shaggy sisters

Days have been busy, due in no small part to the influx of abandoned young animals. Kittens dumped in January, rehomed through our vet.

February started with these 3 pups, all girls.

All adorable and good natured

though currently a bit scruffy.

The traditional bath photos:

She had a limp which turned out to be a fracture.

mandatory time outs

supervised play time

closely watched

Nina (of the 9) has been spayed and a few of her brothers have been neutered. We're swimming upstream but we're getting there.

These beauties are already responding to their mange treatments.

lost and found

New life in the palm tree.
Two chicks, days before they left their impressively engineered nest.

One less friend. Our Twiggy was suffering from multiple health problems and had a rapid decline. This is one of the last pictures of her, fittingly between her sister/rival Xmul, and Xasu who helped raise them both.

JoJo, Rose and Rocky have been spayed, cones are off, and stitches are out.  Not a moment too soon for us; they were dangerous with those things on!

Rose is as big as Xmul now. All 3 of them are.

Xmul, Zasu, June, Murci and Tuesday. Zasu helped raise them all. 
She's 20 years old and always in the middle of things.

Excited faces...what could it be? Zasu knows.

Sean found her along the road by herself. She wasn't from any of the nearby houses and she nearly climbed into the Jeep on her own.

1st bath (and an undeniable resemblance to Twiggy).

We're calling her Brooklyn.

Big ears and markings like Twiggy, but not the ornery temperament. We were hoping for a break from the constant influx of dogs (and eventual spayings) but she has made sure we don't regret it by being an absolute sweetheart and the least trouble a puppy can be.

















 
Look at those long legs -she may end up Twiggy-sized. $o much dog food!

Rocky was her size a few months ago. 

 
She and the older pups play all day and half the night, with the occasional nap.

 
Brooklyn tries to get Monkey to join in... Monkey is not having it.

winter solace

The last few months have been undeniably rough, flashes of joy and long stretches of grief. After weeks of medical intervention and hope, the deaths of Ginger and Reggie left me gutted. Still am but life trudges on. 
So many little faces, always plenty to do and something to be happy about. Some mornings while I rake I can hear pelicans diving into the Gulf on one side and distant flamingos from the other.

Dulce showed up in November, young enough to still have a milk tooth. Here is her 1st bath photo. She has since been spayed during one of the many recent vet visits.

Ruby is just about a year old. She's clever, beautiful and has a bit of a temper!
 
















Ruby's adorable sister Perl has an under bite, hip dysplasia, suspect vision and a sunny disposition. Tupo is nearly 2 (!) and likes them both.

We've had a few cold fronts and it's great to get a break from the heat. Not everyone agrees, Elewah does not like the cold.

February started with 3 puppies dumped at our gate, predictably all girls. I'm not happy about it, but it's hard to be quite as sad with puppies around. 
As of then unnamed pup with Dulce.

They were a little thin, mangy and wormy, but overall in decent shape. One fawn colored and two light colored pups.

This is JoJo (Calderwoof) and her 1st bath photo.

This is Rose (Namapoonas) and her 1st bath. I know it has become a tradition but pup 3 looks pretty much just like this. Trust me they all got a bath.

clean and tired

Nico (in the hammock) is at the mercy of her weak immune system and Greta (gazing at the puppies) had ear surgery for what I guess you'd call cauliflower ear. Recovery is gruesome but seems to be going ok. It is always something, but hopefully there are no more medical dramas on the horizon.

 
All 3 have put on weight. Rose, Rocky (Puppington) and JoJo say life is good.

(Almost) everybody loves puppies.
Ruby and Steve watch JoJo chew on Rocky.

Frida Mestiza

From the looks of this x-ray no amount of swimming will help Frida walk again. We're grateful that the wonderful Mexico City charity "Car-Can" has offered to donate a doggy wheelchair to help her out!

She has put on weight and is doing much better than when she arrived! Her mange has cleared up and her coat is growing in quickly. She had been nursing when she was injured and has been diagnosed with ehrlichiosis, so she was very tired. She makes her feelings known even without a wagging tail.

The traditional 1st bath photo. You can see her wounds reflected on the wheelbarrow. Despite her weakened condition she made it clear she was not a fan of bath and put up a fight!

Her back is still bony, but her ribs no longer protrude and her wounds have entirely healed. She has a real can-do attitude!

In the weeks she's been here she has adjusted remarkably well and we've made a few modifications to help. Here she stands on the porch between Otto and matriarch Zasu.

Going down the steps is easy

 
from the steps to her ramp

No problem. Just one of the gang.

 
This is one of her favorite spots to relax. 
Everyone except Zasu watches a low flying plane.

Her favorite inside hangout -where she can keep an eye on things. 
She can get up the 2 steps to casita on her own.

Getting some sun with Tupo. She's a happy girl, full of smiles and kisses.

 
Frida can really cover ground quickly -especially when she's following Sean or getting fed!  She's doing better than we had hoped and we're looking forward to getting her some wheels. She's young and needs to get out for exercise.