So I drove around the parking lots and in the back of the church, there was Cotton running up a hill, no more than 30 feet from me. When I called her name, she slowed and looked at me, but kept running, still looking at me. Then the puppy came running passed. She was kind of bouncing as she ran and looked at me, like she was hesitating. But then she looked at Cotton who was way ahead of her and still running, and she kept going too. The church is right ON the interstate and they were headed north into the woods that border it. Tommorow I'll go over to the neighborhood that is on the other side of the woods and put up flyers. I gave some to a man who works at the church just in case the dogs hang out in the woods over night and he sees them tomorrow. But I'm really out of hope. I'm pretty sure I was just given one last view of them and it's breaking my heart.

We SAW Them!

The posse didn't happen today. And I was really down. I probably should not put this on the internet, but I already posted about trying to figure out where I had gone wrong (so to speak.) My oldest son's name is Jude for St. Jude. I named him that to keep my side of a bargain I made with St. Jude. So this afternoon I made another bargain. (No, I don't have to get pregnant or adopt to keep this one.) BUT 15 minutes or less later, my phone rang and a man told me he had seen my dogs. And 20 minutes later I was trying to get up his driveway. (We really do not encourage visitors in this part of the country... as our driveways will attest to.)

Don't have my hands on Cotton and Peri yet... they took off like scalded chickens as soon as they realized we were looking at them. But we know where they are... they've been hanging around in the same area since Monday night (the first time they were spotted) and even went up to the man who called me's door. I took him a bag of dog food so he could start feeding them, hoping they will quickly settle enough for me to get there and coax them to me.

Sunday, they apparently made it to the top of the ridge and then took a left. When they got to more civilized environment... pastureland and homes... they stuck around. It is comparatively safe although I've been warned there is a guy with horses who has shot a number of his neighbors' dogs. It is about 2 miles as the crow flies, but a lot farther the way the dogs had to go since they're not crows.

And I had a call on my land line when I got home, from a man who lives in the same area who has seen them as well.

I'm trying not to feel too elated or over confident. There is still so much that can go wrong. Dogs that have been running loose even a short period of time can be really difficult to corral.

So PLEASE keep up the prayers and psychic vibes. It is working!

Again, No News

It's been 86 hours and I'm exhausted. Many of you know I have PAD which makes walking harder than it used to be, so with all the exercise I've had, I can barely move from one room to another. Good thing the dogs are on their best behavior!
I got some sleep last night, because I'm tired, AND because of a promise that a group of guys would go into the woods today and see if they could locate Cotton and Peri. Well, it's almost noon and no one has shown up.

I know you are supposed to learn something from everything you go through, especially the bad stuff. But I'm having a hard time figuring out what the lesson is with this. Checking to see that the gates are all closed seems too obvious. I can't think of anything I've done that needs punishment. I haven't even been particularly snarky lately. And if it's not MY lesson to learn, I wish something besides my dogs was the method.

I do appreciate hearing from all of you. It helps. A lot. Thanks.

No News

A quick update because there is nothing to report. The flyers are done and we're going to be putting them up and into mailboxes this afternoon. I did have a phone call this morning from a neighbor who saw the ad in the paper. There is a sign taped to the stop sign that says someone has found two black and white hounds and he wanted to let me know about it in case they were my dogs. But the sign has been up for 3-4 days, so it's not Cotton and Peri. I am so depressed.