A Girl and Her Dogs

I know, I know! Like we need MORE!

But it wasn’t planned (we tried *very* hard to keep her separated during her heat) and we didn’t want to get her fixed (we want to breed her with a specific breed when we get to Czech)…..sooooo…..puppies it is!!!

Since we didn’t plan it, we’re not really sure when it happened, so we don’t really have a date for the pups yet. Though by looking at her ever-growing tummy and noonies, and the almost-milk substance leaking from them, it won’t be long - maybe 1 - 2 more weeks?

But we are ready this time!!! Instead of using our traditional cardboard box for a whelping pen, we decided to get all fancy-schmancy (nothing’s to good for Bikit!) and get her the real thing!

Check this out:

Glendale Farms Whelping Boxes

This is by far one of the best whelping boxes/dens I’ve ever seen (read more about this company and my experience with them in a separate post!)

Anyway, here are some shots of the whelping den, of Bikit (Sibby) and her tummy, and of Bikit in her whelping den - enjoy!

(oh - sorry about the crappy pic quality - our pro digital camera died on us last weekend at a photo shoot and so all we have is a rinky-dink digital from Wal-Mart to shoot on until our Nikon D200 gets back from the doctor’s, so please bear with us!)

These are pics from yesterday - our 4th of July Birthday Party for Sibby, Stick, Nikki, Jenna Bean, Nate & Libby.

Look hard and you’ll see some of our other babies enjoying their doggie birthday cake and Frosty Paw, too, and making a HUGE mess!! It was already rainy and muddy outside, so add cake & ice cream t0 that and then let loose 23 dogs and well…..

Click to enlarge these:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABIES!!!!

Today (July 4th, 2008) is a very special day!

WHY?????

Because 3 years ago today we were blessed with a wonderful litter of very special puppies, whom now have shared adventure-filled years of their lives with us:

Sibby (Bikit)

TyGirl (Schtick)

Libby (Liberty)

Nate (Nater Tot)

Jenna Bean (Beaner)

Nikki (Pickles)

and also Mikey (who now lives with my mom), and Liam (who has a very loving new home), and Criss (who passed away 2 years ago), and Coleson Ty (who escaped to the Great Unknown when we first moved here 3 years ago - hoping he found a good home, too!)

But today is a day of celebration! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And in honor of our Birthday Babies, I, Momma, will attempt to bake a (doggie-safe) cake for ALL *23* Babies to enjoy!!!

*** Check out the recipes I’m using (in the recipe/treat category) and look for photos from the Birthday Babies in the Photo Gallery category (those are coming soon, as their birthday gifts have not arrived yet)

I just want to say to all my babies that I love each and every one of you so much, and both your Da and I can’t imagine not having experienced your love, kisses, scratches, paw prints, drool, slobber, and your unique personalities - life wouldn’t be what it is without each and every one of you! WE LOVE YOU!!! <3<3<3<3<3

This is a *partial* group shot! I was taking a picture of the front of the house (for the lanlord’s insurance adjuster) and these just happened to come out to say HI MOM!!!

(Left to Right)

Top Row: Lisey (in the dog door)

Second Row: Fedor, Libby, Indiana Bones, Lil Bear, Tequila, Lil Hugs, and Nia (against the wall)

Bottom Row: Nate

Now remember, this is only *9* out of *23*!!!!!!!

(sigh)

This is what happens when you leave a foam-filled dog bed, 2 down pillows, and 1 poly-filled pillow downstairs for doggies to sleep on…..

At first I thought it had snowed inside the house….then, as I looked more closely and saw hundreds of white feathers, I thought to myself….”Oh God, please tell me they didn’t attack a bunch of angels and this is all that’s left”….(I mean, how would I explain at to God? I don’t think He would buy “but I swear I taught them not to eat angels! Really I did!”)

This was no where near as much fun to clean up as they had playing in it!!!

I brought the clean clothes upstairs, dumped them all on the papasan chair (to be folded later) and now I can’t find Sibby *anywhere*!!!!

Berkeley got spayed a few days ago! YAY! (Well, not yay for her, I guess!)

She’ll be 8 in August, so I guess it’s about time, eh?! Anyway - just wanted to post a pic of her tummy scar!

Our baby boy’s finally home!!!!!!!

We can’t believe it! It’s an honest-to-God miracle!!

Cow, Sibby’s 6 month old puppy, has been missing for nearly a month…here’s what happened:

On the morning of March 19th, around 8 am (or so we were told by our neighbors) one or more of our dogs decided they wanted to explore the world and pulled a Houdini on us - they managed to push up the screenless window in the gallery (the big room they stay in that has a dog door connected to our fenced in yard) - and 13 of our dogs escaped out into the woods nearby. We were still asleep, but when we woke up 2 hours later (to let the 3 that sleep with us out to pee) they were gone! Over half our dogs were gone! We were panicking! This had happened before (not the window - that time was because the wind blew a fence panel over) but not as many got out and we caught it right away, so all but 2 were back inside within the hour.

This time not a single one of the 13 dogs were in sight! We ran around calling and shortly we got Lisie, Piper, Libby and Tequila back. A Little bit later Cashleigh came running home. Then right about dark Killian and Chaser made it back. A few hours later Fedor showed up, followed by Gizmo. But then night turned into morning, and no more had come back. We spent the next day looking for the missing pups (all 5 months old) - Nia (who had just had surgery on her head to remove a blood clot), Mikeylah and Cow. It had rained that night and I was so upset and worried that they were hurt and lost (or worse) in the woods (we live out in the country by a lot of thick woods, cow pastures and creeks).

I had walked miles looking and calling for them when my mom suggested we drive around to the closest neighbors and ask if they’d seen them. It was a longshot but we did it. We talked to one guy who suggested we call another guy or his sister, neither were home so I left a message. The sister, Ann, called me back and told me she had seen 2 puppies about half a mile down the road by an old holding pen, not two hours earlier - we went there and there was Nia and Mikeylah!! We were ecstatic! Needless to say I was balling my eyes out! But there was no Cow anywhere to be seen.

After I brought Nia and Mikeylah back home, we went back out to look for Cow, but didn’t find him anywhere. I put up posters and fliers everywhere and even offered a reward, but no one called. We were heartbroken and mourned the loss of Cow for weeks - we held out hope and ran to look outside every time we heard one of the dogs bark, but we were getting more and more worried that we’d never see him again.

Then yesterday afternoon one of my elderly neighbors called and said her cousin was walking down the road, about 1 1/2 miles away, and saw a puppy beside an old wooden bridge. She thought it might be mine so she told me to follow her down there. I was trying so hard not to get my hopes up! But when we got there, I jumped out of my car and ran over to the bridge and my heart went into my throat! MY BABY WAS THERE! Cow was laying underneath a wooden plank, surrounded by brambles - he had a bag of trash opened by his feet (I guess what he’d been living off of, along with creek water). I screamed his name over and over and cried and ran to him, picked him up and just hugged and kissed him so hard!

We took him immediately to the vet, and other than being malnourished, filthy and worm-ridden, he was fine!!!!!!

He’s now bathed and full and happy - safe at home and back with his family!!! We missed him SOOO much! We are SOOOOO happy he’s back - and he’s SOOOO happy he’s home! He keeps running to me and kissing and jumping up!!

I just can’t tell you how much of a miracle this is!! It’s amazing!!!

Here are some ADORABLE shots of Sibby as a little puppy!