Week 2: Eyes open, busy bodies

Without any proper mama training, books about motherhood or a grand mama to show her the ropes, Honey is a natural mother.  She wanders into her room to feed periodically and keeps the pups clean, head to toe.  They have begun to gain weight at a freakishly fast rate.  Suddenly they moved from little furry slug-like creatures to fatty mcfatterson blobs, but still so cute and squeaky.  When the puppies were about 10 days old, Simon texted me at work to say they were opening their eyes.  A few days later, they suddenly transformed from soft, blubbery, sleepyheads to mobile, talkative busy bodies.  If Honey walks by, they will lunge up towards her to feed, paw each other to get close to her and at other times pile on top of each other with passion and playfulness.

Week 1: 8 Little Ones

Day 2 with Honey:  Simon walked Honey to the Rainier Beach Veterinarian Hospital (I thought he was going to drive the pregnant mama, but maybe the walk helped "move things along") The staff took Honey in the back room and quickly came out to say that she was giving birth.  What timing!  The puppies' birthday is May 11th.

Honey birthed 8 puppies and we all breathed a sigh of relief as I was worried this would all happen in our living room. Apparently, she was a true champ and took to being a mother very quickly.  The vet was very impressed.  After a few days, we decided to foster the family and they all moved back to our home.  The vet covered all costs of the bill.

As a side note, we noticed how food is a huge motivator for Honey.  As Simon attempted to load all of the puppies into his car, Honey took off running down Rainier Ave.  He finally caught up to her at the KFC, where the smell of fried chicken was too tempting.  She literally ditched her babies for fried chicken.

Here are the puppies when they are one day old.  Cute. Soft. Sleepy. 

Back at our home, we have designated a small, recently painted room for the puppies (aka Baby nursery- did I mention that I am pregnant in my final trimester?)  Honey took to nursing right away and after a few days of transitioning into our home, with Tahi and some new people, we all found a new peace.  Initially Honey was quite protective of her pups (understandably so) and wasn't always trusting of new people.  In a short amount of time, she's really come to love us, Tahi  (her new playmate) and of course, her little babies. 

Honey loves to play, play, play. She is one friendly girl!

The beginning... bringing home a small black dog

It all started with a visit to the Humane Society to just "look".  Our friends Becca and Nick, talked us into "looking" and not committing to a new dog to take home.  They had successfully visited the Humane Society several times and not come home with a new dog.  They are much, much stronger people than me and Simon.

We sat in the parking lot discussing how we would just look and not get excited about any one dog in particular.  As we wandered up and down the long corridor of pens, many dogs were interesting to see- the straggly looking chihuahua "Ginger", the old pit bulls with sad looks in their eyes, the big dogs that were 10 years old. Who would adopt these animals?  Then, I looked in a pen and saw a sweet, small, all black puppy named Patrick.  He looked up when I loomed closer and he stared into my eyes; he stared and stared. I thought we had better get out of there or else we would take all of the dogs home.

Simon and I visited him in the "Getting to Know you Area" and we played and played.  The volunteer said that puppies don't last long; his brother Walter and sister Sarah were just adopted hours before.  (This is the part of the story that differs).  Simon claims I "insisted" we bring him home.  I remember us deciding equally that this dog was a good idea.

How could one really leave this precious little guy behind?  He had to come home with us.

Playing and getting to know each other at the Humane Society. 

Simon quickly renamed Patrick to Tahi.  Tahi is Maori for "first" as he's our first little guy.  Oh how we have fallen in love with this dog.  He is very loved, a little spoiled, so smart and loyal and we just feel like he's an extension of us.  He's become a familiar part of the neighborhood and people recognize him as he "greets" neighbors walking by with his friendly bark.  Tahi quickly became friends with a little girl, we'll call CeCe.  She scooters around our neighborhood; she knows all of the dogs in the neighborhood and loves Tahi.

A few weeks ago, she came to our house flustered and frustrated.  She saw an abandoned stray dog who was very pregnant, but not willing to let strangers go near her.  CeCe had seen this dog near the same house repeatedly, so she thought perhaps the family moved away and left her behind.  Simon lured the pregnant mama dog into our living room with treats and a leash and she spent one uncomfortable night in our home, with major contractions, a friendly Tahi who wanted to play with her and a belly full of puppies ready to be born.

We named her Honey because of the color of her coat and because she is so, so sweet.  If we hadn't fallen in love with Tahi, I am pretty sure this dog would still be out on the street.  It's true, we love dogs.

Many people have commented on how this all happened right around Mother's Day.  Honey was becoming a mother and soon, we'll have a baby, too.  It's raining babies!