The runt struggled with her six brothers and sisters for their mom’s food. The four year old Australian shepherd took good care of all her puppies. That’s why Tim became so upset when Fred’s dachshund invaded their breeding barn and impregnated her.
Tim’s pain intensified as he endured watching Fluffy nurse her last litter. The only way it might go away would be for the puppies to be sent to the dog adopter
Tim fretted for the next two weeks as Fluffy coddled her brood. The two weeks couldn’t end fast enough for Fluffy’s owner. He wanted the sadness associated with watching Fluffy nursing her last litter to end.
Tim was so impatient that he kept a special calendar with his expected day of weaning marked with a big black X. As each day passed, he marked that calendar day with a big red checkmark.
The big black X day arrived, but Fluffy still nursed her brood.
“What! She’s still nursing? Come on, that can’t be!” Tim said to Martha.
“Mama will know when to stop. Just be patient,” Martha said.
“Patience, I’ve had to deal with this since late May. She better be finished with this tomorrow or I’ll…” Tim’s voice trailed off to an angry mutter.
“You can’t rush weaning, Tim,” Martha replied as she sipped her morning coffee.
“That’s what you think. I’ll wean them from Fluffy with formula.”
“Oh, okay, go ahead,” Martha laughed.
Tim’s repeated outbursts in the breeding barn caused Fluffy and the puppies to stick close to their mother. Fluffy gave Tim a mournful look every time he screamed. His anger upset all the dogs even the pure breeds in the kennels next door.
The presence of Fluffy’s brood was a constant reminder of what one wayward dachshund could do. Tim wanted the mutts out of the breeding barn as soon as possible. So, he put his plan to wean the puppies with store bought puppy milk into action. This wasn’t so easy. The puppies received more than food from Fluffy. They received her love, something not available in any store bought puppy milk.
Despite the puppies’ preference for Fluffy, Tim kept trying. He marked each unsuccessful day with a big red checkmark, like the ones marked he made before the big black X day. It took about ten more days, but he succeeded. The puppies now accepted the artificial puppy milk.
The success was confirmed over a few days when the puppies began eating solid food. Once Tim determined that the puppies were weaned and eating on their own, he called Fred Best, Mortimer’s owner. He told him that the puppies were ready to be delivered to the dog adopter.
Fred then called Ricky, the owner of Ricky’s Dog Pack, with whom he arranged a three week stay for the mutts. Ricky specialized in doggy adoption. He did his best to place all of his puppies in good homes. Ricky would do the same for Tim with the three weeks Fred purchased. If not, any that remained would stay at Ricky’s only if Tim or Fred paid for the extra time. If not, the remaining puppies would be sent back to Tim’s, or to the George-Ville Dog Pound.
After Fred spoke with Ricky, he called Tim and told him that the dog adopter was ready to receive his mutts. Tim quickly called Ricky and asked when he could deliver them.
“Just send them over anytime,” Ricky said.
“I have an appointment with the vet for the puppies to get their shots this afternoon. Can I bring them tomorrow?”
“Sure, I’ll look for you then,” Ricky said with a smile in his voice.
Tim then contacted Dr. Johnson, to let him know that he was on his way to get the puppies their shots.
Tim gathered three traveling crates and placed the puppies in them. He walked the first one to the trunk of the family’s white van. He lifted the hatchback door to see if there was room for the three crates. After determining that there was room for all three, Tim tied down the first one. He returned to the breeding barn and gathered the other two. He walked them to the van and strapped them into other two places.
Tim slammed the hatchback door. He walked around to the driver side, opened its door, and climbed into the driver’s seat. After locking the doors, Tim drove to Dr. Johnson’s.
The next day Tim loaded the puppies back into their crates and loaded them into the van for the trip to Ricky’s.
He returned to the barn to make sure he captured them all. He glanced over at Fluffy’s kennel. Fluffy gave him the most forlorn look he ever saw from a dog. “I can’t breed Fluffy anymore. Maybe I can give her to Ricky and have him try to adopt her out,” he whispered to himself.
Tim walked back into the house and saw Martha standing near the kitchen window looking out at the van.
“Martha, I have a question,” Tim said from the hallway.
“What is it?” She said, “Thinking of keeping those puppies?”
“No, these puppies will be sent to Ricky’s. Would you mind if I sent Fluffy to Ricky’s? We can’t breed her anymore. Maybe she could help someone else.”
Martha sighed and said, “I’ll be sad to lose her, but I’ll miss her puppies. They are the cutest ones that were ever born in our barn. Since you want the pups gone, it would be good for Fluffy to go with them.”
Tim’s face reddened as he said, “Okay, I’ll take her to Ricky’s.”
The sad breeder came back into the barn with Fluffy’s travel crate. She saw it and freaked. Tim swung open her kennel door with his right hand. The crate hung from his left hand. He set it on the floor grabbed Fluffy’s leash and snapped it on her collar. Once she saw her crate and leash, she howled. Tim dragged her into the crate and locked it. He got a hand cart and placed Fluffy’s crate on the ledge and wheeled it out to the van.
“I can’t wait to get rid of these puppies. I’m surprised that Martha likes them. For her to say that these mutts are the most beautiful dogs we ever bred here is unbelievable,” he mumbled.
Tim lifted open the hatchback door and placed Fluffy’s crate into the open space between the crates containing her puppies. A chorus of yapping and barking erupted as Tim closed the door. After he shut it, he returned to the kitchen and reached for the phone to call Ricky.
“Ricky’s Dog Pack. How can I help you?” Ricky said.
“This is Tim Smith. I called you yesterday about a litter of seven mutts. I’ll be there in an hour or two.”
“Yeah, I have it marked down in my ledger.”
“That’s not why I called. Do you have room for their mother?”
“Wait, I’ll check.”
Ricky put down the phone and checked his ledger and picked up the phone.
“There’s only room if she shares a kennel with one of her puppies,” Ricky said.
“That’s fine with me. I can bring her along, right?”
“You sure can,” Ricky chirped.
“Good, I’ll see you in a little while.”
Tim hung up the phone and faced his wife.
“Ricky said we could take Fluffy to him, but she’ll have to be put into the same kennel as one of her puppies.”
“That’s fine, but I’d suggest placing her with the runt. She’s the weakest and needs her mother the most.”
For the Love of Our Dog Brownie 