"Mr. Anderson, Mr. Anderson!", a worker man was calling to Mr. Anderson. "Mary is having her puppies!"
Mr. Anderson, excited, comes running into Mary's kennel to check on Mary. Mr. Anderson was the owner of Beagle Haven, an enormous breeding facility and a sanctuary for rescued beagles. Tonight, puppies were being born, new additions to this farm. Mr. Anderson steps into the kennel, and sees Mary licking 2 puppies clean.
"Well, well, look at that," Mr. Anderson chuckled, "they are adorable little additions to our family. They will fit right in."
"I thought these puppies would never get here. Ethan and Mary are our two biggest beagles. Their puppies certainly are all going to be big puppies. Mary sure will be happy to let go of that weight!", added joyfully a woman worker who was helping Mary.
"I better go and report this. I'll go get the paperwork and supplies.", Mr. Anderson suggested. Mr. Anderson walked out of the room, and headed off to his office on the other side of the farm. He always kept good records and stats of new puppies, with checking their health and conditions. He reached his office, and began to pack up a few supplies on a cart to check the puppies' weight, size, temperature, breathing, and other health stats. He packed a few checkboards with plenty of charts and tables to record on. The dogs' nurses would be there to help. He opens the door, and goes the long way on the sidewalk path. He eventually reaches the kennels again, but before he reaches to the end of the hall, worried workers come racing up to him.
"Mr. Anderson! We have bad news!", a worker man exclaimed to Mr. Anderson as he joined up to him.
"What is wrong, what has happened?", Mr. Anderson replied, beginning to worry about what they were about to say. He saw that in another worker's hand, they carried a puppy.
The worker that was carrying the puppy came up to Mr. Anderson, and showed the puppy to him. Mr. Anderson's eyes widened in shock. The puppy he was holding was very tiny. The puppy was so small, that the worker could place 3 more copies of it with it on one hand. It was laying on a washcloth, and was softly crying.
"That puppy sure is small. It must be a runt.", explained Mr. Anderson.
"Mary rejected it, Mr. Anderson. The mother is not going to take care of it.", the worker carrying it sadly replied.
"It has a few issues. Not only is it small, but I think it might have some weak bones. And it also appears to be one of those rarer fully white beagles. Not an albino, but not a lemon beagle, either, so it might be similar to a genetic defect," sadly added another worker man. "And just look how malnourished it is. I don't think this puppy will make it."
"Are you sure Mary is not doing anything for this puppy?", Mr. Anderson prompted.
"Nothing. She refused to lick it, consume the placenta, or let it suckle," responded another man worker. "Why would Mary do this?"
"Well, the dam probably rejected her puppy because she has several other puppies, all much bigger than this one. She must know something we don't. She must think that this puppy is too defective at birth to be taken care of. She is focusing her attention on the healthy big ones," replied a nurse.
"The dam is not going to feed it or take care of it. And as you can see, this puppy is just weak and malnourished. Who knows what else could be wrong with it?", added another nurse.
"Well then, what are we going to do?", sadly asked Mr. Anderson. "This puppy will probably not survive. If we don't come up with a solution fast, we might have to put it down."
"No, Mr. Anderson. We cannot give up! The poor little puppy can't help being born small and defective!", a woman worker protested. "We have to do something! That is unfair and unjust!"
Mr. Anderson looked at the weak runt puppy, as it continued to cry. Mr. Anderson sighs in grief, suggesting there may be no hope for it.
"Hey, hey, Mr. Anderson!", another worker calls for Mr. Anderson, running down the hallway.
"What is it Caleb, what is going on?", Mr. Anderson prompts.
"It's Daisy. She is having her puppies, too! We have two litters today!", Caleb excitedly exclaimed to everyone.
Murmurs of excitement came from the other people. Mr. Anderson, very happy to know that, thinks for a second. The woman worker adds, taking Mr. Anderson out of his thoughts.
"That's it! Daisy!", she exclaimed happily.
"Oh, Daisy.", Mr. Anderson calmly replied. "No, you don't think that..."
"What if she would take the puppy in as one of her own?", happily exclaimed another worker. "Maximus as well?"
"Well, I suppose it's worth a shot...", replied Mr. Anderson.
"What exactly is going on here?", asked Caleb.
"Mary gave birth to an unhealthy weak runt. And she rejected it.", answered Mr. Anderson.
"Well then, what a perfect idea! We just give the puppy plenty of care, and it will have a new mother, and it can pull through!", suggested Caleb.
"We must try it!", responded the woman worker.
Mr. Anderson looks around at all the now excited people, their eyes filled with hope. He knows this is worth trying. He is just not sure if Daisy would reject it as well, or not. Seeing the terrible condition of the white runt puppy, most likely she would reject it as well, as this is the very kind of puppy that any dam would rather not care for, especially when they have stronger ones.
Mr. Anderson sighs, then looks around again. "Okay. Let's take it to Daisy."
A few of the people stayed to look after Mary and her other puppies, and record their statistics, while others came with Mr. Anderson and Caleb to see Daisy's litter.
They walked into another room, where Daisy was being kept. Maximus was standing next to her kennel demanding to go in. Caleb opened the kennel door, and Maximus leaped right in, licking his mate affectionately. Daisy's litter was very healthy looking, no runts in hers. With great apprehension, Mr. Anderson took the puppy, leaned down over Daisy, and gently laid the runt beside her nose on the blanket. The nearby people held their breath as they waited to see what would happen. Would Daisy viciously attack the runt? What would Maximus do next?
Daisy sniffed the runt carefully. Murmurs of unease came from the nearby people, but Mr. Anderson shushed them to be quiet. After sniffing the puppy for a few brief moments, Daisy began to lick the puppy affectionately, and Maximus sniffed it, and did as well, both with a smile. Murmurs of excitement came from the nearby people, as they and Mr. Anderson all knew that this puppy had a chance now. Mr. Anderson promised the runt that he would never give up on it.
"This puppy just held on fast, held on tight, to his life, clinging to his life from the moment it was born. And look...", Mr. Anderson proudly exclaimed, and picks up the puppy to take a closer look at it. "It is a male. Because he held on tight to his life, I know the absolutely perfect name for him." Mr. Anderson raises his voice. "We will call him Hector."