Rory's Famous Puppies now part of Home for Life's Renaissance Program
Seven of the ten puppies born on December 1 after their mother, a small red hound dog, was abandoned at Home for Lfie's front gate, are now three months old. Read the story of Rory's dramatic rescue and the birth of her puppies here.
After FOX-9 News aired a feature on Rory's dramatic rescue on their news program (see the feature here), Home for Life was able to find loving new families for three of her puppies. For the remaining 7 pups, 2 girls and 5 boys, we wanted to do all we could to be sure they would make great companions when they did finally find their new homes. They have had the best food so they could overcome their tough start in life when their mother, Rory, suffered with malnutrition while prenant with them. The puppies have had their shots, and have been housebroken - the puppies know how to use both a litterbox and a dog door to go outside. But we wanted to do more for them while they waited to find their new families.
Home for Life was just starting the latest session of the Renaissance program a collaboration with the St. Paul School System and Boys' Totem Town of St Paul, MN. Now in its 12 year, Renaissance Program pairs younger dogs at the sanctuary with boys at Totem Town, a detention for juvenile offenders. The boys teach the dogs obedience with the goal of attaining a level achievement so the dogs can pass the Canine Good Citizen's test. The Home for Life dogs who have completed the Renaissance Program are then recruited for involvement in our community outreach programs providing pet therapy to at risk people of all ages in our community.
We have never incorporated puppies into a Renaissance program session, but with seven puppies who needed socialization and training, it was too great an opportunity to pass by. For the last four weeks, our puppies have travelled from Home for Life to Boys' Totem Town once a week, to work with two different classes of kids. Thus far, the kids have taught the puppies to sit, to come when called, to stay, the down command and will soon help the puppies to learn to walk on a leash without pulling- or chewing the leash! Besides learning puppy manners and basic obedience commands that will keep them safe and ensure they will be great companions, the puppies are getting plenty of one on one attention and lots of love from the kids. What a win-win for the puppies and the kids!
Fox 9 News' Leah Beno first covered the story of Rory's rescue , and the birth of her 10 puppies and now reports on their progress in the the first "puppy kindergarten" of the Renaissance Program here. who would have ever thought, on that cold November morning when we found a scared, starving pregnant dog tied at our gate, that her puppies, born the very next day would grow up to give back by being part of this program? Home for Life wants to give special thanks to Leah Beno of Fox for her dedicated coverage of the story of Rory and her puppies and acknowledge the Planet Dog Foundation for their generous support of the Renaissance Program.