Chanel is such a devoted momma. “Friends” It’s good to have friends. That applies to humans and canines alike. Since Chanel has such a large litter, her roommate Faith (who has her own litter of 7) has pitched in to help out with some nursing duties. One might think that these moms would be possessive or even jealous, but in true Golden fashion, that’s simply not the case. Faith just gives Chanel’s visiting pups a quick sniff, puts her head back down and enjoys a little nap while the little ones get their sustenance. It’s exciting for us when the puppies’ eyes open at around the 10-day mark. Many of the puppies’ critical organs including their brain are not fully formed and they will spend several weeks developing rapidly. Since the gestation period in dogs is short (63 days), the tradeoff is that puppies are quite helpless at birth. Biologists refer to species that produce immature dependent offspring as altricial, which means “to nurse, to rear or to nourish”. It refers...