5 little pups

Zen had her pups in record time. The first 4 pups came out one after another with only about 10 minutes between each. The next one came within 1/2 hour and the last little girl hung around and came out after another 1 1/2 hours. My mid-wife was at work, so I called Dennis in on short notice. He handled the stress well and was a great help.

Now for the sad part, my heart is broken that we lost the first little girl. She never came around and was gasping for air from the start. We tried everything (thank you Liz) to bring her around, but it was not meant to be. My Mom passed away 4 years ago yesterday and I like to think we just sent a little pup up to heaven to be with her. She always adored the puppies and would cry and kiss them when she first saw them.

Now Zen and her 5 pups are settling down. We have 3 girls and two boys. Two (1 boy and 1 girl) are very flashy with full white collars like Zen. The other three are plainly marked like their sire, Tazz. One pup has one front leg almost all black except for a tiny white paw! They are all quite small, smaller than most of my newborn pups at 5 and 6 ounces. I will have to keep an eye on them and make sure they are gaining weight each day.

It will be a sleepless night as I wake up to every little squeak. But hopefully, as I see that Zen is a good Mom, I can start to relax. The first 3 days are always the worrying time, making sure they are nursing strong and gaining weight.