# Sweet little foster Cupcake



## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Everyone say hello to Cupcake. She got rescued on Valentine's Day so she deserved a sweet name to match her sweet personality. Only a cell phone photo to start us off, but this will be a photo thread like the rest of my foster photo threads. 

She's about 6 to 8 months old and was an owner surrender at the city pound. She has demodex which put her automatically on the PTS list  But this lucky girl made her was to us and is settling in for her first night in a quiet, cozy home. She will stay with me as long as she does okay with being alone during a workday (potty training wise) or we will find her a new foster if needed that has a more flexible work schedule or maybe works from home.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

sweet Shell, for the name I was expecting a wee little thing ,,, glad you there to care for her


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## luv mi pets (Feb 5, 2012)

:welcome: Cupcake you may not know it but you landed yourself in a very good home. You now have an owner who will look after all your wants and needs. It may be temporary but your foster family will prepare you for life in a real home, with a real family. So welcome little Cupcake to the forum.

I look forward to seeing her progression on the forum. And kudos to you for taking in a dog with demodex mange


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

Can't wait to see the transformation you bring out in her! If she is right for your lifestyle and if nobody snatches her up first! 
You didn't wait long.


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

PatriciafromCO said:


> sweet Shell, for the name I was expecting a wee little thing ,,, glad you there to care for her


Haha we just got a great dane into the rescue named Cupcake.

Shell she's a cutie for sure. Hope her demodex clears up quick and she settles in well with you.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Canyx said:


> You didn't wait long.


I have "sucker" written on my forehead in invisible ink. Only the rescue group with hard sell cases can see the word 

She received an otherwise clean bill of health from a vet I trust (no heartworm!) and nearly ignored Chester on the meet-and-greet walk. I'll give them a few days before I introduce them in the house.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

I would like to ask what is the treatment for demodex now a days, when I was stationed in GA it seemed epidemic to see dogs with it, treatments were not effective to help them.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Awwwe .... Happy Valentines Day Cupcake!  She is adorable!


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## Nuclear_Glitter (Jun 20, 2012)

She's so adorable! Can't wait to see how everything works out. =]


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## kadylady (Sep 23, 2010)

She's super cute! I love following your fostering threads Shell.


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## taquitos (Oct 18, 2012)

Ohhh so cute <3 Those ears!!!


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## Kayla_Nicole (Dec 19, 2012)

How beautiful! I love her little ears too. Thank you for taking her in.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Peace and quiet at last after that crazy, noisy shelter


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Shell said:


> View attachment 47882
> 
> 
> Peace and quiet at last after that crazy, noisy shelter


What a precious picture!  She looks so contented ..................... How sweet!


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

It looks like Cupcake may be moving on to another foster home (and that I may be getting another dog right away) but until then, more photos!

Glamour shots (and one derp face for good measure)


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## Nuclear_Glitter (Jun 20, 2012)

She's just so adorable. I love her face. Is she moving cause she's not a good fit?


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Nuclear_Glitter said:


> She's just so adorable. I love her face. Is she moving cause she's not a good fit?


She may not actually be moving. She's a great fit here, we've just been having a bit of a soap opera with another dog situation and I'm the go-to "nutcase dog" foster


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## Nuclear_Glitter (Jun 20, 2012)

Shell said:


> She may not actually be moving. She's a great fit here, we've just been having a bit of a soap opera with another dog situation and I'm the go-to "nutcase dog" foster


Ah, makes sense. This is off topic, but I'm curious, how many dogs have you fostered?


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

Ugghhhh are you serious? Give me that dog. Stop having precious fosters when I'm like 10 years out from getting another dog.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Nuclear_Glitter said:


> Ah, makes sense. This is off topic, but I'm curious, how many dogs have you fostered?


Not that many actually, she makes #6. I have had fosters for 6 months, 5 months, 5-6 weeks, 2 weeks, 1 week and this one arrived yesterday. Here's where it all started. I just have the right combination of a really chill and confident large dog, lots of patience, and a quiet household so it suits both fearful dogs or crazy wild-child dogs


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)




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## Tainted (Jan 23, 2012)

She is just too adorable.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

PatriciafromCO said:


> I would like to ask what is the treatment for demodex now a days, when I was stationed in GA it seemed epidemic to see dogs with it, treatments were not effective to help them.


Oral ivomec, antibiotics and a benzoil (sp?) peroxide shampoo. We've had several pups come in with WAY WAY worse demodex, like hairless and completely covered in scabs and raw skin and clear up fine. I think it is just the combination of bad (or no) nutrition, the stress of the shelter and the pitties having really sensitive skin that makes them very susceptible to it. Just my guess, I'm not a vet. My vet says she's not contagious to any healthy dog with a decent immune system and she's on treatment so her mild case should clear up well.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Oh, she's a cutie pie.


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## aiw (Jun 16, 2012)

What a sweetheart! Such worried eyes....

You and Chester have you work cut out for you!


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## MimiAzura (Jan 5, 2013)

she is so gorgeous <3


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Lil' one got a bath this morning so no more Eau De Pound Puppy (and she did great with the bath aside from thinking the towel was a tug toy) so then it was play time and the beginnings of training. We also took a walk and she's already catching on to loose leash walking. I'm really waiting for the other shoe to drop and the crazy to appear 

















And working to learn patience and the start to a "Sit-Stay"


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

She is really really pretty! I love her eyes!


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## The Feather Duster (Apr 14, 2010)

I don't know, Shell but that girl sure looks like a keeper.

Can you?

Keep her, that is?

The worried eyes alone would have me thinking that your home, full stop, might be the best place for her.

But only if you're in a position to do that of course.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

The Feather Duster said:


> I don't know, Shell but that girl sure looks like a keeper.
> 
> Can you?
> 
> ...


She's not a keeper but don't worry, she will have lots of good experiences and get her confidence built up and get nice and healthy before she goes on to a carefully selected home. She's a smart cookie, I think she'll take well to training. 
She is really fearful of men (a little nervous about new people in general) right now but I had my father stop by and very calmly and gently toss her treats while sitting on the floor. Within about 10 minutes, she was wagging her tail like mad and sniffing at his hand and letting him toss a tennis ball, so we're getting some male volunteers do to little meetings with her and provide treats and let her approach them at her own pace. Once she knows someone, she's the classic pittie wigglebutt cuddlebug.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

What a cutie! I love her furrowed brow.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Incoming!


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

Oh jeez I love her. I need to move to you and foster for that organization.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

ThoseWordsAtBest said:


> Oh jeez I love her. I need to move to you and foster for that organization.


But then you'd fall in love with all of them


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

I've got Shambles. I'll never love again.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)




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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Okay, so this is a 4 minute video but I think it is freaking funny to watch Cupcake's first reactions to the cow hoof chew toy I set down on the floor for her.


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

Oh my goodness that is precious. What out Cupcake, it'll kick you in the face!

So you're not trading for her a crazier foster then?


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Canyx said:


> Oh my goodness that is precious. What out Cupcake, it'll kick you in the face!
> 
> So you're not trading for her a crazier foster then?


Nope. Although it was less "crazy dog" than "crazy situation" that was pending resolution.

and yep, big bad pit bull is soooo tough, she can totally take on that cow hoof after circling it into submission


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

Haha that is one of the best videos ever! Love the little yips and running back to you in between. Glad she finally got it in the end. Such a cute girl.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

I would take this dog in a heartbeat.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

Are you trying to make me take her, Shell? That furrowed brow, the timidity with flashes of doggy joy . . . she's Kabota in a blue coat! I wonder if I can get away with telling my mother-in-law she's a Staffordshire Terrier.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Cupcake went on her very first trip to a city park this morning where she got to check out the views, meet one of my friends, eat lots of sticks and bounce around in the sunshine. I'm pretty sure she is a fan of parks now.


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

great pictures  i love that face !


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## Tainted (Jan 23, 2012)

Man, she's cute. Sure has some crazy ears.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

Demears.

Looks like her fur is coming in now!


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## Schnauzerkid (Feb 10, 2013)

Aww how cute.I would love a staff or pitbull but they get such a bad press in Ireland and are hard to find.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Poor baby got spayed today. She's still wonky from the meds. All curled up on top of me and shivering and she puked twice on the ride home and again on arrival  

But she's gained 4 pounds in her 15 days with me! 

Ride home (don't worry, she's not hung up on the harness, just laying very awkwardly)









Nap time now


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## hamandeggs (Aug 11, 2011)

How is she doing with Chester? 

I'm not normally a shorthaired dog person at all, but those ears and the furrowed brow are so very fetching. Cupcake looks to be a good name for her.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

She's still had minimal interaction with Chester. She wants to play with him and she's chill if he sniffs at her in the crate, but between her sensitive skin, her (now better) sneezy/congestion thing and of course today her spay and upcoming recovery time, it's just been easier for everyone to keep them mostly separate.

She's getting braver around new people and even greeted with wagging tail the vet staff this morning and a dog owner that came into the clinic when I was picking her up tonight.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Cupcake had a rough first night after her spay. She vomited off and on for hours and I ended up sleeping on the couch with her. But after a lazy day yesterday, she's back to full energy today and enjoyed a leash walk and a little yard time (until she started to race around; first time she's done the zoomies just had to be during recovery time...)


































and for good measure, one of Chester after he got lots of attention today with trips to 2 parks totalling about 3 hours and 9 miles of hiking and walking. For anyone who thinks pit bulls are high energy, try a Rhodesian  Photo taken at the end of the 3 hours of course.


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## Avery (Nov 22, 2011)

Oh my gosh I love her ears.

And Chester is so handsome.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

First trip to a creek was super cool and she was trying to catch the minnows without falling in...

















She also met FOUR! new people and greeted all of them both male and female with tail wagging and body wiggling. Only the first two she met even had treats. That is so much progress from her fearful greetings of just 2 weeks ago. My friends were like "I thought you said she was scared of new people?" and I had to say "Well, she was!" Let's hope she continues on this brave pattern.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

I need to ship you Elsa, Shell. You'd have made a brand new dog out of her way before I did.


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

I keep reading the title of this "Sweet little *frosted *cupcake", and I get excited because I really like cupcakes lol.

She's a cutie. Beautiful colouring too.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

ThoseWordsAtBest said:


> I need to ship you Elsa, Shell. You'd have made a brand new dog out of her way before I did.


If I had any idea what I'd done right for making her brave, I'd tell you but the only thing I can think of is that she simply decided to trust me. I mean, we'd barely even left my property for the past week except for her spay and she cannot possibly have considered that a positive experience 

But I am just crossing my fingers that we've made a real progress leap and it last. Planning a Cupcake + Chester walk tomorrow and their first time in the car together so that should be quite the adventure.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

Shell said:


> If I had any idea what I'd done right for making her brave, I'd tell you but the only thing I can think of is that she simply decided to trust me. I mean, we'd barely even left my property for the past week except for her spay and she cannot possibly have considered that a positive experience
> 
> But I am just crossing my fingers that we've made a real progress leap and it last. Planning a Cupcake + Chester walk tomorrow and their first time in the car together so that should be quite the adventure.


Half the battle is really just a good environment. Elsa wouldn't let any one come near her at the shelter, but the first night I brought her home she voluntarily walked up to check out my boyfriend (someone she had never met) and me. So many dogs just need that better situation.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

We kinda sorta went on a walk together today (one of my friends walked Chester, no way I am at the stage of walking them both) and after many outtakes even got a photo together. I love their expressions, I think I look like a bit of a doofus but that's okay


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

AW! She's so little!


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

CptJack said:


> AW! She's so little!


LOL, she's Thud sized right now so this "little" one is bigger than 3 of your 4. But at 6-7 months now, I'm sure Thud will outgrow her quickly enough.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Shell said:


> LOL, she's Thud sized right now so this "little" one is bigger than 3 of your 4. But at 6-7 months now, I'm sure Thud will outgrow her quickly enough.


I'm pretty sure most of what I meant was 'smaller than I thought'. She also looks shorter to Thud than me, but that could very easily just be the result of me being shorter than you. Perspective's WEIRD. Either way, she's adorable.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

I knew what you meant, it just sounded funny and amused me because little/big is all about perspective. I still don't think of Chester as large since I'm used to working with horses but most people are like "He's huge!" 

She was 36 lbs last week while Chester weighed in at 82 lbs.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Shell said:


> I knew what you meant, it just sounded funny and amused me because little/big is all about perspective. I still don't think of Chester as large since I'm used to working with horses but most people are like "He's huge!"
> 
> She was 36 lbs last week while Chester weighed in at 82 lbs.


It is so, so all objective. I REMEMBER having big dogs and them seeming 'eh, average'. At this point Bug is average, Jack is kinda big, Kylie is kind of small, and Thud is a horse. (Which is unfair - he's really, really not.)


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Perspective matters....


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

Chester the Big Red Dog.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

It'd be neat to size up the DF dogs. Chester is the same weight as Sham, but he seems bigger than Sham. Sham SEEMS huge but he's really the size of a Lab.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

ThoseWordsAtBest said:


> It'd be neat to size up the DF dogs. Chester is the same weight as Sham, but he seems bigger than Sham. Sham SEEMS huge but he's really the size of a Lab.


It would be neat. I always thought Sham and Squash were way bigger than Chester but it turned out that Pip and Maisy were just a lot smaller than I had thought. Chester's taller and leaner than many dogs of a similar weight (like Labs) so he looks larger than he is. I'm 5'9" so I throw the scale off on some dogs too.

Cupcake was being so brave today that we made her first trip to the wonder and glory that is THE PET STORE... She loved it. We hung out for almost 2 hours in their courtyard and the store and she greeted people and saw (but didn't greet) several dogs. It seems every bit of her that was fearful has flipped into overexcited mode instead


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

They probably have very similar builds. Sham is tall and lean, but stays in the 82-85 lbs range. I'm 5'8'' but also super tiny, so I REALLY throw off perspective. I make Jonas look bigger than he is if I'm holding him, and he's a tinky dink at 11 lbs. 

I laughed out loud at that photo. She looks like she is going to dive it and turn the place upside down.


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## Nuclear_Glitter (Jun 20, 2012)

Lol she doesn't quite look like she knows what do with herself. Really glad she doesn't seem to be fearful or aggressive. She's gonna be a great dog for someone.


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## Slartibartfast (Sep 29, 2011)

She is very cute. I am glad she has such great foster care so she can find a forever home.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Awwwe .... She almost looks as if she wants that bed!


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

We've got a meeting with an interested friend of a friend on Sunday.....


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## Nuclear_Glitter (Jun 20, 2012)

Exciting. Hope it goes well.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Chester is an exceedingly patient dog


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## Nuclear_Glitter (Jun 20, 2012)

Aww. Chester is such a good dog. Good on him for being so patient with her.


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

Haha, love the long suffering hound look.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Cupcake's future person is picking her up tomorrow. I think we've got an adoption match! Meet and greet went great and Cupcake won everyones' hearts quickly. Even when she peed on the rug after I'd told them she was doing very well with housetraining...


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Good luck to her! She is a sweetie!


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

Thats great! Good luck to her in her new family.


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

Yeah for Cupcake!


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## Nuclear_Glitter (Jun 20, 2012)

Congrats to the both of you! You did a wonderful job fostering her and she's gonna make a great family member.


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