Two Unexpected New Dogs (Photos Added)

So, my spring/summer plans or lack thereof have got more interesting. We’ve taken in two dogs to foster, one is near certain to be staying though. More on that in a minute. Anyone who knows me, knows I am Beagle crazy along with my family. Ever since we got Cody Bear in 2013 from a breeder, a serious passion for the breed and the many hardships it’s faced with so often has been ignited. While we sadly lost our beloved boy to cancer in 2020, we adopted Shiloh the very next day from frontline workers who sadly had no time for a 10month old puppy. Following Shiloh was Fiona in 2022, rescued from an abusive and neglectful home with some serious aggression issues as a result. Both are doing well now and Fi has become my dad’s emotional support dog and my trick dog and agility prospect. 

With us realizing the plight of many Beagles, from their usually gentle nature being exploited and used against them in labs to them being caged or chained except when out hunting rabbits, we see so many in need. And it breaks our hearts. My parents used to be extremely active in animal rescue from the late 90s to about 2008. We had dogs, cats, horses and birds coming in and being adopted out left and right. So, it comes as no surprise that my mom and dad are eager to start again, starting with our two new additions. 

A friend of a chronically ill elderly man reached out on Facebook in desperation to find two female Beagles a home, so they wouldn’t have to go to the shelter. While one would have an easy time getting adopted, the other might struggle despite being a Beagle. So, we stepped in since we have plenty of room and experience. Turns out, although their owner was kind and trying his best, they really needed to get a proper home. He had them out in a makeshift kennel with flooring made from ridged tin roof material and rusted wire around. Although, he let them inside when it got too cold, his version of cold and theirs may have been a little different. They clearly loved him very much all the same. They were also being free fed WAY too much food.

So, we have Maggie (formerly known as Mitzi/Mitzy), a 4yo+ female purebred Beagle who is overweight and will be eased into a vet prescribed diet food, that our other two Beagles thrive on. But, honestly her weight is the least of our concerns for her as it’s a relatively easy fix with diet and exercise. Sadly this girl has some significant emotional damage from having been such a sweet, submissive girl in a kennel for so long. She takes Velcro dog to a whole other level, she’s needing a lot of attention and reassurance that we’re not abandoning her or locking her away somewhere. Even if I briefly step out of our quarantine suite (guest room) for a few minutes to grab a drink or get them something, she’s all tears and whimpers when I get back. She is 100% all heart and love, although she does have a higher prey drive than our other two, having supposedly been a rabbit dog prior to the man finding her. Thus introductions with our cats will need to be done slowly with the utmost caution. But, overall I believe our goal with her will be to rehab and train her for several months until the perfect home comes along, so long as she receives a clean bill of health from our vet. Our main concern is if she or her companion might be pregnant since there was an intact male on the property and Maggie is coming out of heat here. It’s not a deal-breaker, we just want to be prepared and if she’s all good then we’ll be having her spayed ASAP. 

Next is Maggie’s adorable presumed daughter, Triscuit (formerly known as Precious). This little girl is not full Beagle. She looks to have some Mini Dachshund and terrier (Russell, Rat or Teddy Roosevelt) in there. She’s extremely petite and long. Comparable to a ferret honestly. Plus she’s got some ferret quirks and mannerisms too like hoarding toys, slinking around and slipping through gaps. I’ll be honest, this girl is less likely to be leaving us and it’s not because she’s unadoptable. The opposite actually, she’s just about everything I’ve wanted and more in an emotional support dog for me. Much like her mom, Lil One as I'd been calling her until I picked Triscuit for her, is touch-starved and extremely cuddly. However, she’s not traumatized, and is just a little nervous with the newness of everything. Which is to be expected. She’s supposedly 10 months old, but I think she might be a little over a year old. Old enough to possibly be pregnant, thus we’ll have our vet do an ultrasound and keep close watch before getting a green light to spay her when she’s old enough. They’ll be going next Monday for their checkups (the soonest our vet had). Our vet is taking a few days off this week, thus we couldn’t get them in earlier and since there’s no emergency or negative symptoms, we’re okay to wait it out vs going to the other vet office. The only thing either one truly needs right now other than my undivided attention is to learn how to play with toys. Maggie has no interest while Triscuit likes the toys but doesn’t understand tug o war (she let’s go, thinking I don’t want her to have the toy), fetch (again she doesn’t understand she’s supposed to chase after it and I wasn’t trying to rid her of the toy), or any real form of play. She’s also afraid of the squeaker noise, so I gathered some non-squeaky ones for her for now. 

So, I will be working on recolors and design commissions, I just may need another day or two till my loft apartment is tidied up and puppy-proofed for Triscuit while my parents are working on things for Maggie. Once I can get back behind my desk then I’ll have tag pickups galore as boy I’ve been craving it! Plus Robin’s design commissions and Frosted’s reference sheet. I’m excited to finish both of those ASAP c: 

UPDATE: The girls are now named Triscuit and Maggie! Photos posted in comments and more updates to come since at least one girl is pregnant! Both are being kept. Triscuit has moved into my loft apartment with me and Maggie visits on occasion too. Both of our other two dogs are doing really well with the new additions and don't seem upset about them, now that they know we still adore them as much as we did before. As such I've changed the title from "Two Unexpected Fosters" to "Two Unexpected New Dogs" since these girls are here to stay. 

Applaud anyone who read all that 😅

I like Penelope or Zuri for the little girl. 

I didn't know you had such a passion for beagles and for rescuing, good on you and your family for helping these two out and I'm sure many more in the future! 

It feels kinda weird to suggest names for a "stranger's" dog but I'll give it a shot. Idk how you would like rhyming names but I though of Blitzi (I dunno, sounds cute) since you called her Lil one, you could call her Lilo since it's sorta like Lil! I also like some generic names like Sadie and Stella.  Lmk what you name her!!! Nala, may have skimmed thru a couple paragraphs....
-Nala Eq

This is the puppy, who I have decided to name Triscuit. Her mom is still needing a name though to go with her gentle, sweet nature. This is her mom with Triscuit, currently known as Mitzi.

OMG I LOVE THE NAME TRISCUIT!!!!! So cute!!! Keep us posted!

It's seeming more and more likely little Triscuit is pregnant. My adopted sister figure breeds Boston Terriers and does loads of dog rescue herself, so she'll be helping us make the perfect nest and environment for Trisky if she does turn out to be pregnant. Once she's got all her shots and preventatives from the vet (plus confirmation from a pregnancy test), we'll start taking her places for people to see and so we can advertise that she'll be having puppies. I don't imagine they'll be too hard to find homes for giving how adorable she is and that the likely dad wasn't much bigger than her either. We'll be asking for photos of him, so we know better sizing and what the pups might be mixed with other than the amalgamation of breeds Triscuit is. If I remember correctly the boy looked to be Beagle x Corgi with upright prick ears. 

My sister also has loads of connections within the local dog rescue industry, thus she'll be able to help us get the word out about the available puppies and help us get them adopted or fostered for adoption. Expect loads of updates should she or her momma be expecting pups. We've raised litters of kittens with stray cats we've taken in and we used to breed Miniature horses, but this will be my first experience with dogs that I know of. Other than when I volunteered at an animal shelter that took in a momma Pitbull that had three young puppies which I got to help take care of and socialize. But, that was over a decade ago at this point. 

Oh wow! Seems like a lot of work but I love puppies! Congrats Trisky!

Last edited on 2024-02-29 at 17:46:45 by Nala's EquestrianCenter🐈

they're both lovely ♥ mitzi looks so sweet, i hope it doesn't take too long for her to find her forever home if all goes well with the vet checks and rehab/training

@oswin: She's found it! My parents decided tonight that they intend to keep Mitzi due to the complexity of her emotional trauma and significance of her separation anxiety. It would be detrimental to move her to another home given these issues and the time it'll take to resolve some of them. I'll explain in more detail on our findings and observations soon, probably after our vet takes a look at both on Monday, as there's a lot to go over, including more on her history and suspicions we have regarding it. Plus Mitzi is very bonded to Triscuit and vice versa. While not inseparable, they do really love each other and have some adorable quirks that they do when together. 

Our other Beagles also seem fine with the new additions since we're still doting on them as much as we were before. Fiona actually really loves Mitzi in particular and vice versa, which is interesting since prior to their arrival, Fi was more picky with new dogs or even her "brother", Shiloh. Guess she likes girl dogs more than boys xD. We do believe it's likely that Mitzi is pregnant as well (same dad/sire as Triscuit), though not as far along as Triscuit. All puppies born will be available for adoption though, unless one or more has serious special needs/health defects. In which case they'll be kept until the perfect home comes along that can handle such needs. All of us believe that at least in Triscuit's case, the pups will probably be adopted really quickly as we've noticed a lack of smaller non-Bully puppies available for adoption in our area and when they are available on Petfinder and social media, they get snapped up quick. Even mega-mutts like these pups will be. 

Here's another photo of Triscuit - This is from their second night here, as you can see Triscuit settled in quite quickly and easily. She's cuddled close as I'm typing this update. Other than vet plans, the next order of business will be introducing them slowly to the horses. Starting with my 32yo retired Paso Fino mare, Rosie, who adores dogs and will give them kisses/wash them if they'll let her. She has a calm, gentle and reassuring presence too, which will help these two girls feel more at ease hopefully. 

Aww! I'm so glad you can still see Mitzi since your parents adopted her! ❤️ 

Mitzi officially has a new name! My mom chose Maggie for her and it fits her really well! 

I love the name Maggie!

such sweet little guys 💚 i never knew beagles are mistreated so commonly, that's very sad to hear. but it's great to know they're being taken care of now!