Our Newest Bottle Babies

This litter is lucky to be alive. Mama died when they were two weeks old, so small their eyes were just starting to open. The babies landed at The Safe House in Kentucky where a team bottle fed them puppy formula every two hours around the clock. Their formula intake was tracked and monitored to ensure they were getting enough.  The smallest one was already weak and dehydrated at arrival. She needed fluids and tube feeding for days to get back on track.

The ability to care for neonatal puppies like these ones is one of the many reasons we opened The Safe House — they would not have survived long if we didn’t take them in. The four boys were soon strong enough to make the trip to a foster home in Minnesota.  The girls needed extra care before taking the long journey and stayed behind.

The boys’ foster mom is now bottle feeding every five hours, and she’s got it down to a science. She can feed two puppies on her lap at a time! When one pup stops to take a breath, she gives the next pup in line a drink. When their bellies are full, all four pups drift into a snooze. A favorite spot to sleep is underneath the soft dog bed. Maybe it reminds them of their mama.

Their sisters rallied and recovered and were finally able to make the trip to join the boys! All six of the pups love to explore, adventure and play outside now.  They are happy, silly, sweet and love to snuggle!  Raising bottle babies is a labor of love, and it is so very worth it!  You’ll find all the bottle babies at the Bachman’s meet-and-greet on August 14. If all goes well, by that time they will have graduated to kibble — a major achievement in their young lives!

Written by Michelle Bruch