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Due to the risk of disease and contamination, it's "really hard to have puppies in a shelter," said Sara Sewell, a dedicated foster mom who volunteers with the Richmond SPCA.
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Sara explained that she and her family had fostered 49 animals over the last 18 months. From neo-natal kittens and puppies to post-surgical medical fosters— which is her favorite—she is always on the lookout for animals in need. Volunteering time to provide for the betterment of animals is "one of the most cherished things a person can do," according to her.
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It was a bit of a whirlwind on how a dozen beagles got into Sara's care. She was fostering a senior dog with mammary gland cancer in hospice care at that time.
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As usual, she was monitoring the Facebook group page Richmond SPCA: Meet the Fosters—a page dedicated to foster care providers in the area—when she came across a post about the need for a proper shelter for Onomatopoeia and her 11 newborns.
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Sara knew she couldn't house the bunch with another dog in her home, but she decided to act after the posts went unanswered for a few days. Sara quickly arranged for an alternate hospice care home with another SPCA volunteer, then swiftly cleaned and disinfected her two-car garage-turned-doggie-den as the litter and their mother was temporarily housed in the SPCA. After setting up blankets and pens inside the garage, Sara set out to transport the five-day-old puppies and their mother to her home.
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When asked about how she approaches an assignment like this, Sara said she seeks to help show the "tiny, just-born baby puppies to be real dogs and help them through their stages of life." Although caring for 11 newborn puppies may seem like a daunting task, she explained that there isn't much to do throughout the first few weeks.
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"The puppies' eyes are not open. They can't walk, so they stay in the den and nurse with mom," Sara clarified. Her duty is to monitor the situation and "build a report with the mom in helping her feel safe, and assure her that I'm a friend."
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Sara is getting to know the role she has to play as a foster mom with large litters as Onomatopoeia and her puppies are actually the second 11-pup litter she's taken in over the last 18 months, along with three dozen other dogs and cats.
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She expressed that between weeks three and four, "that's when everything changes." When the puppies—named different onomatopoeias (boom, pop, bang, etc.)—begin to open their eyes and can now hear what's happening around them, they "find their barks," which are short, high-pitch squeaks and squeals.
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"At that point, mom says good morning and good night…and gets away from them," she explained. That's when Sara's more arduous job begins, likening the situation to "chasing around 11 toddlers" and the cleaning up behind them that must be done on a near-constant basis. "They just make a mess all over each other." Regardless, Sara added, "I realized this is my passion. It doesn't feel like a burden."
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When the puppies reach at least eight weeks old, they will be able to have a forever home, so they can make another wanting family happy, which allows Sara to get back to the business of fostering.
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Speaking about her experience fostering dogs and cats, Sara explained that one of her main life goals wasn't so much to "be anything," but to "leave something." She added, "I want to look back when I'm older and see that I have made an impact."
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Can't get enough of ICanHasCheezburger? Find us on Instagram!