CHARLOTTE
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Charlotte was spotted at the westside shelter by our good friend and   volunteer Shelli. She had just come in as a stray and was on hold until the 10th. We waited out the days and no owner appeared, so Shelli went down to the shelter to meet her. When Shelli met her, what she seemed to be saying was, "Any way you could help me get outta here?" Well, turns out there was! We committed to taking her and Shelli promised to return for her in 2 days when we would have room for her.
UPDATE 10/12: True to her word, Shelli went back to the westside shelter and picked up Charlotte this afternoon. She was SO happy to be out and just bounded up into Shelli's truck for the ride to where, she didn't know, but any place was better than here as far as Charlotte was concerned! Charlotte is said to be between 2 and 3 years of age. It's obvious she has had at least one litter of pups, but we will make sure that doesn't happen again. She is up-to-date on shots and will be spayed and microchipped prior to adoption.
The first thing we did when Charlotte arrived at the home of one of our staff members was to give her a bath -- and boy did she ever need it! After drying off, Charlotte was safely tucked in for the night. We'll try and get some additional photos of her over the next few days, but we're anticipating a bout with kennel cough in about 3 to 4 days...
UPDATE 10/23: Charlotte began her training with a field trip to PetsMart, along with several of her friends.
UPDATE 10/27: Today, two weeks and one day after taking Charlotte from the westside shelter, she was healthy, and so we had scheduled her spay surgery. She was dropped off at our vet's office bright and early this morning ... but a call from the vet's office just a short time later brought an unexpected surprise ... CHARLOTTE IS PREGNANT!!! The vet only examined one horn of the uterus, which held 3 puppies, and we're guessing the other side holds another 3 (or close, as the two sides are usually pretty equal during pregnancies). Charlotte's due date is completely unknown, but it looks like there are going to be some lively holidays in store for her foster home. UPDATE 11/18: Charlotte should be due somewhere between the end of November and the beginning of December. She is definitely beginning to fill out.
UPDATE 11/26:  A very pregnant Charlotte moved in with fosters Jim & Terri this afternoon ~ it won't be long now!
UPDATE 11/29: Charlotte started whelping her puppies this afternoon. At last count (around 2:30p) we had 1 white female, 1 white male, and 1 "golden" boy!
UPDATE: As of 5:30 we have four! Two females (both white) and two males (one golden and one white).
When several hours had passed with Charlotte dozing and her puppies contentedly nursing, we thought that maybe our little family of four was complete ... but we were wrong! A phone call at 9pm from Jim told us that Number 5, a tiny white boy, had just shown up!
UPDATE 12/5: Six days old.
UPDATE 12/6: A call from foster dad, Jim told us, "There's a change." When we inquired, we were told we now have 4 boys and 1 girl! We'll be checking the plumbing this coming week. :) UPDATE 12/8: Growing puppies 
UPDATE 12/11: Cute puppies 
UPDATE 12/15: Foster dad Jim reports that the pups are already able to climb out of the wading pool that they were born in! 
PUPPY UPDATE 12/17: "I think the puppies are getting teeth because Charlotte growls a little at them occasionally then pokes them with her nose and sometimes she gets up and leaves. When did we start the puppy food gruel last time? Were they 4 weeks old? I don't remember. They are getting so big, well 4 out of 5 are getting big. Almost walking, still a little wobbly."  
PUPPY UPDATE 12/22: If we had to guess at this early age, we would have to say that Charlotte's puppies are part shepherd and part Golden retriever. The jury is still out.   
UPDATE 12/24:
UPDATE CHRISTMAS DAY:
UPDATE 12/31: The puppies are just one day shy of a month old today, so we decided that a photo shoot was in order, as well as a weigh-in: Captain: 7 pounds
UPDATE 1/3: The pups were introduced to the outdoors today and seemed to have a wonderful time exploring.
UPDATE 1/4: The puppies got their weigh in today: Captain: 9 pounds January 7, 2017 ~ It's a puppy free-for-all!! UPDATE 1/11:
UPDATE 1/13: Charlotte is scheduled for spay surgery on Monday, January 30th, after which she will be available for introductions and adoption. PUPPY UPDATE 1/23: The puppies had their first set of puppy shots this afternoon and we took the opportunity for a photo shoot. They have had a negative fecal, so all is looking good. We will start doing home check so that the pups can begin going to their new homes this weekend.
UPDATE 1/30: Charlotte was spayed this afternoon and came through without complications. She will be recovering at the home of her foster family and will be available for introductions and adoption in about 2 weeks. Charlotte is a very social girl who loves everyone and everything she meets. She will make an excellent addition to some lucky family.
UPDATE 1/13: Charlotte is scheduled for spay surgery on Monday, January 30th, after which she will be available for introductions and adoption. UPDATE 1/30: Charlotte was spayed this afternoon and came through without complications. She will be recovering at the home of her foster family and will be available for introductions and adoption in about 2 weeks. Charlotte is a very social girl who loves just about everyone she meets. She will make an excellent addition to some lucky family.
UPDATE 2/11: Charlotte's spay sutures were removed today. She has healed beautifully and, now that her puppies have all found homes, she is ready to begin the search for her own forever family. Charlotte is a sweet, loving girl that can virtually be placed anywhere. She loves everyone and, if you're not in the mood to play, will go outside and entertain herself until she's tired. Couch potatoes can definitely apply for this girl! Charlotte would prefer to be an "only child" in a family with children -- she LOVES kids!
UPDATE 3/12: Charlotte came out to Boot Camp this afternoon with foster dad Jim.
UPDATE 4/3: Charlotte came out to the park today to meet a prospective adoptive family and seemed to have a wonderful time meeting everyone.   
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