Yes, we do have puppies. Whew!
The section (Friday) went well; unfortunately there was a long-dead puppy in one horn of the uterus (did you know dogs have a uterus shaped like a “Y”?) (Is this two much information for the average person?), and that compromised the uterine environment so that the other puppy in that horn died, probably only a day or so before the section.
Yes, this is sad, but not nearly as sad as losing a puppy after weeks spent trying to save him, which happened with Adora’s last litter. That was the only living puppy in the litter and I lost him and it was dreadful.
So this is okay, because there were two perfectly fine puppies in the other horn: a beautifully marked blenheim boy and a much-hoped-for ruby girl. So at least all this effort wasn’t for nothing!
The babies got off to a fairly slow start, what with the mom’s milk not really coming in for a couple of days. They weighed just a hair over six oz at birth (small but acceptable for a Cavalier puppy) and gradually lost half an oz each. But I supplemented by tube-feeding small amounts of milk replacer, and although still small, they are both doing well now. Again, whew!
It’s hard and often impossible to load a picture to this website from this slow connection, but for some reason it’s much easier to load pictures to my OTHER website, so if you’re curious, you can go over to
www.anaracavaliers.com
and click on the “Puppy” page, and if the update yesterday worked, then there should be a very nice picture of the new infants.
Adora’s maternal instincts came in fairly fast, given it was a section, which is why I can leave her long enough to type this — though I’ve dashed upstairs to check on her twice so far.
And! Now that she is taking care of the puppies, and the puppies are quiet and contented, I am finally able to get back to the . . . sigh . . . revision of MOUNTAIN. Surely I will have it finished by Friday? (I keep SAYING that!)
After that, the revision of BLACK DOG.
After THAT, since I am still paralyzed with indecision about what to work on . . . I kind of think I will write fifty to a hundred pages of EACH of the FOUR books I have in mind and then see what I want to do from there. Because why make a decision today when I can put it off till next summer, right?
I’m going to start with the one I feel least inclined to work on and go from there. That’ll make sure I actually do start all of ’em.
Please Feel Free to Share:
I guess the upload didn’t work,I couldn’t find a photo. But I spent a fascinating time reading things over there. Makes me want a good dog, again.
BTW, I did know about bicornate uteri in some animals, and occasionally in women. It came up on a fiction discussion list when we were trying to figure out the peculiarities of a birth some 20 years before the story opened. You just never know where fiction discussion can take you and when the info might turn out applicable in other ways.
Forgot to say: Congratulations on the successful birth, and I hope all continues to go well.
And luck with the finishing of the revisions.
Really, in women? Who knew?
And the picture didn’t load? Hmph. FINE. I’ll try that again.