Doug and I have always been animal lovers. We had 7 dogs when we
moved to the mountain and added an 8th one the first month we were here. Now we have gone even further. We decided
to make our property an animal sanctuary. We are working in coordination with the Hampshire County Animal Shelter to
provide temporary homes for dogs in need. We are taking care of mama dogs with puppies and pregnant dogs. The
county shelter is not suitable for puppies so we are providing the appropriate facilities and care. When the puppies
are old enough, we can adopt them out.
We started with one female and her 4 puppies in April 2007. The puppies
are now in their new homes. Here are some pictures of the first dogs we have been keeping here.
Belle, a beagle, is one of our foster dogs. She arrived in very pregnant condition. On
April 13, I had to take her in to the vet for an emergency C-section. The pups were too big for her to deliver.
She survived; the pups did not. She has recovered and been adopted.
Another foster, Bessie the bassett mix, had her 7 puppies on April 14th with no problems. The
puppies grew rapidly; after weaning, they were all adopted to wonderful homes.
Another foster, Sugar, looked pregnant and she came to live with us. Turned out she was not
pregnant but she bonded completely with us and we have decided to keep her.
A litter of puppies given up by their owner came next--they might be husky shepard mix but very hard
to know for sure. These puppies, Sunny, Sassy, Nightrider, Possum, and The Watcher, were only with us for 2 weeks before
being adopted.
Now, we are waiting for the next batch of puppies to arrive. We don't know when they will need
to be rescued or fostered but we do know there will be a need for our shelter soon. Please spay and neuter your pets
unless you intend to keep all the babies!
