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Discussion » Statements » Rosie's Corner » When your dogs have puppies and your cats have kittens you give them away to others. Did you ask permission to do so from their mothers?

When your dogs have puppies and your cats have kittens you give them away to others. Did you ask permission to do so from their mothers?

Posted - February 20, 2019

Responses


  • 10449
    We didn't have to ask.  The mother dog was overjoyed to be rid of them.

    When I was 8, I got to pick out a free collie puppy at a local AKC collie breeding kennel.  Of course I named her Lassie (her official AKC name was 'Lady Lassie Lee of Camelot').  One night, years later, the neighborhood "Romeo" managed to get into our yard while Lassie was in heat.  9 weeks later, she gave birth to 9 puppies - begrudgingly.  Lassie refused to chew open the poups birth sacs, so whoever was home when a pup was whelped had to open the birth sac for her (the first pup came at 8:45 am and the last around 5 pm).  Lassie did not like those squirming "things" and kept getting out of her box to get away from them - much to the horror of my parents (guess they didn't want her to give birth on the sofa).    And then she refused to feed them.  If the pups were in the box Lassie would get out.  If we took the pups out of the box for her to feed, she'd get in the box.  Unfortunately my mom had to deal with most of this as my dad worked all day (9-5:30) and we were in school all day (9-3:40).

    One puppy was malformed and died a few days after birth, so we had 8 pups to deal with ... and a mother dog who didn't want to be a mother.  Of course we couldn't keep them (too expensive) so my parent said we had to give them away once they were weaned.  (I made the signs).  Lassie was never happier than when we gave away her pups. 
    One of the pups (who my mom named Fuzzy) would always hide whenever someone came to look at the free pups.  We ended up keeping her.  Lassie got along with her "ok", but never really liked her.  Lassie died of cancer when she was 8, while Fuzzy lived to be 15.  Fuzzy was very smart.  When she was 12, we got another dog (Cinnamon) for her to teach.  Cinnamon then taught my next dog (Tucker) all that Fuzzy had taught her (and more).  Tucker didn't get a chance to teach my next dog, as to much was going on when he got older to have a second dog (dads cancer and mom's transient global amnesia).  Tucker died a few months after my father and it was 6 months before I got another dog.
      February 20, 2019 11:08 AM MST
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  • 113301
    So mothering doesn't come naturally to animals then?  Of course we all know about human mothers  who get into some kind of funk after giving birth. I can't figger out why. I guess it has to do with hormones or something. But I always thought other animal mothers naturally loved their babies. I am saddened to learn that I was wrong. Thank you for sharing your real-life experience with the subject Shuhak. SIGH. Another belief dashed to pieces. Not your fault. You are simply the messenger. This post was edited by RosieG at February 20, 2019 1:11 PM MST
      February 20, 2019 11:35 AM MST
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  • 10449
    I thought all mothers (animal) instinctively knew to take care of their babies as well.  My whole family did.  What lassie did was a total shock to us.   Mom (a born and raised city girl) had just gotten back from taking my dad to work when the first pup came.  She frantically called the vet who told her how to cut open the sac before the pup suffocated.  

    As it worked out, I got to see Fuzzy get born.  I walked in the back door just having come home from school and was saying hello to Lassie when Fuzzy was born.
      February 20, 2019 1:29 PM MST
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  • 113301
     No sweetie they don't. Every day you read about the horrible terrible grotesque things babies and little kids go through at the hands of their moms. And they usually die from neglect or abuse. Remember that crazy Susan someone who drove her kids into a river so they'd die because she was romantically interest in some guy who didn't want kids? I'm going to tell something very awful. Yesterday I read about a baby whose diaper was filled with maggots who died sitting on a swing in the backyard. There are other things as horrendous or even more horrendous. I wish there were a way to make sterile those people who are not fit to be parents. It wouldn't solve all the problems because we still have to deal with abusive Foster Parents and abuve folks who ADOPT. But it would certainly lessen the number of kids who are abused by their "loved" ones. Thank you for your reply Shuhak and Happy Friday. Sorry about giving you that info but well it occurred to me and so I shared it with you. Apologies.
      February 22, 2019 4:13 AM MST
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  • 10451
    I didn't but I think they knew that I would be finding a good home for their offspring. The last dog I gave away was the 8 mouth old daughter of my dog Sundance. I gave the dog to a lady that was living in a van and trying to beat a coke addiction. She believed that a good friend/dog was what she needed to straighten up her life and I believed a good dog was what she needed to keep away the male dogs that came around to try and temp her with a bags of coke that had strings attached. A year later her and that dog were living in a house - she had beat her addiction and she had a window washing business. Whenever I saw her in town washing store front windows she had that dog by her side and whenever she referred to me to the dog she called me Grandpa (because my dog Sundance helped start her new life). Cheers!
      February 20, 2019 2:45 PM MST
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  • 2217
    Animals are usually under 16 so unable to give consent. 
      February 20, 2019 2:47 PM MST
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