Bella and Shiloh's Six Month Birthdays and The Neuter Commuter

On Monday, August 15th, Bella Bean and Shiloh Bug turned six months old.  I can't believe how much they have grown and learned since we first got them.  They were just shy of three months old when we picked them up from our friend in Alabama.  They were born from a stray border collie that had wandered onto her farm.  Their daddy was a big black lab.

Bella with one of her litter mates.

Bella and Shiloh's first outing after leaving Alabama.  The went to Petsmart to get collars and leashes.

On our way back from Alabama, we took Topher and Tanker to visit my mom in the counseling office where she works at Collins Hill High School.  Bella and Shiloh came with to meet everyone.  They did not know how to walk on a leash yet, so they had to be carried.

A wild bunch in the counseling office!

With time, and lots of outings, Bella and Shiloh learned to walk on a leash.  They learned to sit, wait, stay, and down.  They learned to come when called.  They enjoy car rides, but still get car sick sometimes.

They have taken a lot of naps.

They discovered new things.

They find water in unexpected places.

They sleep on top of crates.

They have learned to love the cats.

They go on a lot of car rides.

Adventures wear them out!

They have learned that when the rooster alarm goes off on our phones, that it's time for Tanker meds and everyone goes to the kitchen for treats.

With lots of walks, they eventually learned how to walk nicely on a leash.

Which makes them tired.

They chew on sticks.

They play with toys.

They play with the cats.

They share their food.

At six months old, they are bigger, smarter, and and well-behaved dogs!



 For the puppies six month birthday, I made everybody special food.  They got ground beef mixed with cottage cheese, green beans, corn, and carrots for dinner.  That was mixed in with some of their kibble.

Full bellies mean nap time!

Now that the puppies are six months old, it was time to get them spayed.  Our vet quoted us $300 to $600 per puppy, which is outrageous!  I talked with some of my animal rescue friends, and one good friend who volunteers with the Prince William SPCA told me about the Neuter Commuter.  There is a low cost spay and neuter clinic in Shenandoah Valley that performs the surgeries for an affordable price.  Prince William SPCA facilitates transport between here and Shenandoah Valley so that their services are available to residents of Northern Virginia.  We signed Bella and Shiloh up.  It was only $65 per puppy.  We also paid to have them microchipped because I feel that microchipping is important for all dogs and cats in case they get lost.  We spent less than $200 for both puppies!

Bella and Shiloh were very well behaved in the parking lot.  They were a little unsure at times because there were a lot of barking dogs there, not to count the ones inside the animal shelter that were barking.  Bella and Shiloh listened really well to us, made eye contact when we spoke to them, and followed commands.  We were very proud at how well they did!  They are going to make great therapy dogs!

Wes saying goodbye to his little girls as they got lifted up on the bus on the wheelchair ramp.  How cool of a program is this?  A bus designed just for dogs!

I commented on Prince William SPCA's photo of the Neuter Commuter on Facebook and they replied back to me with, "Lindsay: Bella & Shiloh are beautiful girls -- so friendly & well behaved!"  I am pretty proud of them for that!  Many of the dogs there were older than Bella and Shiloh, yet not nearly as well behaved.  When training our dogs, it's always nice to hear opinions on how they are doing from other professionals.  That compliment made our day!  Bella and Shiloh are going to be great therapy dogs!

I was a little nervous about sending Bella and Shiloh off for surgery and leaving them overnight.  One of the volunteers there was a border collie lover and trainer.  He fell in love with Bella and Shiloh.  The amount of attention he gave them eased my mind and assured me they were in good hands. 

It was nice that Wes and I were able to get uninterrupted sleep today.  Wes has been working 10 to 12-hour night shifts lately and we are both tired.  I always stay on his schedule so I can spend time with him.  The puppies don't usually sleep throughout the day and they wake us up several times.  As nice as it was to get a full day's sleep, I miss them!  I didn't realize how boring life would be without them!  Topher and Tanker don't get in trouble.  Topher and Tanker always do as I say, are easy to train, and can sleep for many hours at a time.  As nice as that sounds, I have now realized that life without puppies is BORING!  The Foster Zoo is not a Zoo without the crazy little monkeys.  BS Adventures are fun!

 All we do is sleep without the puppies here.

 Come on, Tanker!  Play with me like the puppies do!

Boring!

                                                                                                  Cats rule, Dogs drool

Bella and Shiloh come home tomorrow morning and I'm sure they will be tired and sore.  I'm sure if we ask them, they won't call this a normal BS Adventure.  They'll say that this adventure was BS!  Poor girls.  We will have to pamper them a little extra over the next few days.