Friday, May 28, 2010

The day our pups were born

Five years ago, at 8 in the morning, I was outside preparing for a garage sale.  We had a ton of crap to get rid of and this was the weekend to do it.  I was setting up tables and arranging trinkets when I heard a screech from inside and my name being hollered.

Ky or Lyn (I'm not sure which one) was yelling for me to come into Lyn's room.  Maddy was in labour and had just had her first pup in the middle of Lyn's bed.  The time had come, if we were ready for it or not.

Maddy, the night before she delivered.
Maddy had become preggers a few months before (whatever the gestation period would be for dogs) when her old flame, Bentley, stayed at our house for a week.  She had been a breeding dog up until she came to live with me and it appeared she had one more time left in her.  She was a pleasantly happy pregnant dog, with some bladder control issues, but otherwise, she did just fine.

When the time came, and she couldn't find me in the house, she went to Lyn's room, jumped onto her bed and spat out her first pup.  A little black jelly bean sack of puppy.  Monty, to be exact.

I panicked.  I hadn't prepared for this.  I thought I had another week or so.  I knew (from talking to Maddy's old owner) that I should put her in the kitchen, make a safe place for her and help her stay calm.  I had no space in the kitchen, so I decided I would include the table and chairs in the garage sale.  I picked up the table, moved to get it out the door and promptly put the table leg through the door window.  Oops.  After some initial panic, a bed was finally created for Maddy.

Over the next few hours, Maddy would come to have 6 pups in total.  Monty came first, then Phil, Sally was the first girl, then Dini, followed finally by Vicki and Maury.  The two runts.  We named them all after talk show hosts and amused ourselves by making a list of weights, markings, times of birth, and names. 

One of the rare times Maddy actually fed her pups.
It was a long morning.  I called Maddy's old owner and she came over to help.  I flew between the garage sale and the kitchen like a panicked new father.  I couldn't settle, didn't know where to be and was so excited, I thought I would explode.

Monty, the first week of his birth.  SO SMALL!!
The first day, Maddy fed her pups -- albeit against her wishes.  She would spend time with them if forced, but she was so over being a mom she didn't really want to be there.  She moved the pups one by one on a regular basis up onto my bed as though to say "Here, these are yours."  Imagine my surprise when I woke up from a dead sleep to find one of the dogs rooting around my shirt trying to find food!!

Monty yawning.
The pups were a lot of work.  We had to bottle feed them for the first few weeks every couple of hours.  Once they started to be mobile, we had to figure out how to keep them from hurting themselves or getting caught under furniture.  We loved every moment of playing with them and cuddling.  But, apart from the one we knew would be Dad's Father Day present, we had no idea what we were going to do with them.

Front to back: Phil, Monty, Dini, Vicki, Maury's butt.
They grew like crazy.  Suddenly, they were 8 weeks old and ready to go to their new homes.  Dini went to Bentley's owner as payment for his "stud" fees.  Maury and Phil were swept away by my SiL's Mom.  She and her husband came for one and fell for two.  Sally hung out for a few more weeks with us, and then went to live with my cousin and her husband.  She was just the sunlight they needed.

Dad came over to pick his pup.  He sat on the couch and picked up Vicki.  She climbed up his chest and sucked on the end of his nose.  He was in love.  He picked Monty to go with Vicki as he figured pups should be in pairs.  He was right.  They were inseparable.

Monty in red, Vicki in blue.
I've never regretted having those pups.  I regretted that Maddy became very sick after they were born and had to have a D&C to get rid of some of the infection and debris that had come as a result of too many pregnancies.  She was an unhappy pup for awhile and it broke my heart.  But, those pups went a long way to mending all our hearts after a long year without our mom.

Today, Maddy is happy as she's ever been in her home with The Guy's sister.  She needs to be in a one dog house with lots of attention and play time.  That is exactly what Kelly has given her.  Vicki has moved on to living with Grandma and is loving every moment of too much attention, not enough rules, and a whole lotta treats.  Monty is the king of his castle with The Guy and I.  He rules with a dopey look and very wet tongue.

Happy birthday to my puppies.  Wherever they are.

7 comments:

  1. I love that you write tons of stuff about our dead mom and I'm totally fine. Write ONE thing about the puppies and I'm crying at school. Thanks for that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Puppies win the who's cuter, babies vs puppies, contest.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Agreed! Puppies totally win.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Correction: Slimy black jelly bean

    Hooray for puppies! I was there when most of them were born. I hadn't realized it had been five years. Monty is 5! He's a big boy now!

    I was just thinking about this earlier in the week because my mom sprained her ankle. Didn't you sprain your ankle badly the summer after the puppies were born?

    ReplyDelete
  5. They were sure good puppies. Climbing out of their makeshift fenced in area. Chewing everything in sight, especially books and baseboards.

    ReplyDelete
  6. When those puppies were so little, it was so hard to not gobble them up from cuteness. You just had to kiss them. I have video proof of Graeme not being able to not kiss Vicki.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Those were some cute puppies! I imagine it was a surprise to find one trying to nurse! LOL!

    ReplyDelete

Crap monkies say "what?"