One Down, Seven to Go (weeks, that is!)

We have all arrived safely at the one-week mark! So many things can go wrong in that first week and so it is a big relief to have it done. We will be taking one-week pictures and making a collage so watch for that later.

Whitby is a star today! His picture has made the homepage of the Berner-L. You have already seen the picture but it is fun to see it there and you can join the Berner-L if you haven’t already at: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Berner-l/

Geneva continues to blow milk bubbles but I think it is at a reduced rate. She is one of the smaller puppies but her weight gain is perfectly fine. I had a dream last night that Toronto had opened his eyes this morning! He hasn’t but I think the dream is a reflection of my amazement at his size and growth – he is gi-normous, as Megan and Molly would say! Sydney is keeping up with the boys and is about their size – she is a little tank.

Both Toronto and Jamaica like to explore. Several times a day they send out a puppy SOS to be rescued from some remote place in the whelping box and/or because they have left the safety of the fleece and found themselves trapped on slippery linoleum.

Yesterday Galen was holding and admiring Hudson - he is a stunning boy (Hudson, but Galen is cute also). Galen was talking to him to get his attention so he could look at Hudson's face. I had to point out that Hudson is both deaf and blind and so saying, "hey, hey" probably would not have any effect :)

Cadi continues to be an amazingly good mom. We are used to clean puppies but these almost sparkle! They are so plump and it is fun to hold their solid little bodies. Ever since Marti noted the dark rust I have marveled at that – already their colors are so vivid. And yes, they do have such tiny little ears!

Yesterday I made an appointment to interview a new vet clinic. This one is promising – five vets and they have someone on site 24 hours a day. They had a vet available to come out and do dewclaws yesterday BUT he would not use a local anesthetic. This is pretty typical actually and many breeders remove their own dewclaws (well, their own puppies’ dewclaws). However, while numbing the area does hurt for a second, it blocks the pain of the removal and for several hours after so I do not understand why that is not standard of care?! As I mentioned to Galen, they used to circumcise infants without anesthesia (he cringed – probably more from the mention of a private body part than the idea of circumcision without anesthesia) and so I think veterinary medicine is just a little behind. So I elected to stick with the Monday removal of dewclaws by the mobile vet but I will meet with a vet from the no anesthesia clinic on Tuesday. We will find a good match for us yet!

I included a couple of pictures that show the puppies' reverse hourglass figures! Also, can you tell which one is Sydney and which one is Jamaica?? I bet Cali can ;)

I want to give a shout out for Trish, Jed's mom. Not only did she go out of her way to make this litter happen on her end, but she is as excited about the puppies as I am! It is very fun to have someone to "gush" with and we sometimes exchange emails just to say how incredibly cute the puppies are! Yes, we are both proud grandmas for sure -- with all that is associated with that. I supposed we will soon have bumper stickers that say, "My Grandpuppies are Cuter Than Yours"!

I bet your grandmas thought you were a most perfect baby -- isn't unconditional love and acceptance such a gift! Let's spread it around today!

Thanks for your visit and have a loving, perfect day!