Puppies

When we moved from Mexico, we had planned to take our dogs, Sam and Sophie, with us. We hadn't even considered leaving them behind, although we did have some misgivings about moving them. The most important issue was that they were both used to running. There was nothing around our old place, and they had gotten into the habit of taking off, sometimes for a couple of days at a time. We knew that this would be a problem where we were going, as there are more people (and roads) around, and we had figured we would have to build some kind of pen for them until we could fence the whole property.

So, when one of the guys that had worked with us on our place told us he really wanted them, it set us to thinking. He had known them both since puppies and loved them, and would definitely take care of them, but were we prepared to go without them? After a couple of weeks of going back and forth, we decided to leave them, which was extremely sad, but probably best for everyone. We're still in touch with our friend, and he says that both dogs and his little kids are all very happy together.

So, after we had settled into to the new place, one of the first things we did was get new puppies. Each kid got to pick out a pup, and they made excellent choices.

Leo chose Chip, a rat Terrior. He's a character and a half, thinks he's human, and spends half his time walking on two legs! Nick chose Candy, a Catahoula. She's beautiful, extremely smart, fast, and a little wild! Both of them are going to make great dogs, and the kids especially adore them.

The post Puppies appeared first on VelaCreations.

Puppies

Puppies

We dropped the ball on Sophie's (our female dog) contraceptive. Somehow we miscalculated the date and she came into heat without us getting her another shot. Anyway, as soon as we realized what we'd done, we put her in one of the barn rooms, hoping that she may have avoided being bred. You may have gathered by the title of this post that we were wrong!

The other day, she disappeared. Given that our male, Sam, was still around (they often go off hiking together) and that it was around the due date, we assumed that it was her time. The only problem was that we couldn't find her anywhere, and it happened to be the one day in months that it was pouring with rain. Soaking wet and chilly, we gave up looking.

All of a sudden she came to the front door, birthed a puppy on the doorstep and then took off. I wrapped the pup in a blanket and gave it to the boys to keep warm and then went looking for her again. I eventually found her and brought her into the house with her pup, and set her up on a pile of old sheets. She instantly relaxed and went on to have a total of 9 puppies. They are all camped out in the entranceway room (as are the boys most of the time), and seem to be happy and healthy. Sophie is almost excessively attentive, although she does occasionally go outside, even if just for a little bit.

Once this litter is weaned, we will get her spayed. It was always our intention to let her breed once with Sam (although ideally we would have wanted her to be closer to 2 years old than to 1). Our other dog, Salsa, came from a shelter and was fixed before being released, and it always seemed a shame that she never got to be a mother. In the meantime, we get to enjoy these warm and fuzzy little bundles of joy!

The post Puppies appeared first on VelaCreations.

Puppies