“Joy and Pain” We never really know what to expect when our moms-to be are in the latter stages of their labour. Typically, puppies are born in the wee hours, but every now and again we catch a bit of a break so when Pepper gave us the paws up signal at 5:00 a.m., we happily sprang into action. We welcomed Mr. Blueberry Cobbler at 5:14. It was a bit of a bumpy ride, but he managed. He was followed by Mr. Orange Creamsicle at 6:01, who despite our best efforts returned to Heaven as an angel. Little Mr. Lemon Meringue made his debut at 6:58 and was quickly joined by his sister, Miss Strawberry Shortcake at 7:15 who apparently was in a hurry. The remaining two boys were much more casual with their timing as we were joined by Mr. Crème Brûlée at 8:02 and Mr. Rice Pudding at 9:05. While she did not share this with us, it was apparent that poor Pepper experienced a certain amount of discomfort from delivering her pups. This left her in a somewhat fragile state, so she didn’t immediate...