Their beloved 3 year old Jack Russel terrier, Josie, had her first litter of puppies.
The gestation period for this small breed of dog is short, 62 days. That doesn't leave much time for picking out the nursery colors.
The entire family had been on pins and needles, waiting for this blessed event. My daughter had an out of town business meeting scheduled during the proposed due date and figured it would happen while she was gone. It did, but in the long run, it was probably just as well that she missed it.
As instructed, I stopped in to check on Josie's condition. I felt sorry for her, she was nearly as wide as she was tall. When she sat and tried to lift a hind leg, she would roll over onto her back, licking mission unaccomplished. She looked like Humpty Dumpty.
On this particular morning, she did not greet me. I found her in her kennel, door open, but she wasn't coming out. I trotted down the stairs to my son in law's office and told him the time was drawing near. Much activity ensued from this point forward.
One corner of the toy room had been cleaned out and they had brought in a birthing/whelping box, large enough to accommodate a Great Dane......maybe two. My son in law removed Josie from her small, safe, blanket filled kennel, shut its door and placed her into the giant box. She was not impressed, but since it was surrounded by child restraint gates and chairs, she had no choice but to stay in it. Deciding it was probably going to be awhile before any action, I left.
Later in the afternoon, while I was in a nearby village, running some errands, I got the phone call. "I think your daughter's water just broke!".....my son in law's exact words. I assured him I was on my way.
When I arrived at the house, the first pup had already been born. I was shocked at the size of this newborn puppy, I was expecting something like mouse size. I looked around the room. There were piles of newspapers, stacks of clean towels. I asked where the boiling water was.
Most new mothers are whacked on the head with the Mother Wand from the moment of birth. Josie was no exception. She began the licking and gnawing process as if she had done this many times before. I thought about how wonderful it was, that animals usually know just what to do. I also thought about how wonderful it was that we humans lack the licking and gnawing instinct.
It was about this time that their home turned into Grand Central Station. There was an endless stream of neighbors, children, friends, family and anyone who may have been driving by at the moment, filing in to see the new arrivals. This was when I knew it was a good thing that my daughter was out of town. Believe me, the Queen of Hearts would have had somebody's head.....on a platter.
Somewhere around 7 o'clock in the evening, the 7th pup was born, 3 females and 4 males. Josie was exhausted, the pups were well and accounted for. Even the smallest, already dubbed Runtly, was doing fine.
My human grandsons are going to have a hard time letting these puppies go to new homes. Especially the oldest. He will have walked through the door into teen-hood before the pups will be ready to leave. He spends a lot of time, sitting along side of the box, IN the box, holding and talking to these seven little wonders.
If you are unfamiliar with this particular breed of dog, let's just say they have a lot of boing and bounce. I figure in about 4 to 5 weeks it will be like living under roof with a small herd of pygmy goats. Maybe it won't be so hard to see them go.
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