You have a litter of kittens or puppies. Probably unwanted; certainly unexpected. You’re trying to do the right thing. They weren’t too bad while mama was taking care of everything, but now they’re starting to eat puppy/kitten food, and, well, they’re starting to get expensive. Sure. They’re cute. But they’re also messy, and they’re beginning to get into things. You’re not mean, but you really want them gone.
They’ll go quickly and be someone else’s problem if you give them away, right? But you still have that female dog that is likely to wind up in the same situation soon. How do you fix that? I can think of at least two ways. Want to learn more? I thought so.
The first way you can do this is to contact Milam Touch of Love as soon as you discover you’re going to have an unwanted litter of puppies. We might be able to help find good homes for your litter of puppies, and we have resources to be able to get the mama dog spayed. If you can afford it, we do accept donations to pay it forward for another litter to be prepared for their future homes and to spay another mama dog for another family, but that’s not required, and your ability to do that doesn’t enter into our decision to help you.
We have foster partners who evaluate the litters of puppies and choose to foster them. When they are five-six weeks old, we get them their first shots, deworming, flea treatment, and health certificates once they are chosen by a foster. (Deworming and flea treatment may come sooner if needed.) We transport them to a trusted transporter who makes sure they arrive safely at their destination — currently, we have an arrangement with a group in Colorado that works very well. About that time, we’ll also arrange to have your mama dog spayed. Unwanted puppies gone, and mama won’t have no more. Currently, we can only use this for puppies and dogs. That’s one method.
The second method, you do it on your own, but there are things we may be able to help you with if you like. Did you know puppies can be safely spayed or neutered as young as six weeks of age? If you can afford to do this for your litter, you’ll re-home them knowing they won’t contribute to an overpopulation problem of unwanted cats or dogs. But even if you don’t do this, by charging a small rehoming fee for your puppies, you could earn enough money to get your mama dog spayed. Yes, really! Talk to us about what your options are, and we’ll help you get it figured out. Option 2 works well for your kitty, too.
By giving away puppies, you’re giving away an asset that can help you stay out of this situation in the future. The other thing you help ensure when you charge a small rehoming fee is your puppy or kitty is less likely to be resold for a profit or used as bait for training fighting dogs (yes, that’s typically what someone desperately searching for a puppy or kitten may be using your animal for). I hope most of you find that horrifying.
Need help? Email (info@milamtouchoflove.org) or message us with the following information:
Name
Location
Are you interested in Option 1 (CO for pups and mama spay) or Option 2 (pups pay for mama spay)
Phone number (let us know if it’s mobile and we’ll text for the best time to call)
Mama dog information (age, number of puppies, breed, approximate weight)
Puppy information — date of birth, number of puppies, a picture is nice if you have it.