What weighs 5 pounds and cruises at 500 mph?
If you guessed a new, super-secret drone of some sort, you'd be mistaken.
If you guessed a tiny, wire-haired Dachshund mix puppy of some sort, you'd be correct.
His name is Cap, and he arrived on Friday from the same Arkansas shelter where Tanner came from. The animal control officer there had seen this one-eyed puppy offered on Facebook in a "free-to-good-home" ad, and immediately worried that he could end up as pitbull bait for a dogfighting ring. The ACO contacted the owner and picked up the puppy, and then asked if we could take him.
We've heard a couple of different versions about what happened to his left eye. The animal control people were told he had the eye scratched by a cat when he was just a few weeks old and the vet removed it. When we got the vet records that came with him, however, we noticed the paperwork said he had been "born blind" in that eye, and the vet had done an enucleation. I called the clinic on Friday to ask for a clarification. A staff member told me he had been born with a left eye that was small and shrunken, which is why the vet removed it. He can see just fine with his right eye.
Another discrepancy: Cap was supposed to be 5 months old, but after animal control got him they found out he was … drum roll please … only 8 weeks. So he is pure puppy. And yes, that means we are working on housetraining.
Cap is one of the friendliest, happiest, most sociable and outgoing little characters we've ever seen. Just a sweet, loving tyke who enjoys meeting people, dogs, shoes, computer cords, toys and anything else along the way. Even his own tail is good for a chase every now and then. He zooms everywhere. He's so light we often don't even hear him, but see a small dark shape streaking across the floor. He's smaller than he seems in these photos — you could put him in a coat pocket and still have room for a beer.
Of course, the other dogs are looking at us as if to say, "Who let him in the house?" Cap doesn't understand why all of his new uncles and aunts aren't thrilled to have him jumping up and down on them, and he is learning boundaries from his elders. Here he is with Holly:
Holly promptly growls at him, getting this look in response:
(Click on photo for larger image to see how big that tiny one eye can get.)
Here he is with blind Sophie:
We decided he may start thinking that growling here is just everyone's way of saying "Hey, nice to meet you, kid."
Well, there is someone who not only doesn't growl at him, but plays with him:
Yes, Tanner! He loves this little guy, and they like to play tug-of-war over soft chew toys:
And even when a chew toy isn't involved, Tanner doesn't seem to mind having a puppy hanging off his face:
Cap is just a doll, and we don't see any reason he can't be available for adoption right away. So if you're interested in adopting this little guy Alayne calls "Pop Top," please send an email to steve[at]rollingdogfarm.org. All the usuals apply — potential adopters need to come out to meet us and the dog, we'll need a vet reference, etc. We'll do the initial screening via email.
There was one other dog who also arrived on the same transport as Cap. We wish he had a fraction of Cap's personality, but alas, he doesn't. He's shy and scared and prefers hiding to socializing. Hopefully I can get a photo of him for the next blog post!
Final photo of the munchkin:
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2014 Shelter Challenge Underway
The first round of the Shelter Challenge for 2014 is underway and runs until March 30th. You can vote every day here. To search for us, type in our name, Rolling Dog Farm, and Lancaster, NH 03584. We've won thousands of dollars in the previous contests, so your daily votes do bring in serious money for our disabled animals!
Please note that I cannot help with technical or voting problems. I also do not have an "inside track" to anyone at the Shelter Challenge, and I don't know any more about the contest than anyone else does. So if you find yourself having issues, please consult their FAQ page here and their Rules page, which is a pop-up you can find linked on this page.
Thanks for your votes!
Rolling Dog Farm Blog 
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