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The tale of Ajax and Odysseus
The tale of Ajax and Odysseus began in the middle of June. Their mama, Cherish, had struggled for two days tied to a tree, without food or water, trying desperately to deliver her puppies. Two had been born alive, two born dead and she carried still more. But Cherish was losing her battle. You see, Cherish had been a long time without food - and probably water as well. With almost every bone in her body visible, Cherish resembled a skeleton more than a pit bull (Of course, a pit bull - the dog of choice for ignorant people - hence their bad reputation).
Concerned, a neighbor approached the owner (one has to wonder why it took so long for neighbors to notice) and was told by the owner to leave the dog alone and she would have her puppies under the tree. Not satisfied, the neighbor cut Cherish loose and brought her to the vet.
The vet immediately contacted Animal Control for permission to do a emergency C-section. Cherish amazingly survived the surgery to deliver the rest of her (all dead) puppies but sadly had to be put to sleep in the following days.
That left the two little pups alone. With already a rocky start on life, the puppies had contracted a upper respiratory infection, making it impossible to place them with a already nursing dog for fear of infecting the dog and other pups as well. A relative that works for the vet's clinic and adjacent adoption center told us of the plight of Cherish and her pups. With a love of pit bulls (my children were raised with a pit bull, Jack, the kindest and gentlest dog I've ever seen) and still empty from the loss of one of our dogs, Bogie, from cancer last winter, we volunteered to take the pups and raise them until they could be adopted.
With the doctor's permission we picked up the two little ones the next day. Although still relatively healthy, their future looked dim. The congestion from the upper respiratory infection dulled their appetites and they showed little interest in a bottle. Feeding (every 3 hours) was painstaking slow, consisting of dripping formula down their throats with a syringe.
We named them Ajax and Odysseus, after the Greek heroes. And it would take a heroic effort from these two little guys to survive. Even with antibiotics, their infection showed little improvement. We struggled along with slow feedings -one feeding often taking more than a hour. After two days, one little guy's breathing took a turn for the worse - every breath seemed to rack his little body. My daughter, who often helped me feed, left the room in tears, sure this would be the last time she would see him alive. I spent that whole night with him, the heat cranked up and holding him over the humidifier. I was afraid to put him down, fearing the next time I lifted him he would be gone.
But that night was our turning point. After doing some hurried internet research, I found a formula by reputable breeder and we made a mad rush to the store to get goat's milk and yogurt (plain, not lowfat). The puppies seemed to take more of an interest in the new formula. Ajax, the bigger of the two even started on the bottle. In just a few days, the puppies began to gain weight. In week's time, they grew into shining little butterballs - see our Reindeer Games card. Over the next few weeks we were amazed at their growth and their shining coats - see Stocking Stuffers - even though our subsequent trips to the vet showed them to be very wormy.
Amazingly fast, they were 12 weeks old - see Etched in Glass. We had worked hard at socialization - going places and meeting new people - as much as we could while waiting for their vaccinations to be completed.
We seriously considered keeping both of them even though the number of our pets was already pushing the legal limits for our city. I even contacted a local trainer noted for her work with behaviorally challenged dogs. She told me about the social problems faced by orphaned pups and suggested the best thing for them was to split them up - as soon as possible. While it may not be true for all orphaned pups, I knew in my heart it was true for these two. Although they accepted people well, it was clear the most important thing to each of them was the other. To keep them together would most certainly curtail their ability to bond with people. With much sadness, we decided to adopt one out. Ajax, shy but mischievous, was the one we decided to keep. Odysseus, the more outgoing of the two, would find a new home.
Bookmark our site and join us for our (successful!) search for a new home for little Ody, their adventures as they grow and the upcoming prosecution of Cherish's owner on animal abuse charges (a public flogging with a side of tar and feathers followed by jail time seems reasonable to me - but I may be disappointed) in the coming posts. Comments? Email us at AjaxandOdysseus@theCardBard.com.
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