the camp carter socialization team clocked in for some hard work today! At three weeks old the game changers are in a critical socialization window, so interactions like these are not only crazy adorable, they’re also incredibly beneficial to their developing minds! Cont.

mama dogs are the best 🫶 Yuna has sacrificed so much for the game changers. Giving birth on the floor of a full shelter, and helping them grow into the healthy chonks they are despite being malnourished herself. Cont.

this felt important to share

the resident dogs of camp carter ❄️ - Luna’s ootd is a hand knit turtleneck so my senior gal can stay cozy - Foscoe loves the snow & has been begging me to play football (don’t worry, I did!) - Harper will sniff in the snow for 1.5 second & then demand to be let back in to roast on the heated blankie

“6 more weeks of winter?? 😑”

when you’ve got little legs and a big belly

Mama Yuna is wondering if we’re in NC or Ottawa?

How are the game changers three weeks old and already on their second crazy winter storm? 😂 the snow started later in the day in Raleigh but it has been coming down steadily and camp carter is now blanketed in fluffy snow. Poor Mama Yuna is going to have some snowy potty breaks the next few days 😭

soft scritches for Rose Landry

“No thank you to the snow!” -mama Yuna

I need yall to know that the puppies have opened the ears, they simply can’t be bothered to care. They’ll begrudgingly respond to noise occasionally.

today in the puppy suite we’re snugglin & nail trimmin! Pictured here: Ilya & Loon

look at those steps & the sibling interaction! The pups are 3 weeks old today which is when a critical socialization window begins. The experiences they have over the next few weeks shape the adults they’ll become & how they’ll adjust to their new homes. Let’s raise some wonderful family members!!

the Game Changers are fine tuning their snuggle skills

there’s something kinda peaceful about society collapsing but these chunkies just snoozing away, oblivious. It’s hard to be a human in the world right now but there are still dogs to rescue, lives to save, puppies to snuggle. Animal welfare and human welfare go hand in hand. Dog rescue is political.

by popular demand (one person) here’s Yuna’s strut with this song

The game changers are gettin wiggly! They still mostly sleep but at two and a half weeks they’re now able to push off their chests and take some wobbly steps. Their development is rapid at this age! I’m still not seeing evidence of unsealed ears but that could happen any day now

a quick walk in the sunshine for mama Yuna. She loves stretching her legs & taking a short break from the babies 🥰

Ginger Ale was working on his sleep crunches

after a week and a half of the camp carter skinny mama meal plan, Yuna is starting to get a little sparkle back in her eye! She has more energy to be silly and she loves having multiple beds to roll around in 🥹

mama Yuna is hiding from the babies 🤫 moms just need some quiet time to dissociate, okay!

The game changers and their baby Chewbacca noises 🥺

yall 😭 this little community is the best. The puppies & moms that enter here are so fortunate to have the best people on the internet rooting them on. If this was you, thank you!! A few other folks have sent them supplies as well - thank yall too!! Cont.

lookin for her deadbeat baby daddy like

puppy snuggles & sunshine after days of gloom 🥰

a week ago Yuna was at a completely full shelter, at risk for euthanasia, covering her newborn puppies with a blanket & laying on them to keep them safe. She didn’t want to leave them even for a potty break. Now she’s able to let loose and act like a dog 🥹 This is why I foster.

The pups are barely over two weeks old now! At this point all of them have open eyes but their ears are still sealed. They can wiggle around and take some wobbly steps but spend the majority of their time sleeping. It might seem like not much is happening, cont…

it’s so hard to gain weight while feeding 6 (chonky) puppies. Even healthy dogs with proper nutrition can lose weight in this situation just due to the demands on their body. mama Yuna’s shelter intake notes said she was already really underweight when she came in at the end of her pregnancy cont…

mama Yuna is not loving these icy potty breaks!

the game changers made it through their first winter storm! Looks like I’ll be stuck at home the next couple days due to icy roads & freezing temps, but that’s fine by me. I am SO relieved we’re on the other side of the storm, and that these babies stayed warm and none the wiser!

the final push of this winter storm is upon us with lots of sleet/freezing rain pouring down currently. Power is still on and the pups are warm and toasty. If we can make it through these next few hours we’ll be in the clear 🤞

it may be cold in Saskatchewan (NC) but here at the international prospect cup (camp carter) we’re staying cozy! What better time than when my yard is an ice rink to introduce y'all to the Game Changers, named after the incredible book series & Heated Rivalry tv adaption that has me in a chokehold

our last eyeball holdout gave in and is cracking those peepers today!

good morning from the icepocalypse! During last night’s check-in/potty break it was all ice but we got a mix of snow & sleet since so it’s easier to walk outside, & I think that’s why we still have power! Sleet is coming down still so we’ll see how the day plays out. We’re warm & cozy for now!

hello from the nightly 3:30am check in of mama & her pups. Conditions are yucky outside, it’s a skating rink & I was slip sliding taking sweet mama out for her potty break. There’s a lot of ice & more incoming. Thankfully power is still on! These babies are cozy and warm and totally oblivious.

I had to break it to my dogs that if/when we lose power the heated blanket will no longer work, and they are highly displeased

eyeball update! All of the pups have open eyes or eyes in the process of opening except this guy. And honestly, who can blame him! Keep em closed a little longer, buddy 😂 the pups are two weeks old today so they’re all on their own timeline and I’d expect this guy to start peepin any moment now.

snowflake blankie for mama as we await the incoming winter weather! These little snuggle bugs are content as can be.

we’re cozy & warm for now. Let’s see what the next few days bring. It’s a big responsibility to have these babies in my care, unable to regulate their body temps yet, with the looming threat of winter weather & losing power. Their mama and I will do whatever’s needed to keep them safe 💪

tucking the puppies and their mama into bed tonight, so cozy and warm. Wondering what this weekend will bring us 😵‍💫 my thoughts are with everyone impacted by this incoming weather, and here at camp carter we’d appreciate any spare thoughts and vibes you can send our way ahead of this ice-mageddon.

I love this sweet mama. Yesterday I gave her face a good wipe down to remove some grime and she has a lot of healing scabs on her face and head that I wanted to clean up. She also has cuts and scars down her neck and her legs. I wonder where on earth this gal has been 🥺

yall this boy is a CHONK

a couple other pups have eyes starting to crack open today!! The other couple still have eyes sealed. They’ll be two weeks old tomorrow so this is more in line with a normal developmental milestone, unlike their overachieving brother who opened his eyes on Monday 😂

feeling overwhelmed by the current state of the world? Here’s a puppy pile photo dump. View each photo while taking 5 deep breaths. Repeat as needed.more in comments

please direct your gaze to the waggy nub. Are we all in love with this mama yet 🥹😭

we’ve got an overachiever! Puppies open their eyes around 2 weeks old, give or take a couple days. These pups are about 1.5 weeks, but this boy was already peepin when I scooped them from the shelter on Monday! Today both eyes are opening & I bet by the end of the day they’ll be fully open. cont.

At the shelter they told me she would cover the puppies with a blanket and lay on top of them. That they were often having to go in and uncover/move the puppies. Mama dogs do this in an effort to hide and protect their babies. cont.

I can’t get enough of these puppies. Their mama has been doing an amazing job of getting them chunky and keeping them clean, and it’s such a privilege to get to help her finish raising them. They’re some big pups and I’m so in love!!

when I read the shelter plea about a skinny, overbred, new mama trying to raise her puppies in a crowded shelter I simply couldn’t say no. The shelter was closed for mlk day but they arranged for staff to meet me there for pick up. 1/4

Our newest little family is settling in well. The first few days of a new mama arriving at camp carter are pretty quiet, since it’s such a disruption. She’s newly postpartum and is coming from a very stressful environment and an unknown but likely turbulent past. Cont.