No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

 I guess the new furbabies didn't want to stay in the barn and were looking for a way out ... and tore the insulation in the barn in a few different places.

Thankfully we can patch those areas with the roll that we had over, and we are going to have to get some boards to cover the bottom so's they can't do it again. UGH! They also destroyed some of my  plants and pots. 

Sonny seems to be adjusting well, Bonny is still pretty much shut down around me BUT did allow my husband to pet her and, in fact, met him at the door just before we left. I'm thinking that, because she rode in his truck from the shelter, and he carried her into the barn, that she trusts him more than me at the moment, and that's ok. I just want her to feel safe and to start eating, drinking and acting normally so that she knows she is ok. And so that she will be ok. This will probably be a long process, but at least they are now around humans who will care for them.

We still have to find Mama her puppies and the other female though. I drove by the abandoned trailer that we think may possibly be where they were trapped at by Animal Control, but I didn't hear anything that would suggest they were there. They may have gone deeper into the woods/swamp to hide, and if that's the case, I hope they'll start coming back around, although it may take longer for Mama to start trusting me again.

This is Mama and the 2 missing puppies. They'd been coming regularly to the porch to eat, and I'd been worming them in the food, and giving them the daily Capstar flea treatment in ground beef meatballs. Not the greatest solution but one that was offering them some protection from fleas and worms since they wouldn't allow me to touch them, so I couldn't use topicals on them.

The female's face def looks like Mama so we're thinking maybe siblings. 

Monday update:

We've been so busy, I didn't get chance to finish or post this.

The past few days have been emotionally and physically draining BUT we have accomplished a lot. 

We had the bright idea of putting one of our goat pens inside the barn, and setting it up for Sonny and Bonny. They still have space but can't destroy the barn any more than they already have. They even tore a screen out of one window trying to get out. I'd thought the run of the barn would be less stressful, but it seems that Bonny is more relaxed in the smaller space. What did I know???

Mark and Levi, the lad who helps us out (what a Godsend he is!)

have walked them on leashes and we'll continue working on that. Sonny is really good but won't leave Bonny alone to do her business, so future walks will be with them separated a bit to give her space. She is still nervous, but is now eating (very thankful for that) and seems accepting of us. With everything we've done, she's never growled or anything, it's like she understands we're trying to help even if she may still be distrustful of humans. We'll be working on that.

I had asked on a local Facebook group if anyone had fencing panels so that we could make an enclosure for them outside to hang out in, while we are there. One kind lady paypaled me $300! Blew me away. Mark has gone for Jury Duty Selection this morning, but when he gets home we are using that (and some of his social security money) and going to buy some livestock fencing, chicken wire (so's they can't dig under), and posts to do the enclosure more quickly.

Kelley, the rescue lady who's been helping me from afar, has another pen that we will be going to pick up, and Mark said we can set it up inside as well, so we're thinking getting a row of them down one wall for the furbabies that come here. We'll try to find homes for those that are adoptable, but those who aren't because of fear of humans basically, will just stay with us and become part of our family.

It's an ongoing journey, one we didn't expect to be taking, but a necessary one. These poor dogs deserve better, they don't deserve to be neglected or mistreated because humans have let them down.