Now for the conclusion of Maggie and The Missing Pups-
COWBOY: I hate to say it but we need to take those pups away from Maggie.
ME: Why? You actually think Maggie could be harming her babies? How can you say that? She’s our Maggie girl! I think you’re dead wrong and I’m gonna prove it!
I decided to do a little investigative work on my own to prove Cowboy wrong. I put on my cheetah print P.I. outfit and headed out the door to solve this 4G mystery. We know that the pups are disappearing when we leave for work. So, I left as I usually did but instead of continuing down the dirt road, I pulled off to the side, parked and made my way back to the house. Once I got to the house, I noticed that Maggie and one of her pups were missing. I went around to the patio and spotted them. Maggie was walking with the pup in her mouth. As I walked up to her she began to pace back and forth and started making a terrible whining sound so I backed off. Once I was out of her sight, she left the puppy and that’s when I made my move. I scooped the little thing up and put it in my pocket. I headed home to call the vet.
ME: (speaking to the vet) You and Cowboy were right, Maggie is harming her pups. I don’t understand this. She acted so protective. I really thought it had to be something else happening to them.
THE VET: The animal instinct takes over. She’s doing what she thinks is right. And it’s not going to be easy but you’ll need to rescue those other pups from her.
Ok, let me get this straight…you want me to take ALL of her puppies away from her? Umm, I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Maggie already has a wild look in her eyes. This will definitely send her over the edge and we’ll probably need to commit her to the looney bin for dogs.
THE VET: Yes and it’s important that you do it right away.
Have you ever tried to take a mama’s baby away from them? I know I’m a bottle blonde but even I know that this is not going to end well!
Emotionally drained, I called the vet to let her know that the mission was accomplished.
ME: (speaking to the vet) After an hour of me putting the pups into a basket and Maggie taking them out of the basket I FINALLY got them all. Now what do I do?
THE VET: Welcome to the world of bottle feeding 6 little ones. Come by my clinic and I’ll show you how to bottle feed and care for the pups.
ME: Excuse me? We have to bottle feed them? This is going to be fun! I can’t wait to learn!
THE VET: You haven’t ever bottled fed an animal before have you?
ME: No and I’m soo excited!
THE VET: Oh ok. Well keep that excitement for when you need it and I’ll see you soon.
I wonder why she said it like that? I anxiously called Cowboy to tell him the news.
ME: Guess what? Remember how I told you awhile ago that I couldn’t wait to bottle feed a baby animal? Well…we get to do it with the pups!
COWBOY: Oh lord Tammy, that’s a lot of responsibility. Are you sure you’re up for it? It’s 6 puppies.
Pfff, am I up for it? Who does he think he’s talking to?! I rise to challenges. I look a challenge in the eye and say “Bring it”!
ME: (talking to Cowboy) Yes, grumpy butt, we got this! It’ll be fun…you’ll see!
One day later working on 4 hours of sleep-
Let me paint you a visual… bags under my eyes, my hair looked like that Chucky doll in those horror movies and I’m not even sure I’ve showered in the past 48 hours. It’s 2 a.m. we just got pup #5 and #6 fed and they’re all asleep. Cowboy and I get back into our bed and drift off to sleep only to be awakened by puppy #2. I moan and throw the covers over my head.
COWBOY: (chuckling) Oh no you don’t! We are having so much fun…remember? Are you still excited? What about all of those memories we’re making?
ME: If you’ll just make them stop whining I promise not to try any new recipes for the next year AND I’ll even throw a bonus in there.
COWBOY: Oh yeah, what’s the bonus?
ME: I won’t poke you tomorrow when you’re snoring!
P.S. Did you know that dogs have a sense of rejecting a pup if it has congenital issues or if it’s the source of incredible stress on the mom. In Maggie’s case, she had 6 stresses. Yes siree. The sensors in our sweet Maggie had hit overload. She had gone certifiably canine crazy and was eliminating her pups one at a time. I’m not going to tell you how she did it because I wouldn’t want you thinking ill of our Maggie girl, crazy or not.
Soon after the puppy fiasco, we made the decision to have Maggie spayed. Cowboy’s hope of mating her did not work out as planned. Maggie is back to being Cowboy’s faithful companion, always by his side. We found good homes for the puppies and occasionally get updates on them. And those dead beat daddy dogs never showed their four legs out on 4G again. Just like a male…love them and leave them!
P.S.S. Taking those puppies from Maggie was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done IN MY LIFE!! Let me tell ya, IT WAS HORRIBLE! I cried, Maggie cried, and the pups cried. This pretend cowgirl does not like to be the cause of unhappiness! But, I did what needed to be done and rose to the challenge just as Maggie did. And just for the record…in “Tammyland” everyone is happy. My world is made up of butterflies, sunshine, smiles and lots of laughter…oh, and cheetah print.
