IT'S MIDNIGHT AT THE OASIS

IT'S MIDNIGHT AT THE OASIS

It's midnight at my Phoenix water garden oasis home (My Song Pekingese Park), and I am awakened by a small lonely whimper. My new puppy that I took in as a rescue Sunday morning that day needed comforting reassurance and attention. I sleepily picked her up and then remembered that I need to give her a name since I planned to be taking her into the vet this morning for him to inspect and treat her eye. The left eye had been injured a few days earlier by another puppy in her litter. The name I chose for this new puppy and the one that came to my soul searching mind and heart was Californian Cherokee Castaway.

This puppy was from a litter whose Mother killed 2 of the 5 puppies, 2 weeks of age. The owner of the puppy's Mother brought the entire remaining litter into Forget Me Not Rescue in Palm Springs for Adell Lantz to save and hand feed nurture to an adoptable age. Needing to find homes for these puppies, Adell called Jeri, a friend of mine, to see if she wanted one of the female puppies. Jeri did agree to adopt the puppy Adell had selected for her, and when the planned rehoming time arrived, Jeri and her husband traveled from Phoenix to Palm Springs to get her new 7 1/2 week old puppy Saturday, September 18th.

Next day, early on a Sunday morning, Jeri brought the puppy to my home for me to see. I quickly noticed that the puppy had a serious eye injury (commonly caused by litter mates playing together too roughly digging a toenail in the eye). I told Jeri that I would take the puppy to my vet, Dr. Svoboda, Palm Glen Animal Hospital, for his expert care and treatment Monday, and I agreed that I would adopt this unpapered (but pure bred) parti-colored Pekingese puppy. We weighed the puppy and learned it was only 2 1/4 lbs. Normally, Pekingese puppies at 8 weeks are about 4 lbs or even more, but this puppy's parents were both sleeves (very small and under 6 lbs) so the puppy's weight was about right for her development.

Jeri and I were both very distressed by seeing the little puppy's serious eye injury, and we realized that vet care is expensive but also necessary. Also, Jeri really wanted to acquire a show quality female, registered Pekingese, one that she could breed to her Champion pedigree AKC registered male (hopefully one that I would have available in a few months time). My heart opened up engulfing Californian Cherokee Castaway, and now she is mine... and I am hers.