Foster puppies, week six

WARNING: The puppies in these photos are disturbingly adorable. Be sure to view them in a well-lit room, and stay back from the screen. I do not assume liability for any side effects you may experience from viewing these photos, including an overwhelming urge to squeeze a puppy.

Here are the pups' glamour shots at six weeks old. These are going on the web--the pre-adopt process begins this week. (Tell your Austin-area friends!)

Nancy, the momma dog

King Louie

Mario

Princess Peach

Princess Daisy

Bowser

Yoshi

Luigi

Well, I admit, I haven't submitted Luigi's adoption info or photos yet. I'm struggling with an inner voice that tells me he's my puppy. It tells me to write a really awful bio so that no one would even consider adopting him.

Nancy is officially DONE with these pups. She still has some milk, so they swarm her whenever she comes into their room, but it's not enough to satiate them--and Nancy runs all over the room like she stepped in a fire ant mound, so they don't have much of a chance to latch on.

What this means, for me, is a new cycle of feeding and cleaning up that takes almost all day, every day. I feed them, then I change their newspaper (which, with seven puppies, is completely soiled as soon as they finish eating), then I wipe the floor and change out towels and dishes, then I rotate through them so they each get some solo time in another part of the house or yard. That process takes 2-3 hours. Then I have about an hour to myself while they nap. Then it's feeding time, and the cycle starts anew.

Mega Thanks are owed to:

• My cat-loving sister, who helped me do all kinds of things to the puppies today: bathe, dry, trim nails, take photos, wrangle puppies, and socialize them. Amazingly, she even kept cuddling after Peach pooped on her.
  
• Byrd, who, on his birthday no less, helped me take Nancy and the pups to the medical building for their six-week vaccinations. All seven puppies AND Nancy got car sick--the result was something I can't describe in polite company. The worst part was that they got car sick within the first five minutes of a two-hour-long round trip. And in Texas this time of year, it's too hot to drive with the windows rolled down. What a birthday present.
  
• My dad, who has been faithfully providing me with mounds of desperately needed newspaper. I couldn't do it without the newspaper.
  
• All of you, dear readers, who are undoubtedly calling up your Austin-area friends at this very moment, and telling them to go to Austin Pets Alive to adopt the world's cutest puppies!