The Big Day

Once upon a time, all 11 puppies could curl up in my lap. Last night, it was only one, Chief. He's ours. The family who'd wanted to adopt him decided that it just wasn't the right time for a puppy. I'm grateful that they could make that decision. Because now, we have a new dog! I'd been feeling pretty sad about saying good-bye to all the pups. But now that we get to keep one, it's so much easier. And the time is right for us to have another dog. Especially this one. He chose us from the start, I resisted because I had 11 other dogs to think about. But now I know this is right.

All the puppies were neutered or spayed yesterday. They did fine. They came home last night for some rest. But they didn't really want to rest. Every few hours I fed them a little, they played and then they finally crashed around 11. No one woke me up until 7:30. But then, they wolfed down a pile of food and I rewarded them with a romp in the backyard. They'd all been out there with me or with another pup, but never all of them at once. They swarmed through the ivy, they raced around the deck, they tried to intimidate the neighbor dogs. My dog would have no part of that many puppies. Now, they're asleep again, waiting for their big moment. I'll bring them to the shelter this morning so that they can go home with their families.

It's a big day for all of us.