BACKSTORY
On the 10th April 2021 Millie arrived into the BRNGB family. As normal she went had a vey check, and foster mum even asked the vet “she’s not pregnant is she?” because something just seemed off about this very judgey fluff ball! “No” said vet…….”mmmmmm” said foster mum!
Fast forward to the 22nd April, and we relented and arranged for a scan of Millie……….and ohhhhhhh yes she was most definitely pregnant. like very pregnant…..so pregnant it couldn’t be seen how many babies there were!
We didn’t panic (much), we didn’t hammer Amazon next day delivery (much), we didn’t ask a milliion questions (much).
On the 27th April 2021, Dawn, Arthur, Sammy, Dog, Sam, Joe, Cuthbert and Louise were born in the early hours, and well did the fun begin!
All the puppies were adopted once they were old enough with full vet checks and rescue back up. We even had them all DNA tested, Mummy Millie is a full basset, but as you will see, her babies, although have basset in them all look totally different. Genetics are a strange thing!
Millie was also adopted once her puppies had their homes and she was spayed. She has the most wonderful life now, this litter clearly wasn’t her first and she went through the labour and rearing like a pro (although there were a few scary moments…..down a badger set…..one of the puppies getting stuck whilst being born…..)
Some of their families have prepared a little up date on how they’ve grown.
Reggie now lives in Poole, Dorset, he was the last of the puppies to leave his mum. We bought him home on 24th July 2021.
He is a mischievous, stubborn, lovable dog who is very gentle especially with the grandchildren although he does jump up at them! He loves sitting on your lap for cuddles and sunning himself in the sun, he finds the smallest bit to lay in!
He still likes to take and chew up things, he will show you what he has got for attention and he does know when he has done wrong. He looks at you in a superior way to tell you he is a member of the family and believes he is in charge.
We are able to walk him off lead now, though in the beginning he would be walked on lead as his recall was not good, he is better now.
He will play with other dogs and knows when to leave other dogs alone. He still likes to get poo bags from people. He will play with a ball and loves nothing more than to steal other dogs balls and run off with them.
He is very much loved by all the family and we wouldn’t be without him.
Emer now lives in Oxfordshire with two other basset hounds.
She has these little latex squeaky balls. She loves them so much that we refer to them as her babies.. We were in the garden after work and I found the pink one, we played fetch with it a couple of times and obviously she got bored.. so I started getting the washing off the line.. then the sky went dark.. I looked up and a kite the size of a small car was swooping down into my garden and stole Emer’s baby.. honestly, it just grabbed it off the grass and flew off.. all I could do was look and say “what the *******.” I have never seen such a big bird that close in my life. Emer was distraught seeing her baby being stolen and of course we had to buy her new babies!
Stanley From the day we all made the long journey to see Sally, Hettie, Milly and her puppies. Arthur as he was then chose us really, it was then a family debate on what to call him, it was decided pretty quickly he was going to be a Stanley.
Initially Stanley was super independent and for a long while after he wasn’t a cuddly puppy and often laid by himself. We so wanted him to be a cuddle monster however he quickly worked out how to get what he wanted.
As time passed and he knew he wasn’t going anywhere he softened and now he’s on your knee before you’ve finished sitting down. He’s become a strong part of the family.
Dave has probably walked more miles with Stan the man in the last 2.5 years than possibly any other dog we’ve had. Stanley with ease completed the Yorkshire 3 peaks, we are super proud and he really is a man’s (Dave’s) best friend.
Stanley barks, barks and barks some more we even know when an ant has walked past the house.
He has been part of the family since day one our resident hound Dottie accepted him as her own but unfortunately passed before she could teach him all her ways (might be a good thing ha). Stanley has accepted others also he has doggy friends but he’s let into his castle as foster hounds Frank, Samson, Milo and now Ethel.
He is a character he loves to dress up/ street party’s, he loves birthdays/ Xmas but I think his joint favourite is walkies/ ice cream.
We walk, we eat, we drink, we sleep. We take holidays and just chill Stanley and now Ethel his sister do pretty much everything together. He’s not a pet he is FAMIlY xx The Rowe family
Bingo came to us on 18th July 2021. Little did we know the extremes of a wonderful but cheekily troublesome puppy Bingo. Though in reflection, the journey home from Essex was the theme of what was to come. We put him in the back of the car, and on the way home he tooted so well, we thought he had a *ahem* little accident. The net result was cuddles instead of a crate.
It took about a week for Bingo to settle down properly into our home, for Bertie to accept him into the pack and about three weeks for Loki to accept him. Loki, our greyhound lurcher, did a fantastic job of teaching him manners and keeping him in check.
A month before we got Bingo, Beau sadly passed away, in his final month he became rather incontinent; found it difficult to get about to go outside and do his business. So needlessly to say there was only so much Dr. Beckmann’s the carpet could take, so we ripped up the carpet and put laminate down – with a puppy on the way it has proven to be a good decision. When the bloke from fit my floor came to do the laminate flooring, he fitted the beading between the skirting board and flooring with a glue gun and nail gun. He said: “Nothing is going to get that up”. He obviously hadn’t counted on the puppy because a few short weeks into Bingo and it was ripped up.
Bingo’s other antic that he has practiced to fine art is opening a door that opens inwards, especially to the kitchen. He was jumping up at the kitchen door and caught the door handle. Something clicked in that little brain of his, and he learned that pulling down the door handle means nicking roast lamb off the kitchen table. Hence, we’ve had to put a bolt, with an elastic band (he worked out he could waggle the bolt loose), on the other side of the door.
But for all his antics, he truly has become part of the pack and wouldn’t be without him. He has bonded really well with Bertie and Loki, and have become the troublesome trio. In the last three years with him, we have had numerous trips up the Wye Valley and Forest Dean, which has included being dragged through the forest by Bingo – chasing after a squirrel. In addition have done, Pen-y-fan, Sugarloaf, Dartmoor and many more; each walk finished off with pint of ale outside a good pub.
It really is wonderful to see how the puppies have grown, they are very special to all of us. A massive thank you to their families for taking the time to share their stories with us.
They are a true testament to the Charity and their amazing foster mum who put her life on hold for months for them, they destroyed her home, her garden her mind, and nearly her soul! She even shipped her own basset out of her home so all of her time could be dedicated to Millie and her babies.
A huge thank you also to Granny Woof-Woof’s support network, other foster mum’s of the Charity who were there for her in her hour(s) of need.
We hope you’ve enjoyed the update?
Happy Birthday babies!!!