Thanks to all of you that sent in emails or asked about the puppies and Zuzu. After hours of waiting,
watching, temperature taking and fretting, Zuzu Petals began delivery late on a Saturday. The puppy
midwife arrived to help Zuzu and contain the owners. A full 36 hours later, Zuzu was having an
emergency Cesarean section at the vet’s office. So, many hours and thousands of dollars later, we
were blessed with seven healthy puppies and a tired new mom! Five were chocolate like their father
and grandfather. Two were black like their mother. The litter contained only one female – a black one.
Peggy and I remember now why we haven’t raised puppies in over twenty years! It all started with
building the whelping box for the delivery and nursery accommodations. Many plans were discussed
and discarded before it was finished a full two hours before delivery started. Throw in the milk
replacement shopping, the nursery monitoring (manually helping each pup get its fair time at the pump
- so to speak), puppy chow smoothies and of course the clean up of “out-goings” from all of the “ingoings”,
and you begin to question your sanity and the whole puppy proposition.
Just a couple of minutes holding one of those furry chocolate and black balls (Peggy said they looked
like fat sausages!) and you know why, I guess. The first time one of the pups panted or strolled across
the whelping box was cause for photos and picture messages. The stampede at feeding time was
accompanied by miniature paws squishing the puppy chow at the same time and resulted in crusty
little pups. Lots of great memories that will, in time, cancel out the bad ones.
And, just for the record, we were not able to finance our children’s college education from the
proceeds. After the emergency C-section, stud fees, vet bills, family discounts etc, we finished the
books in need of one of those bailouts. What we did gain though besides the bills, thousands of
pictures, chewed furniture and base boards, dug up flower beds, were some great new friends both
human and canine. The new homes of Zuzu’s (first and last!) brood: Chip went to sister-in-law’s in
Mississippi to help cheer on the MSU Bulldogs. Virginia Beach gained Buck. Greensboro is now home to Bailey. Just down the road in Laurel Fork, VA is where Blue resides. Three of the pups stayed in the
immediate family. Harry “Bear” Bailey – the only black male resides at home in Floyd with Zuzu Petals.
Brix, a chocolate male joined our yellow Lab Cousin Romeo at daughter Allie’s house. Libby, short for
Liberty – like the wine, the only female is at home with our eldest daughter Beth in Roanoke.
Check out the photos on our website in the photo album! It’s the last litter for me and for Zuzu!
EVP/GM |
