Drunken sailors....

Once again I have the playpen set up in the living room and once again I have a small furry pile of puppies to love.  Dear little Penny gave birth early on a Monday morning - about two hours after I came home from work - and presented me with six hamster sized babies to love for a while.  I had been waiting for them rather unsure what to expect, but like the other two times before she had an uncomplicated delivery in the kennel next to my bed, watched over once more by her best friend, Sheldon the cat. 

I had been joking that I was going to name this bunch for "fast cars" and was bantering names like Ferrari, Bugatti, Fiat, Isuzu... but what popped out looked more like little black and white cows or brown and white horses!  "They look too 'Country' to be cars" I thought....   and asked a group of friends for the names of their favorite Country Music stars instead.  I have two black and white boys - Luke (Bryan) and Willie (Nelson), one brown and white boy - Garth (Brooks), two brown and white girls - Reba (McIntyre) and Dolly (Parton) - and of course the little black and white girl is Faith (Hill). I have spent nearly a month now coddling my littlest "Stars" and thoroughly enjoying the process!

There are lots to do when you have small puppies... mostly lots of laundry!  I have worn out nearly every towel I own, as well as a number of blankets and face cloths, but the pups are past the first helpless weeks and on into the next phases... the "drunken sailor" phase where their little round bodies are too big for their tiny legs and they stagger and roll, playing with one another while chirping like Tribbles.  I hear their tiny mock growls and it makes me laugh because Penny used to do the same when she was tiny.  One tiny paw lifts.. and the whole puppy falls over!  Daisy has been attempting to sneak into the pen and lap up the puppy gruel, and Penny will leap over the side to snarf it down if I don't stand (or in my case, crouch) beside the pen while spoon-feeding the little ones.  They know my voice, recognize that my hands will rub all the spots that need it, gum with their little toothless mouths on the edge of their dinner plate; they lie passive and comfortable in my open hands, their little faces looking up at me while I giggle and smile at them; they enjoy their warm baths in the sink, wrapped afterwards in a soft washcloth and rolled like a "puppy sausage roll" to lay on the heated bedding afterwards.  I am in awe of the way of nature, that even before they can hear or stand they will struggle out of their bedding to pee on the newspaper I have surrounding their warm nest.

Even though they are less than a month old I have been spoon-feeding them since their eyes opened to give Penny a healthier time, and I am proud to say it was worth it!  She is still keeping them clean, feeding them throughout the day, but she comes to sleep with me on the bed at night, tired out and ready for a break from "Mommydom".  On Sunday afternoon I will dress her in the first "weaning shirt", move the little pack into the kitchen with a water dish and lots of newspaper, and photograph each pup.  Although I already have homes for two - Faith will go live in Ladysmith where she will become a spoiled little "boat dog" to a family who was "prescreened" and Luke will be keeping part of his name and going  to be best friends to a little girl with big blue eyes, a shy smile, and a heart as sweet as summertime.

I am doing my best to give them a healthy life; they are clean, fed, socialized with their Mom, Uncle Folly, Aunty Daisy and their big Sister, Molly from next door.  Sheldon the cat will still stroll through and check them over, but is mostly uninterested for the moment as they are too boring to be fun for a big cat like him, and Xena... well, she's just Xena...  They are learning to play with toys, explore their environment, try new things, they are handled throughout the day, and I have had friends over to handle them so they are used to people, especially kids! I hope for good weather soon so they can come outside in their "puppy pen" and learn about grass, toddle in the yard, and charge up their little "solar batteries" in a patch of sunshine while I putter in the garden.  And I know that soon they will go to their "forever" homes, with their only purpose in life to be companions... small dogs with a big job!

When they do leave it will be too soon for me, but their new families deserve to enjoy some of their "toddler time" and fall in love.  They will be taking a piece of my heart with each of them, full to the brim with love for their new families... and I will miss them.  I hope their new families keep in touch...  but for now it's sunny days on the patio bricks, puppy paper in every room of the house, toys and freshly washed blankets in all the corners... and I'll have a cafe mocha vodka valium latte... to go.....  ah... spring....