Aw, Debi. That's bad. If it makes you feel any better, I'll tell you what happened when we brought Shiva home.
First, we drove two and a half hours to get her. That does mean two and a half hours back. Keep that in mind . . .
We got there, and the farmer and his son were very concerned that we see how healthy the pups were, including how good their appetites were.
I started hearing alarms faintly in my head.
Farmer and his son very proudly assured us that they'd been feeding the pups well. A good friend of theirs owns a custom slaughterhouse and saves the best of the leavings for them to feed their dogs. Really prime stuff - clean organ meat, lots of gristle, good bit of meat still there, just good stuff for dogs.
Well, little Miss Shiva and her littermates were waiting when they heard the bucket. The farmer's son dumped out a garbage can sized bucket onto the concrete floor of the little barn they keep for their dogs' use and the pups went wild. Shiva was - as she still is - an incredibly enthusiastic eater. She really did herself proud.
Meanwhile, those little alarms were getting louder in my head . . .
After the pups had gorged themselves, the farmer separated the pups from the carcass and let mama have a go at it. We were watching the pups, trying to make a decision about which one we wanted. Shiva was the one who separated herself and was interested in us - and wanted attention! So she was the one. All of the pups were beautiful; not a cow-hocked or "off" looking one in the litter, but Shiva just had the personality. The farmer was tickled when we chose her and with a grin that just about split his face remarked that we'd chosen the heartbreaker of the bunch.
His son gave us a list of the shots she'd had already and then told us to wait just a minute as she was due for her last worming. As he went to get it, I looked at Charley with fear in my eyes and said "don't they tend to get nauseous from the worm medicine?"
Oh, those alarms were getting so much louder . . .
He gave her a syringe full of worm-paste. As we paid him and chatted for about ten more minutes, those alarms started sounding like claxons in my head. We got back into the 928 to head home. I'd put several of those big Chux pads that we'd used on Charley's mom's bed as she became unable to get up at night, thinking they might come in handy for a new pup who just might have to potty on the trip home.
Well, she didn't have to potty . . . but . . . I had no idea a 35 pound puppy's stomach could hold THAT MUCH FOOD!!!! She threw up four times, every time I thought there couldn't possibly be any more in her belly, and every time she came up with more! We had to pull over and dump the load out of the Chux pad.
One day she just grew out of being carsick.
