So I work at a vet clinic and they had a need for some people to foster a litter of puppies. I had the brilliant idea that I would take two of them. Around 3 weeks old still in need of constant attention, cleaning, feeding, pampering. I have raised several litters of puppies over the years considering my family bred golden retrievers, I just assumed it would be similar to that. What I neglected to realize was that puppies with a mother are significantly less needy. When they wake up and start whining all you need to do is send mom in to take of them. Now I am getting woken up at 4:30 am everyday to feed the puppies, give them water, and clean their papers. Then about ever 3 hours, like clockwork, they wake up and start whining again. Not to mention they are on 4 different kinds of medicines for worms and parasites. I attempted at first to keep them in my bedroom but soon realized every time I moved or did anything they would wake up and cry. Great. Not to mention the second I brought them out in my room Chilla had a fit and began barking at them. She remained mad at me for about 3 days. I really hate that I have a chinchilla with the attitude of a teenager. So I moved them to the living room where the cat looks at them like they are his next meal and Elanor, our most recent mom, freaks out about puppies whining and wants to come to the rescue. The first few days were really rough and severely tested my patience. Being 21 and wanting to go out on the weekend becomes really hard when you essentially have "babies" at home. Luckily I had my sister to help me out otherwise they wouldn't have made it past a day. It has been almost a week now and they seem to have gotten into a little schedule and don't need as much attention. THANK GOD. I think they are finally feeling better and growing up. This started out as an attempt to do something good and help out animals that needed it. I did accomplish this but I also realized that I am not as responsible as I thought I was. A 21 year-old should not have pets that don't stay in cage or use the toilet. If your kids ever tell you they will take care of an animal if you get it for them, unless it lives in a cage, don't believe them. You will be the one that takes care of it.
Note to self: DON'T EVER FOSTER PUPPIES AGAIN.
