A Poem by puppy raiser Amanda K.

Hey everyone! I wanted to share this poem that came to me while walking the dogs.
____________________________

The walk is quiet, peaceful......................easy.

Bird melodies drift contentedly from unseen points of vantage

Trees, still bare from seasonal shifting sense transformation in the air

Their tender young shoots still encased in the womb, in time with the universal clock, start migrating outward performing sun salutations.

These tender lings, off shoots of the unseen contain within themselves a stoic wisdom.

Season after season, these fragile and delicate pilgrims journey the sacred rite of passage through space/time with no goals, no egos. Surrendering themselves to Nature's Way, unquestionably accepting all current events that cause flutter to their existence.

And when conditions no longer favor their continued presence of form, with impeccable timing and grace, they release their anchor and sail silently toward the great Beyond.

by Amanda K.

Fergus - some puppy pictures

This one cute little puppy. Enjoy the photo's.

Thank you to Lauren for the photo's.

Ginger - a cute puppy or... a dirty dog?

Andrew sent these photo's of Ginger. The first one is good puppy. She is sitting nicely with her animal housemates for a family... portrait.

The others... Ginger being a not so good dog. Andrew said she got under the deck. She probably had a good time up until the bath that came after the photo's.



What a pretty picture!


No. I will not apologize. I'm a dog. Dogs are allowed to get dirty... once in awhile.


Fine... I'm sorry. Please make sure the bath water is warm, ok?

Finn takes in the Emergency Services Expo

Finn's puppy raiser Lori, took Finn down to Hawrelak Park on May 9th for the Emergency Services Expo that was part of Emergency Preparedness Week.

Finn was able to be exposed to a lot of different things which is always a good thing when training a future service dog.

Here are some photo's of Finn with some of the equipment that was on display.


Here is Finn next to an EPS tank.


A chopper, Air One I think.



Ok, Finn... I'm jealous. The Global News Helicopter!



A fire truck too?!

Finn was one lucky pup to be able to get up close to these very cool machines!

The F-Litter at Laurier Park for a class

Although the photo's show the dogs playing (they like to do that), they also had a class. Burning off some puppy exitement before the class gets going is just part of the fun. The siblings love to get together!

Then it's time for class though, they settle right down and get to learning.

A big thank you to Lori for the photo's.

Goldie going fishing or looking for a new friend?

Here is our Goldie checking out those orange floaty things in the water. She does like to explore.

Hydra does the Little Big Run

The Edmonton Journal sponsored Little Big Run attracts thousands of individuals, children and families to walk or run 5 km, 10 km or participate in the Weight Wise 1 km event. Elite runners can compete in the Timex 10k Road Race Series, which took place on May 30, 2009. D.J. and his in-training golden lab, Hydra. Hydra did the 5 km walk. Hydra is 4 months old and will be a service dog when she grows up.

Photograph by: Brian Gavriloff, Edmonton Journal

Read the story here:

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Health/Thousands+walk+Edmonton+Journal+Little/1648830/story.html

http://tinyurl.com/onrpz7

Clipper goes to Victoria

Clipper accompanied her puppy raiser, the Dogs with Wings Executive Director, John Wheelwright to Victoria in May. John said that she was a great puppy! Way to go Clipper! Here are some shots of her around Victoria.


In the gardens by the Empress Hotel.



Another one in the gardens.



Going for a stroll.

Goldie the music lover

A puppy story from Cheryl:

We took the dogs to Strathcona Farmers' Market awhile back, and Goldie was distracted by all sorts of sights, sounds and smells. She had the neatest response to this young busker, playing tunes on his cello -- she was totally attracted and transfixed by the music, so we stopped to listen for a while. Another woman nearby caught the happening on her cell phone and graciously sent me pics.

Thank you, to Marlene Spencer for the photo.

F-litter rides the bus

Yesterday the F-litter got an introduction to riding public transit. Normally we like to introduce the puppies to buses when they are much younger but the F-litter missed out on their training. They are now 13 months old and almost ready to move on to their adult homes and the final stage of their training.

Dogs with Wings are very fortunate to have the support of Edmonton Transit. Not only do they give us transit passes so that we can take our dogs on the LRT and buses, but they also offer us access to private charter buses so that our dogs can get exposed to all aspects of riding a bus. A big thank you to Margaret for making all the arrangements and to our wonderful, patient transit driver Dennis.

Lauren/Fergus,Lori/Finn,Sherry/Flash,Gidget,Susan/Garnet


Kathy/Forester,Moira/Freedom,Emily/Fab,Gidet,Susan/Garnet

Gidget honours Search Dogs

Today, all around the world, people are celebrating some amazing dogs. The United Nations declared April 26th the International Day of the Search and Rescue Dog. Edmonton had its celebration at the Alberta Legislative Grounds. Since Gidget's housemate Tango is working towards her certification with the Canadian Search Dog Association, we went along to participate in the festivies.

F-litter at the Off-Leash Park

Fergus, Forester, Flash, Finnegan and Freedom (missing:Fab)

On Thursday the F-litter had a puppy class at Laurier off-leash park. It was very cold and windy but only the humans complained. Classes at the park really test the dogs' skills because there are so many wonderful distractions and fun things to do rather than practice obedience and listen to their handler.

Future Service Dog?

As you can see by this picture, it looks like Garnet is already well on his way to becoming a service dog. We might have a little work to do on his technique though.

Freedom and Justice?

Freedom and his foster family took part in the Law Day festivities at the Law Courts building in downtown Edmonton. Law Day provides an opportunity for Albertans to learn about their legal system and the role the law plays in their country. Freedom got to tour the Law Courts, see inside prisoners' cells and climb inside a prisoner transport vehicle. As far as we know he wasn't 'paw printed' or detained.

Garnet's day at the zoo

Susan took Garnet for a visit to the zoo with her grandchildren. It looks like everyone enjoyed themselves.

F-Litter Birthday Party

On Friday night the Nova Scotia litter, Gidget and Garnet helped the F-litter celebrate their 1st. birthday. We started out practicing basic obedience and then the real party began. Everyone enjoyed the 'cake' and party favours.

G and H Litters finally meet

On Wednesday night the G and H litters got together for the first time, for a meet-and-greet at the Dogs with Wings office. The G-litter is 2 weeks older than the H and they look like monsters compared to the younger puppies. Instead of each litter having their own separate training class, we are going to mix the two together. It will be interesting to see the differences between the pure lab H-litter puppies and the Golden Retriever x Lab puppies of the G-litter.

Happy Birthday F-Litter

Fab wanted to wish her sister Flash and her brothers Freedom, Forester, Finnigan and Fergus a wonderful Happy First Birthday.

F-Litter Training Class

Flash, Fergus, Finnigan and Hope


Fab, Forester and Freedom

On Thursday the F-Litter and Hope had a training class on Whyte Avenue. We practiced obedience in Chapters and then we stolled up and down Whyte Avenue. At the end of the class we all went to Starbucks to see how well the dogs would behave in a restaurant situation. Everyone was able to leave their dog and go to the cashier and order their drink. After we finished, we all got up from the table and left the dogs and not one puppy broke their down stay. Great job everyone!!

The F-litter will celebrate their 1st birthday on March 29th.

Finn meets the G-litter

During our weekly G-Litter class, Lori brough Finn in to do a demonstration of proofing a recall. After his fantastic performance, we let him meet his half brother and sisters (they share the same father). As you can see by the video, they all had a great time playing together. Finn will celebrate his first birthday on March 29th and G-litter was 1 day short of 10 weeks old.

Fab and Emily

Emily shared these pictures of Fab celebrating St. Patrick's Day and watching a hockey game.

Some pictures of the "G" Litter AND their Names!!

These little ones have certainly grown in the last 3 weeks! And are they ever fun to be around. I spent some time with them Saturday afternoon.

Here are some pictures of them.

Missing is Gidget (formerly known as Pink). She is already with her puppy raiser. Lucky girl!


Brooklyn and 2 of her puppies


Glory (formerly Purple)

Ginger (formerly Green)

Garnet (formerly Blue) and Brooklyn

Garnet (formerly Blue)


Waiting for lunch.


Waiting for lunch. Bring it on already!


Goldie (formerly yellow)


Garnet (formerly Blue)


Ginger (formerly Green)


Garnet (formerly Blue)


Playtime


The gang

The G-litter have names

The G-Litter finally have real names. Meet Gidget (Pink), Ginger (Green), Garnet (Blue), Goldie (Yellow) and Glory (Purple). They all went on a field trip to Ikea so that Kendall could show off her grand-puppies before they all move to their puppy foster homes next week.

Happy Birthday Nova Scotia Litter

Rigger, Digby, Sable, Breton (missing Hope,Clipper & Schooner)

G-Litter update

The G-litter are now 22 days old. We had our first escapee from the whelping box....it was Pink. I was lucky enough to be there when it happened. This litter is so big and growing so fast that Maria decided to introduce them to 'real' food to help supplement Brooklyn's milk. To say it was a hit would be a big understatement. The piggies loved it. Here are a few pictures taken after their first real meal.

There are more pictures and video on my blog Dogs with Wings Hero.

Training

Some of the puppy raisers from the Nova Scotia and 'F' Litters get together regularly to train their puppies. They go to malls and other public places as well as the off-leash park. Here are a few pictures of Forester, Fab, Rigger and Finnegan that they wanted to share with us.

Meet the H-Litter

Lucky me, I got the opportunity to go to Amanda's house today to meet the H-Litter and take some pictures. Compared to the monsters in the G-Litter these puppies seem so sweet and tiny. Allow me to introduce you to the latest batch of Dogs with Wings recruits:

The first born, and largest puppy, was Green. He arrived on Wednesday at 10:09am weighing a very respectable 519 grams. His coat is a light golden colour.

Purple was the second puppy to arrive. She was born at 10:55am weighing in at 502 grams. She is a little darker gold than her brother Green.

At short 17 minutes later, at 11:12am, Yellow arrived. She was a little smaller than the first two puppies coming in at 480 grams. Amanda says she came out with attitude....very fiesty. Today when I tried to roll her on her back to take her picture she put up quite a fight....she's a girl who knows what she wants and makes sure everyone else knows too.

Then came the second boy, Blue born at 12:20pm weighing 517grams. He was a little slow to start moving around on his own and suckling. Amanada thinks that he is going to be the gentle one in the litter, the one that everyone else bullies around.

The fifth puppy born was Orange, the second black girl. She arrived at 12:52pm weighing 512 grams.

Last was Red. She loudly announced her arrival at 1:12pm. She was the smallest at birth weighing 450 grams. It seems that the little ones are often quite vocal and do the most complaining. Her coat is so light that it is almost a creamy white.

The H's are here!

Born to Libby and Fire are six beautiful lab puppies. Libby started her labour right on schedule on the morning of January 21st and delivered four girls and two boys. We have 2 yellow girls, 2 black girls and 2 yellow boys. Unfortunately, the last pup was still born. Libby and the babies are healthy and strong, the pups are nursing well. I'll post more details as I get them. Thank you to Amanda and her family for providing a loving first home for our newest Dogs with Wings.

'H' Litter as of Friday, January 16th

Count the spines or heads to see how many babies Libby and Fire have produced. Dr. Scott predicts seven.

Classes have started again

Moira/Freedom,Sherry/Flash,Emily/Fab,Lori/Finnegan,

Lauren/Fergus (missing: Kathy/Forester)

After a long break, our regular weekly classes have started again. Here is the F-litter and their puppy raisers. It is hard to believe that they will be 10 months old at the end of January.

G-litter is one week old

Brookly and her puppies are doing very well. Everyone is gaining weight and Brooklyn has her 'spunk' back. She greeted me at the door and was happy to eat all the treats that I had brought her. Blue, Green and Purple have all doubled their weight in one week and Pink should reach that milestone today. Our little Yellow girl has only increased her weight by 80% but she is doing great.

G-Litter 39 hours old

I had the opportunity to visit Brooklyn and her puppies on Friday afternoon and take a few pictures....enjoy!

Freedom's new home

In December, Freedom said goodbye to Michelle and her family and moved into a new foster home. After he had an opportunity to settle in and get used to his new family they took him bowling at Bonnie Doon Mall. He was fascinated with the balls being thrown down the lane and then rolling back automatically. Moira said it was a great place to practice sit stay and down stay and she was very impressed with his ability to focus on her. Here he is watching Moira's son Davis bowl.

Caper goes to school

On January 7th , Amanda and Caper gave an inspiring presentation to a class of 44 grade one and two students at Garneau Elementary School. Caper showed how he can lie down quietly while Amanda stepped over him and did an excellent 'leave it' with a piece of cheese on each paw. Caper felt so relaxed and comfortable in the classroom that he actually dozed off.

Brooklyn/G-Litter update

I am thrilled to announce that Brooklyn and her babies are doing well. So well in fact that the Vet says that they are ready to leave the clinic. Grandma Debbie is very relieved and I can't wait to see Brooklyn and my new grandchildren safe and sound back at Cheryl and Roger's house.

For more details and pictures, you can go to my blog: Dogs With Wings Hero

Welcome G-Litter

Well, it has been a bit of a tough night. Brooklyn started to go into labor around 10pm Wednesday. The first puppy started coming out breach just after 11pm. Brooklyn struggled for nearly 20 minutes trying to push the puppy out but she just couldn't. We rushed to the Emergency Vet. We were not able to save the first puppy but the remaining 5 puppies where delivered by Emergency C-Section around 1:30am this morning. It was a very difficult birth for Brooklyn and she lost a lot of blood. Both Mom and babies (4 girls and 1 boy) will remain under close watch over night but we are hopeful that everyone we get to go back to Cheryl's house later today.

THE PUPPIES NEED WARM SOFT BEDDING!

With the imminent birth of two litters of puppies, we need to replenish our stock of towels and sheets. This is a great time to clean out your linen closets of old mismatched and frayed towels and sheets, and hit the January White Sales. We need old towels and bedding for the whelping boxes for Brooklyn and Libby to deliver and care for their babies. If you can help out, please drop the items off at the office. Or, if you have a Goodwill Store in your neighbourhood, maybe pick up few soft towels for the puppies. Thanks for your help, and keep watching the blog for birth announcements.

Libby's 'H' Litter

Pretty Mom...At the end of January, Libby will deliver her fourth litter of puppies! With her partner Wally, Dogs with Wings have been blessed with the healthy and happy C, E and F litters. The 'H' litter has been achieved via sperm donor Fire. Send out the PUPPY RAISER WANTED call for at least 4 puppies and stay tuned...

G-litter X-ray

Yesterday, Brooklyn went to Crestwood for her x-ray to determine how many puppies are in her belly. When we all saw her big belly we thought that the ultrasound estimate of 5 puppies was going to be low. Maria guessed 9 puppies and I went for 8. The x-ray revealed 6 spines. Dr. Scott said that the puppies were moving around like crazy when he was trying to do the x-ray. He said they are ready to be born at any time.

G-Litter update

On Friday, Brooklyn goes to Crestwood for an x-ray to confirm how many puppies are in her big belly. Kendall says that she hardly moves any more and she is very uncomfortable carrying around all those babies in her tummy. It almost sounds like there may be more than the 5 puppies that were found during the ultrasound. On Thursday, Brooklyn will move in with Cheryl (Macy's foster Mom) to be ready for her anticipated whelping date of Monday, January 5th. If we get a copy of the X-ray picture I will post it on the blog.

Christmas....Dogs with Wings Style

Its almost time for the guy in the red suit!

Its been a wonderful year here at Dogs with Wings. Our latest group of adult dogs have now made the successful transition into adult training; the Nova Scotia and "F" litter pups are coming along nicely; we have the newest Nova Scotia Puppies placed in wonderful homes, and there will be more bundles of joy arriving early in the new year courtesy of Brooklyn x Wally. Many of our seasoned volunteers have offered their help with both adult dogs and our pups and we will be ready to take on 2009 with vigour and our usual determination to achieve great things despite the odds.

I was reading the latest newsletter from another Canadian service dog provider the other day. Currently, that organization produces 4 or 5 more dog teams a year than we do. But they have 16 paid staff to our 5! We do an amazing job with our existing resources and we need to remind ourselves of that.

So, as you enjoy your upcoming holidays and pause to reflect on your accomplishments for 2008, remember this. To all of you who have helped us this year, new friends and old, our thanks to you and our wish for a healthy and happy holiday season!

John Wheelwright, Executive Director

Year end celebration

Sierra, Gunner, Jet and Pilot

Schooner, Breton, Clipper, Sable, Digby


Macy, Forester, Fergus, Finnegan, Brooklyn


Chester, Bentley, Everest, Eddy, ??, Ebony

On Friday night we had wonderful get together at Waggin' Tails. There were puppies from the E, F, Nova Scotia, New York and Flight litters and numerous of our wonderful volunteers and staff. The puppies played games and the humans visited and enjoyed a wonderful pot-luck meal. At the end of the night the puppies went home with a Christmas treat bag full of goodies. Thanks to everyone who helped make this evening such a great success.

Will there be a G-litter soon?

Dogs with Wings, foster parents Kendall and Debbie and the proud parents-to-be Brooklyn and Wally are thrilled to announce that we have puppies on the way. An ultrasound this afternoon confirmed that there are at least 5 littles ones growing in Brooklyn's tummy. On average the sacks measured about 2.3cm each which gives us a rough due date of January 5th. There hasn't been this much excitement about a litter since Dogs with Wings started their breeding program 7 years ago.

Fire/Rescue De-sensitization

This afternoon Fergus, Freedom, Macy and Breton went to the 101 Street Firehall. The plan was to introduce them to the sights and sounds associated with fire/rescue personnel. Firefighter Sutton (who also fosters Rigger) did an excellent job of working with each puppy to make sure that they were comfortable with the look, smell and sound of all of his gear. All of the puppies did a wonderful job. We even had the opportunity to witness other firefighters gearing up and heading out to a real call.

Meet Jet

I stopped by the Dogs with Wings office and caught a glimpse of this cutie pie and just had to take his picture. Jet is being temporarily fostered by Sherri and her family until a permanent puppy raiser can be found.

Meet the latest recruits

Late Thursday night Elisa went to the airport to pick up the newest batch of Dogs with Wings recruits. Our second littler of puppies donated by a very generous breeder in Nova Scotia. We received 6 black English Lab puppies (same parents as the first Nova Scotia litter), 3 boys and 3 girls. These puppies have been given names with an aviation theme:

Jet
Pilot
Gunner
Sierra
Skye
Dash

F-litter Update

Kathy & Forester, Finnegan & Holly

Lauren & Fergus, Michelle & Freedom, Sherry & Flash

On Wednesday the F-litter celebrated 7 months of puppyhood. On Thursday they had a class at the Laurier off-leash park and I was able to get a couple of pictures of them with their foster 'parent'. Freedom is still the biggest puppy but Fergus has has a big growth spurt and he is catching up. Flash and Finnegan are long and lanky with lots of energy. Then there is Forester and Fab....two complete opposites. Fab is a tiny, slim little girl with more energy then all the litter combined whereas Forester is a big, laid back and lazy boy. Unfortunately Fab wasn't at the class so she is not included in the pictures.

Search fun for all

Today we had a puppy class out at Patty's acreage. All puppies in training were invited to come out and learn some search techniques. It was a little cool and windy for the handlers but the puppies had a wonderful time.

The handlers also took a moment to relax quietly with their dogs:

Kendall and Brooklyn's summer adventure

This summer Kendall took her foster puppy Brooklyn on a camping trip to Jasper. They went up Whistler's Mountain on the Jasper Tram. Brooklyn befriended a young boy and sat beside him the whole way up.




Every morning a young chipmunk would visit their campsite. Kendall was able to put Brooklyn in a down-stay beside her and the chipmunk came right up and took a treat. Good work Brooklyn!!

F-litter update

Everest/Suan, Ebony, Holly/Finniegan, Cathy/Forester, Emily/Fab

Susan/Everest, Ebony, Michelle/Freedom, Sherry/Flash, Lauren/Fergus

The F-litter is now 5 1/2 months old and growing by leaps and bounds. Freedom is our big, active boy, with a personality very much like his big brother Everest. Forester, another big boy, is completely the opposite....very laid back and easy going (similar to his big brother Champion). Fergus, the smallest boy in the litter, has a personality somewhere in between his two brothers....a little bit active and a little bit laid back. Finnegan and Flash are both tall and very lean with similar activity levels as Fergus. Fab, the smallest in the litter, has lots of energy and keeps her puppy raiser busy.

Our class this week focused on people and dog distractions. Ebony and Everest joined the class to act as both distractions and mentors for their younger brothers and sisters.

Pooped out

I think this pictures just sums up today perfectly. The E-Litter puppies had to get up bright and early for a 7:15am appointent at the NAIT animal clinic to get their eyes tested. Then it was off to St. Albert to participate in the inaugural Autism Speaks Canada 3K walk. By noon everyone was exhausted and heading back home to relax. It looks like Everest decided not to wait until he got home....the back of the van was just a perfect fit for the 'pony'.

Puppy class with distractions

Today the F-litter class was at West Edmonton Mall. It was so busy with back to school shoppers and tourists. One of the kiosk vendors was showing off his ball attached to a long elastic rope. Here is a video of Freedom and Fab showing just how good they are at sit and down stays with distractions.

Our gentle giant Everest

WHO, ME????? He started it! Besides, I only chewed on him a little bit Mom......Morris Hobbs and Everest have a very amiable relationship. Everest is gentle and respectful with his older feline companion. Once in awhile, they just can't resist a little physical engagement - I wonder who started this one?

Fergus the explorer

Lauren has had Fergus out exploring our beautiful river valley from a different vantage point...good puppy!!

E-Litter Birthday Party

Elliott, Everest, Eddy & Ebony (missing: Enzo)

On Friday night Dogs with Wings had a birthday party for the E-litter at Waggin' Tails. Patty baked some delicious muffins for the guests of honor and their four-legged friends as well as some wonderful cup cakes for the two-legged attendees. They wore birthday hats and had to stay in a down and wait for their muffins. As you can see from some of the pictures....the hats weren't a big hit.

Happy Birthday E-Litter

On August 3 and 4th the E-Litter celebrates their 1st Birthday. Do you remember these faces from a year ago:


Everest 2007AUG03 9:51pm 478 grams


Elliot 2007AUG03 10:44pm 461 grams


Eddy 2007AUG04 11:31pm 472 grams


Ebony 2007AUG04 12:21am 425 grams


Enzo 2007AUG04 02:18am 330 grams

Off-leash park fun

Dora, Sass, Elliott, Bently, Ebony, Enzo, Caper and Macy

Nova Scotia Litter

On Friday the E-litter (& Friends) and the Nova Scotia gang all got together for a giant puppy class at Buena Vista off-leash park. There were more than a dozen dogs but everyone behaved themselves and a good time was had by all. It is amazing to see how quickly the Nova Scotia litter have progressed and how well they are at recall and basic obedience at 5 months old.

Here's a video of the puppies having fun during a 'play' break.

F-Litter is growing up

Flash(Sherry), Fergus(Lauren), Forester(Cathy)

The F-litter had a puppy class on Whyte Avenue today. It is hard to believe that they are already 4 months old. The puppy raisers are doing an excellent job and all the puppies are progressing well.

Fergus and Forester playing after class

Congratulations to the Gilles family for a hugely successful fundraiser! Thank you to everyone who took part. This is taken from the Stony Plain Reporter, Jun13, 2008.

The Web is ALIVE

Our official website is up and running and getting lots of hits! Check it out... www.dogswithwings.ca !! There is a ton of information there about our programs, our applications, volunteer opportunities and more. Thank you Marsha for your hard work getting us on line.

They are moving on....

The puppies will be 8 weeks old on Saturday and they will be leaving the wonderful care of the Banack family and moving into their puppy foster homes. This will be their last weekly update photo shoot on the blog.

Freedom (formerly known as Blue)


Orange


Fab (formerly known as Pink)


Flash (formerly known as Red)


Purple


Fergus (formerly known as Green)

Puppy stampede

I was quitely waiting outside for the puppies to come out and visit with me. Once Sherry unlocked their door, the race was on. Fergus hit me first with the rest of the litter close behind.

Fun and fat at 6 weeks

The puppies look like chubby balls of fur. It is amazing to watch as each of their individual personalities are developing. They are really enjoying their clicker training and their ever expanding world. This week they got to meet their older sister Ebony from the E-litter.

Blue


Orange


Pink


Red


Purple


Green

We are proud to announce that most of the litter sponsors have picked names for their puppies:

• Fergus (green) Alberta Building Trades Charitable Foundation
• Fab (pink) Cessco Fabrication
• Flash (red) All-Fab Building Components
• Freedom (blue) DDB Canada

Five weeks old

This past week the puppies were introduced to clicker training and they got their first opportunity to see the outside world. Both were a tremendous success. It is hard to believe that they will be ready to move on to their puppy homes in just 2-3 weeks.

Four weeks and full of energy

The puppies are really active now. They still sleep a lot but when they are awake they are playing and investigating their ever expanding world. They all can climb in and out of the whelping box and are well on their way to being paper trained.

Feeding frenzy

Normally we don't introduce the puppies to dog food until they are about 4 weeks old but the F-litter seemed ready at 3 weeks. The puppies got their first taste of ground up puppy kibble, yogurt and goat's milk. To say that they loved it would be an understatement. When they were done they were covered in food from muzzle to tail.

Thank you Alberta Building Trades Charitable Foundation and Cessco

We are extremely pleased to announce that the entire "F" litter has been sponsored! Joining the ranks with repeat sponsors Stahl Peterbilt, J Folk & Associates, and Cessco Fabrication & Engineering, are new sponsors All-Fab Building Components, DDB Canada and Alberta Building Trades. These companies and organizations have pledged to support a puppy and to follow his progress for the first year of training. Each of the "F" litter puppies will wear the logo of their sponsoring company on their jackets while in training all over the city. We can not say how truly grateful we are for the support and encouragement Dogs with Wings receives from the people at these fine organizations. You really are helping "dreams take flight!"

Can they be any cuter???

F-litter is now 3 weeks old. They change so much from day to day. They are also getting much more active. Green and Red are the most playful, always trying to engage a sibling in a good game of 'chew on your face'. They are even starting to play with Mom...chewing on her paws and swatting at her face. This week they are going to get their first taste of puppy food and they are going to be introduced to clicker training.

BLUE


ORANGE


PINK


RED


PURPLE


GREEN

We have our first escapee!

A update from Sherry:

Purple puppy escaped from the whelping box tonight! I let the wooden edge down to change their bedding - which woke them all (they have very good hearing) I said "Hi, Puppy Puppy and they all walked around the whelping box. Purple came over to my side right away, put his front paws on the edge, lifted his back feet onto the ledge and out he came - tail wagging furiously! Red girl tried too but just couldn't lift herself over.

They all have teeth and are playing with their littermates. They mouth each others heads, ears and tails, bat each other with their paws, wiggle under siblings and roll them over. Red and Green bark. One time Red was awake first and nudged all the siblings to play but they were still too tired. The last one she picked was Green who got up to play but by that time Red was tired and turned her back and tottered off to a corner to nap. Green walked after her and when she laid down he stood behind her and barked! Very cute! He woke up for nothing!

Puppy play time

The puppies are now starting to interact with one another. Green is always trying to chew on someone else's muzzle and then gets upset if they walk away and don't want to play with him any more. Good thing they don't have any teeth yet. The F-litter is now 18 days old. Their ears have just started to open.

They are growing like crazy!!

On Saturday the F-litter celebrated their first 2 weeks of life. They are maturing so quickly. I could spend all day just watching them and taking pictures. Sherry and her family are doing an amazing job caring for my beautiful grandchildren. They are beginning to walk on all fours and starting to interact with one another.

Blue

Orange

Pink

Red

Purple

Green

Puppy dreams

It has been 4 days since I last saw the puppies and I can't believe how much they have changed. When I arrived they had just finished lunch and they were all sleeping. I don't know what they dream about but boy are they active when they are sleeping. Here is a video showing them twitching, licking, barking and talking while they slept.

We have light!

Green

I received the following email from Sherry:
Today Green opened his eyes. They are a lovely violet blue! Red and Orange had their right eyes opened and Blue, Pink and Purple opened their left ones. Red put her head up onto the whelping box inner ledge and stretched her front legs out like a giraffe. She was a bit overbalanced and tumbled but she may be our first escapee soon! Pink tottered a few steps on all 4 paws tonight. Since Friday night all the pups but Purple have put their back feet under them and pushed off and moved forward. They are growing well and all very good at nursing. When they are hungry they get straight to Libby and even though it is a bit of a frenzy, none of the pups gets knocked off for long. At the end of a meal, they are very sweet laying on their backs and sides with round full bellies, twitching and dreaming puppy dreams. They are looking more like little dogs every day with black noses and longer muzzles.

Purple

One week old

The puppies celebrated one week old today. They are doing so well. They are all walking, ok maybe it is more like a waddle, except purple. They are definitely the biggest, strongest and fastest developing litter we have ever had. They are all very close to doubling their birth weight. Libby is doing really well. She is full of energy and excited to see you when you come to visit her babies.

Blue

Orange

Pink

Red

Purple

Green

Training has begun

The F-litter is only a few days old and they have already begun their training. Each day Sherry takes a Q-tip and tickles their pads and between their toes. She follows this with an exercise where she holds them upright, upside down and then on their back. Finally, she takes them and stands them on a cold surface for a couple of seconds. Here is a video of BLUE going through the routine.

Here is another video of everyone enjoying a meal together. They are so demanding and rough when they feed. I just love the sounds that they make.

Once they are done nursing they just kind of roll off and pass out with their distended bellies full of warm milk.

F-Litter Family Portrait

Here is a video of the happy family enjoying their first meal together

We need your help

We desperately need some fitted sheets to use in the whelping box. Ideally, we need twin size but we will be happy to take any fitted sheets that are donated.

We are also looking for plain (unprinted) news print roll ends to help keep the welping box dry and clean.

Just drop them off at the office: 14550 - 116 Avenue.

Surprise.....number 6!!!!

Libby had a nice surprise for us. At 12:08pm she gave birth to a very healthy 512 gram black boy who got the GREEN rickrack collar. He is a very strong puppy and had no problem fighting for a good spot on Libby's belly. He is our unexpected miracle puppy.

GREEN is going to be Grandma Debbie's favourite. If you look closely you can see that he has a beautiful white flash on his chest (like his Daddy Wally) and it looks like he could also have a patch of white hairs on his chin. Time will tell.

Number 5 - and hopefully the last

We have our last puppy PURPLE...if we can believe the x-ray. Another big, yellow boy. He is 493 grams and was born at 10:57am. Poor Libby was just exhausted and she just couldn't push on her own any more. Maria helped massage her body to encourge her to push. Purple spent a long time in the birth canal and was very slow to start breathing and moving around. We gave him a few minutes on his own to try and get some milk before the gang came back and he had to compete for the best nipple.

So the finally tally is 3 boys and 2 girls. Mom and puppies are doing well!

We have a fourth....

RED, the fourth puppy born gave us quite a scare. At 10:08am she started coming out breech. She had her two back paws hanging out but Libby was just too exhausted to push any more. She stayed like that for quite a while. We got Libby up and moving and out popped a yellow puppy weighing a healthy 536 grams. She needed a little extra TLC but eventually she was moving around and pushing into the puppy pile looking for a meal.

We have our first girl

PINK, our first girl, was born at 9:25am weighing a respectable 423 grams. She looks quite small compared to her gigantic brothers. She was born with two sacks surrounding her body....a little unusual and a first for Dogs with Wings.

The puppies are coming!!!

Thanks to the marvels of technology we can give you a moment by moment update on the birth of our F-Litter. Libby's water broke about 6am this morning. Our first puppy, a black boy, was given the BLUE rickrack collar. He was born at 7:25am weighing a whopping 562 grams (this is the biggest puppy we have ever had). After working so hard to push this big boy out Libby was exhausted and took a bit of a break.

Just a few minutes ago we had the second puppy born at 8:51am. Another boy...but this time a yellow one. ORANGE came in at 527 grams....again a whopper.

That's all the news for now....check back again soon.

Want your own Dogs with Wings puppy?

We are very happy to introduce the first 4 sponsors of the upcoming "F" puppies. All-Fab Building Components Inc, DDB Canada, J Folk & Associates, and Stahl Peterbilt have all pledged to support one of our newest puppies as they make their way toward earning their wings. Would your company like to participate as a puppy sponsor? Sponsors name their pup, and follow him throughout his training and eventual graduation. The puppy wears your company name proudly on his training jackets and will come to visit you at your business at your request. It's a wonderful way to be involved with helping dreams take flight. Here is little Eddy, Stahl Peterbilt's "E" puppy, born August 2007. Call Irene for more info, 944-8011.

Puppies, Puppies, Puppies!

This xray makes me very happy that I am not a dog! This is Libby, at 52 days gestation. Look very closely, you should be able to see 5 skulls and 5 spines. Libby's due date is Monday, March 24. We'll keep you posted! Thank you Crestwood Veterinary Centre for sharing this picture with us.

And the winning number is.........

FIVE.....ok....maybe 6 or 7. The xray clearly shows 5 skulls and 5 spines....but....the puppies are so close together and on top of one another....that there is a slim possibility that there may be 1 or 2 more hidden in Libby's tummy. Dr. Scott says they all look fully developed so we are thinking that we may hear the pitter patter of little paws in about 10 days or so. We will keep you posted.

Puppy update

Libby is going for an x-ray on Saturday to confirm how many puppies are in her tummy. You only have two more days to vote.

Watch the blog this weekend to find out the magic number.

Fido.....Fifi....maybe Fluffy?????

Dogs with Wings, and the proud parents Libby and Wally, are thrilled to announce that they are pregnant.

The 'F' Litter is due at the end of March. Libby will be going for an x-ray in 3-4 weeks to determine exactly how many puppies are in her tummy. Once again the Banack family has generously offered to take Libby for the birth and to love and care for the puppies for their first 8 weeks of life.

Libby and Wally are also the parents of the 'C' and 'E' litters.

In the next couple of days we will have a poll on the blog to guess how many puppies Libby will have.

Is she pregnant?

It has been 4 weeks since Wally and Libby had their date so it is time to go to the Vet to see if she is pregnant. We have an appointment for 2:30pm tomorrow. Since the breeding wasn't very successful we are not sure if we are going to spend the money for an ultrasound or just have the Vet palpate her tummy to see if he can feel any puppies.

Randee, Libby's foster Mom, is fairly confident that Libby is pregnant. She says that she is quite moody and even more famished than she is normally. Stay tuned....hopefully we will have some good new tomorrow!

Breeding update....

Unfortunately, we didn't have a very successful breeding. Libby recently had surgery to repair a damaged knee so we had to be very careful and not put any unecessary stress on her back end.

It looks like we may have missed the 'window of opportunity'. Libby has strange heats which makes it very difficult to predict the best time to introduce the male. We only had 1 successful tie so we are not sure if there will be a 'F' litter in the near future. Normally we would have at least 3 successful ties. I guess time will tell. We will keep you posted.

Breeding Calendar

Here is a link to a word document that describes, in detail, all the stages of a canine pregnancy. It has been customized to accurately reflect the development of the F-Litter. Check it out......F-Litter Calendar

It's a date!

Wally and Libby had their first date today. If the whelping gods are on our side, we should be handing out cigars around March 23rd. Libby should be going for an ultra-sound around the end of February to confirm whether or not she is pregnant. Keep your paws crossed!!!

It is puppy time again!

Dogs with Wings is now in the planning stage for their sixth litter. Libby is in heat and we are hoping to start breeding her with Wally any day now. This will be the third litter for these two. They are also the parents of the 'C' and 'E' litters. Now is the time to start thinking about good names beginning with the letter 'F'. We need puppy foster homes and corporate sponsors. If you know anyone who would be interested, please contact the office at 944-8011.



Libby and Wally when they were puppies.......too cute!!