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| Proud Surrey with her puppies. |
“Choir Practice”
There are certainly many reasons to be thankful at Thanksgiving
and Surrey gave us six more. The first to make his debut was Mr. Turkey,
followed by Mr. Pumpkin Pie, Mr. Pilgrim and Mr. Corn. Mr. Mashed Potatoes must have been a little
anxious to catch up with the other “dishes” as he exited like a torpedo. We
were perplexed about the abundance of boys but were happy when Miss Cranberry
arrived. All went well and Surrey enjoyed a few bowls of ice cream between
deliveries. The puppies are a bit damp when they’re born so we do our utmost to
towel them dry to keep them warm and put them with their mom to nurse. It never
ceases to amaze us how the little ones know exactly what to do from the first
minute onward. Of course, while they’re nursing, Surrey does her part in overzealously
stimulating them with her tongue and so we have to dry them off all over again.
Apart from nourishment, a mom’s milk contains antibodies vital to
the puppies’ survival for the first several weeks of their lives. We weigh the
puppies at least twice daily for the first week to ensure that everyone is
getting equal access to the milk bar. Surrey watches us very closely as each
puppy makes a trip to the scale, just to be sure that they’re returned safely. At
the one week mark, everyone’s weight has pretty much doubled which is clearly a
testament to Surrey’s abilities as a mom. She is very attentive, reacting to every
little whimper. Of course, Surrey misses her own creature comforts too. When
she jumps up on our bed to get a cuddle herself, she strains to peek into the
whelping box across the room to keep an eye on her brood. Then she feels
conflicted and begins to whine herself as if to suggest that we are to bring
all of her pups onto the bed as well.
It began in the wee hours of the fourth
night. First one little whimper and then a second joined it in unison. Before
long it sounded like an off-key yodeling choir practice. It took us some time
to figure it out, but for whatever reason, Miss Cranberry and Mr. Corn like to
explicate their pleasure of nursing at the expense of our much-needed sleep.
Well at least they’re happy!
That’s it for now, but be
sure to join us next week for another beguiling installment of “Puppy Tales”.
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