Day 2, Nick still has no idea these two dogs are in our house...

I brought home a mom and her five day old puppy yesterday. I have them in my craft room because my dogs aren't allowed in there, the sun hits it so it's very warm, and also very quiet. Nick never goes in my craft room and the door is usually shut since it's now more of a dog supply room for work and Spike knows this.

Mama and baby have been here almost 24 hours and Nick still has no idea. I almost just want to see how long it takes him to realize this. I have to crate my three when I take mama out and Nick still has yet to think anything of it or to notice that another dog is going out the front door. Piglet has stationed herself outside of the door for the past day and still, Nick thinks nothing of it. I'm now taking bets on how long we think mama and baby will continue to go unnoticed. I guess, for once, I should thank his Xbox addiction that keeps him in the basement a lot.

Mama is about 4 years old and a very petite little girl. Baby is 5 days old and was checked yesterday by a vet, she's doing great so far. It'll be a while before I try to introduce her to my dogs but I can say with certainty that she LOVES people! She does not, however, like the camera. At all.

Yes, there really are clothes that fit this little baby! Good think Nick's mom bought me pretty much every clothing item on sale at Petco to donate to BARCS. I'm borrowing this one :)

Dear husband,

If you happen to be reading this blog while you're bored at work, I'm sorry! And surprise!

Blondie, our dull- yet sweet- star!

Blondie had a pretty rough start to life. Her previous owners said they used her for pull competitions until she got "accidentally" pregnant and from there she sat in a crate for 9 months. Not sure how much I believe any of that but I do know she is one of the most timid, scared dogs we've ever had. She warmed up to me pretty quickly but was still leery of Nick because he didn't quite understand that screaming at the TV during football and stomping his feet after an extremely difficult and important game of life Halo would not help her calm down.

For some reason Blondie would not go to the bathroom outside. We tried crating her, going out, crating again, going out, and cycling this until she would go. Well, 24 hours later and Blondie and I were in a standoff. I refused to falter on my hourly cycle with her and she refused to pee outside! She also refused to go in her crate, which was wonderful, but it lead her to a bathroom hold out. I decided that I would not lose this battle so she came to work with me and after three days of fighting over this, she went out front of BARCS! Maybe she felt better going back to her roots hah (she came from BARCS), maybe she realized that I'm just as stubborn as her, who knows. I danced and cheered for her like a complete fool and finally, we ended our standoff. It was that hold off though that made me realize Blondie is not exactly intelligent.

We worked on sit for a week, nadda. She walked in to at least five walls a day while she was here. Couches are great until she rolls off of them and jumps up with the most confused look on her face. Water bowls are used for "bobbing for apples" type drinking and food is not meant to be chewed, just inhaled. Despite her, well, "special" state she really is a sweet, happy, love-a-bull girl.

Blondie went to her new home last weekend as a test run and they ended up keeping her! The couple loves her to death and they're friends of ours so we will get to see her often. They actually have one American Bulldog already that they adopted from us about three years ago so Blondie has a brother to cuddle with!

One of Blondie's random running fits!

"What you says, ma?" Ahh the look of confusion.

 

Understanding how to get up there took a few days but that became her spot!

I had her wrapped in a Ravens Snuggie but apparently she's a Redskins fan? It didn't stay on long.

Just like Jillian, we have been getting lots of updates and pictures of Blondie! It's great to see how well she is doing in her new home and how much she's coming out of her shell.

It's Raining Puppies!

Nick and I have always agreed on one thing- we are not puppy people. Don't get me wrong, I love the wiggle butts, puppy breath, big curious eyes, fat little tummies, and puppy clumsiness but I can't take the constant peeing, pooping, chewing, and needle teeth. Plus, the Spike's House residents prefer sleeping 23 hours a day and puppies really mess that up for them. Despite my efforts to avoid having puppies, we had about six puppies over the past month. I feel like I run a puppy motel!

Oh, and while we had this rotating door of puppies, we also still had Jillian! Nick was so thrilled!

These babies came home from NC with us after a nice Christmas visit with my family. We brought four home, three are pictured. 

Little cow babies!

 

Spike, the definition of a couch potato, is not thrilled about puppy needle teeth!

Bella is the only one who really loves puppies and puppies LOVE Bella!

After the four moo cow puppies in to a long term foster home we got this sweet little girl. Lacey came in to BARCS and I scooped her up and brought her home at about 6 weeks old. 

Dog pajamas are a must!

And while we still had Lacey.. and Jillian.. Boldin came to our house. Boldin, named after the Ravens WR, is a little ball of fire! He is about 5 weeks in this picture and we really have no idea what mix he is. We've hear everything from pit bull, lab, smaller terrier, you name it. 

Poor Boldin, we don't have any small male dog clothes! Well, we didn't, I fixed that issue :)

 I have never seen two dogs have more of a love affair with each other than Boldin and Jillian. He terrorized her and she loved every.single.minute of it! She never let him out of her sight and if Lacey played too hard with Boldin, Jillian sat on Lacey.

Here is Boldin sleeping in Jillian's big paws :)

Poor Jillian just wanted to sleep! Well, so did Boldin apparently.

This might be my favorite dog picture. Ever.

So, there is our puppy run. As of today Boldin still needs a home but is not of age yet, the moo cow puppies all have homes pending, Lacey already went to her new home aaaand Jillian left :( I'm very happy for her, her new dad is nothing short of amazing and has been so wonderful with Jillian, but I miss her terribly. When we went to drop Jillian off at her new home I thought I could hold it together but I think I scared Mike, her new dad, with the complete hysterical state I was in when it was finally time to get my last Jillian kisses and leave. Lucky for me, Mike has been wonderful about sending me pictures!

Jillian! My "heart" foster.

I hear people talk a lot about heart dogs, that special dog that is like no other and will always have the most special place in your heart. For Nick and I both, Spike is our heart dog. I love all of our dogs but no one has touched us on a level that Spike has and I can say with absolute certainty that no other dog ever will.

If there is such a thing as a heart foster dog then Jillian would be it for me and I think the same could be said for Nick, although he would never admit it! Admitting such a thing would help my case that would should keep Jill Jill, as I call her. We've had Jillian for about five weeks now so I am clearly very late on making this post. Jillian was the first dog I brought home after starting at BARCS on December 1st.

Jillian is about a year old, she's a pit bull mixed with who knows what, and she is a lover! It's so hard to teach her "off" and make her sit in order to be pet because my heart melts when she jumps on me and wraps her long arms around me, she likes to hug it out! Jillian is wonderful with other dogs, big and small, and she's great with cats! She is very gentle and knows how to take hints from the other dogs when they want to be left alone. Jillian is completely housetrained and does great in her crate. She is also a puppy feign! We have had quite a bit of puppies in our house over the past two weeks, I almost feel as if I'm running a puppy prostitution ring, and Jillian has loved every single one of them to pieces!

Jillan!! Doing what she does best- cuddling!

Bella loves her Jillian.

Bella and Jillian constantly fight over the same cat bed! Why do we have nice, big dog beds in our house?

Did I mention she's good with cats?! Loves them!

I took Jillian on a long hike one morning, apparently too long, because she didn't even wake up when I put a cookie in her mouth! Bella came and took it back out :)

 

All ready for bed!

 

Jillian really does love to be held like a baby.

 

More love for Bella <3

 

Possibly the cutest picture ever! Jillian and our foster puppy, Boldin.

Here is a link to Jillian's Petfinder page in case you or anyone you know is looking to add a wonderful girl to their family! http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/18028242