ELVIRA

SHAOLN HEART'S ON FIRE ELVIRA

ELVIRA'S STORY

August 18, 2012 Elvira was born a 5.2oz singleton. The birth of Elvira had been greatly anticipated but, we thought we where having a "litter" of pups. It was hard not to have disappointment set it. It never occurred to me we might have just one pup until the last few days before birth with x-ray confirmation. My disappointment was very quickly changed to worry for my Bella (Elvira's mom) as a C-Section was required. Low and behold i was presented at the vets office with a box with a little puppy. My Bella seemed in a lot of pain. Day and night puppy was watched and encouraged to suckle. Bella had to be sang to so she would relax through her pain. Three days we worked at settling mom and pup down. Finally, Bliss on about day 4. Our routine begain.

I started in ernest reading about singletons and began to realize that i had my work cut out for me. Socialization became the action word of the day. We bought baby toys that had faces the size of a baby pug, tan cuddly's, little toys with rattles. Her favorite was a 6x6" bit of material double sided that had crinkly material inside. We played with Elvira and cuddled. By 3 weeks of age little Elvira had grown to 19 oz, could hear, had openned her eyes and in general was growing up. We brought Elvira and mom Bella into the main house rather than my bedroom during the day. Elvira needed & received a lot of attention. Week 4 Elvira showed signs of being lonely even with us playing with her as much as possible.

Once again, Sarah and Kevin Woodworth came through for Shaoln Pugs.. Sarah and Kevin agreed to bring Elvira in for socialization to their Gin who had a 2 week old litter of 3 pug pups. Gin took Elvira right into her clan and all seemed to be going well. My Bella and I where sad. I knew it best for the pup to be with other pups. Bella would not be consoled and would not give eye contact to me for a number of days. I kept telling Bella that Elvira would come home to us again. Bella finally settled down and bonded ever more closely to me.

Since, Bella and I have gone to visit Elvira and know she is happy. Elvira is learning good manners, is not afraid of anything and has fire in her eyes. We look forward to when Elvira can come home but know that she has to begin training. Elvira is a beautiful puppy, seemingly with considerable conformation potential. We are learning that Elvira being born a singleton may well become her strongest attribute.