House of Puddles: April’s Fund
For April and Her Miracle BuppiesApril's Storywith permission from Susan Intessimone of Bluegrass Basset RescueI was very very scared. The woman who throws food to us signed a paper and they took us (well, half of us, and that was 22) to a building with lots of barking dogs. I stayed with my terrier friend but we were both so scared we pooped all over our crate. They put us in a storage closet because the building was full and a lady said to one of the workers, "I'll put in a call to basset rescue." Then the next morning they tried to pull me out of the crate because there was a lady there with a little girl and they said they needed to take my picture. Is it for a wanted posted? Would someone really want me? I wouldn't budge so the lady with the camera got down on the floor and took my picture anyway. She called me something--April. The terrier said it was called a name. I've never had a name before. Then she was gone and the days passed.
Today she came back! She carried me out to her car and told me I would never worry about anything else again. I would never have babies that I would never see again. I would never live in filth again. She said I was going home, but I had to come to her house first. There were lots of dogs there but she carried me past them up to a place where water comes out of the wall. She said I was getting a bath. I didn't know what that was and I was very scared. She held onto my collar even though it was so crusted with poop she gagged and slowly I felt something warm wash over me. I relaxed. It felt so nice. I stayed in there for 15 minutes, getting all kinds of soap scrubbed into my crusty coat. I leaned up against the side of the bathtub and closed my eyes. The lady kept saying I was a good girl. She wrapped me in warm towels and carried me back downstairs to a crate. She said I'd get to see the doctor later today.
It was so much better than I could have imagined. Is this what love is? Does someone really love me now?
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April Arrives at House of Puddles – with stowaways!April arrived at House of Puddles on April 24th. She hitched a ride with Kay Jordan & George E. Grunt on their way to the Boardwaddle in Oshun City.
Once April arrived, Marilyn didn't see a spay scar and it's obvious she'd had a lot of puppies, so Marilyn was going to have her examined to see if she was a good candidate for spay or just too old. April saw the vet as soon as she got to HOP but no one noticed . . .
She was PREGNANT!!! VERY pregnant!!!! And about to give birth ANY MINUTE!!!!!!!!!
Marilyn, her vet and all April’s friends and furends were very scared. At 11+ years old, April was far too old to be having buppies, and very thin and frail. We didn’t know if she and the buppies would survive.
So House of Puddles put out a call to all our friends and furends asking for help. A dangerous pregnancy would generate many new and unexpected expenses, and HOP had already had a very expensive year with many thousands of dollars in vet bills so far.
We came up with a way to raise money for April and the buppies and have fun at the same time. We created this Firstgiving page and established a pool - everyone who donated got a chance to name the buppies. We raised $1,101 in less than four days for April and the buppies!! Congratulations to Pam Watkins for winning the buppy pool and the right to name both buppies!
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Surprise! Buppies!Marilyn set up a live webcam of April in her whelping pen which ran intermittently all through Memorial Day weekend. Over 50 viewers watched April sleep, nest and prepare for her delivery while having a blast chatting with one another. Many visitors reported having sore backsides, neglected spouses and families, and letting chores pile up all weekend - because they were glued to their computers waiting for buppies to arrive! Many old friends reconnected and many new friends were made in the Bupcam chatroom, a nice bonus to watching April prepare for buppies.
Buppy #1 arrived at 9 AM on Tuesday, May 26th. Marilyn had gone to the doctor for her severe cold and left April safe in a crate, away from the other bassets, for about an hour. When she got back home, April was cleaning and nursing a BUPPY!!!! Buppy #2 came two hours later, at 11 AM. Both were healthy, active, LARGE (over a pound each) and April was clearly exhausted but very proud. Although their father is unknown and could have been a basset, Australian cattle dog, terrier or Airedale, both buppies appear to be basset hounds right now.
Buppy #1 is a tricolor – black with white patches and small brown patches. He weighs 1 lb 3.8 oz and is very active. Pam Watkins, our buppy pool winner, has named Buppy #1 RUDY (Rudolph Brazzle-Utz).
Buppy #2 has longer ears and he is mostly black with some brown on his face and a couple of tiny white spots. He weighs 1 lb. 4.4 oz and is a very big buppy! Pam has named Buppy #2 FREDDIE (Fred Brazzle-Utz).
April and Buppies Go to a Foster HomeTuesday night, a few hours after giving birth to Rudy and Freddie, April was ready to be moved to her new foster home. Marilyn was concerned that April, Rudy and Freddie would be uncomfortable at House of Puddles with 15 other bassets around, so she took up Gail’s kind offer to foster them until the buppies were old enough to go to their forever homes. April will return to House of Puddles, her forever home, after Rudy and Freddie are adopted.
Gail is House of Puddles’ miracle foster parent. Buppy #1 is named after
Rudolph Brazzle Utz – Gail became Rudolph’s permanent foster momma after Marilyn realized he wasn’t fitting in at House of Puddles. Rudolph had a severe case of heartworms when he arrived at HOP which caused a major case of aggression. He kept fighting with the other old bassets, and he needed a home of his own. Gail and her family took Rudolph to live on their farm in rural Virginia and, although Rudolph’s disease was so advanced that he only survived three months with them, those were the best three months of his life. He enjoyed all the attention he could get as well as getting to chase chickens and goats before sadly making his way to the Bridge on April first - which is also the day April was brought into rescue! Clearly Rudolph had a paw in sending April to House of Puddles and to Gail for a little while. It is fitting that Rudy is named after Rudolph! Pam wasn’t sure which buppy should be Rudy and which should be Freddie, so we asked Gail for some help. Gail reported that Buppy #1 bit his foster sister Stephanie soon after arriving in his foster home – and Rudolph was a biter! So Buppy #1 became Rudy.
Buppy #2, Freddie, is named after
Fred Brazzle, a very special HOP senior basset who recently made his journey to the Bridge. Fred was a very big boy and HOP’s bellyrub king. He is sorely missed and we think Buppy Freddie may turn out to be even larger than his namesake!
Keeping Updated on April, Rudy and FreddieWe will continue to keep April’s Firstgiving Page updated as the buppies grow.
Check out the most recent pictures of April, Rudy and Freddie by clicking the “more photos on Flickr” link on the left side of this page or visit
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hop-houseofpuddles/. You are welcome to leave comments below the photos on our Flickr page!
Once again, Marilyn and House of Puddles are extremely grateful to everyone who donated for April, Rudy and Freddie’s care. Marilyn could not do what she does to save senior bassets without your generosity and help. To learn more about HOP please visit them online at
www.houseofpuddles.org and be sure to sign up for their newsletter,
LOLHOP, so you can stay up-to-date on all the great happenings at HOP!
April, Rudy and Freddie have a blog!
www.twolilhoppers.blogspot.comApril and the bups all have Dogster pages! If you are on Dogster, please invite them and all the HOPpers to be your pup pals!
April:
http://www.dogster.com/dogs/792362Rudy:
http://www.dogster.com/dogs/792377Freddie:
http://www.dogster.com/dogs/792383Rudy & Freddie's Dogster Diary:
http://www.dogster.com/dogs/792499Here's a video of April a few moments after Freddie's birth (not for the fainthearted!)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9PmOT6t4FQ
And if you want to help support April and Rudy and Freddie as they grow, please consider making a donation to The April Fund by clicking the "Give Now" button on this page.
Thank you for your generous support of HOP. They save lives!
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Offline Donations:
Jessica Richman and Ztyx the Black Russian Terrier - $50, and Ztyxie promises not to eat the buppies!
Johnson & Johnson, company match for Suzanne Fitch - $75
Gail Utz - $32: 5/24 3 PM through 5/25 11 PM
Joni Brooks - $5: 5/24, 7:59 PM; 9:15 PM; 11:23 PM; 5/25, 3:03 AM; 6:16 AM and $95 as a bonus to buy all the HOPpers a round of frosty paws to celebrate their new nephews!
Melynda Majors - $1: 6/1, 4 PM :o)