Whelped 11-12-2009
Ch. Weston's Cry for Freedom, SOM x Newcastle's Vision of the Past
Pedigree

You've come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight?
~William Wallace (in the movie, Braveheart)

We bred Evie to Abe in 2008, which didn't take, and then again in 2009, which resulted in a singleton puppy, born via c-section on November 12, 2009. William was small at birth - only 9.7 oz. - and as a c-section puppy took a bit to get going, but once he started he was vigorous and sassy! Unfortunately, Evie's milk didn't come in well, and he lost almost 3 oz. within a couple of days. Evie was also suffering from both the after-effects of the c-section, and mild eclampsia - the main result being she was obsessively licking William so that we had to keep him away from her much of the time. We started bottle-feeding at two days old, and things were going well until he aspirated on the bottle at three weeks old. After two days in an oxygen tank at the emergency vet, we took William over to Ginger, who had a bitch with a litter 10 days older that was just starting to wean. Heidi settled right into nursing William, though Ginger supplemented him with a bottle as well. Due to Evie's excessive licking, William had also developed a skin infection over most of his body, especially his belly and the pads of his feet. After several weeks, and daily ointment, his new skin and fur came in without any bald spots or problem areas. William's tail wasn't docked until he was about four weeks old, because of his problems and because he was still so small. At about six weeks he developed a massive abscess on the side of his head - a lingering effect from the skin infection - which fortunately resolved within a few days and without the need for lancing or surgery.

At 10 weeks, William was holding his own, and weighed 10.5 lbs - just a pound or two less than Emma's puppies had at the same age. At five months he's nearly caught up with other puppies the same age, has had his ears cropped, and is a spoiled rotten brat. He has been with Ginger ever since he left the emergency vet - she became more attached to him than any of us expected! We knew he'd be staying with Ginger long before she admitted it, but there really is no place else for him. Had it not been for Ginger, William very likely would not have survived his difficult puppyhood.

William's registered name was pretty much a given. His sire, Abe, is "Cry for Freedom" and we knew before William was even born that we'd be using a "Free" or "Freedom" litter theme. After everything William went through, and his strong will to live, "Freedom Fighter" was the only choice we could make. His call name comes from the revolutionary so attractively portrayed by Mel Gibson in the movie Braveheart, William Wallace.

William lives with and is owned and spoiled rotten by Ginger Johnson, and is co-owned by us.

With Abe and surrogate granny Rachel


"Hi, Mom!" - 10 weeks old