Steele X Sophie pups – 6 weeks old

6 weeks old and ready for anything !!

Sophie’s pups have had a wonderful week !  Most days they spend the majority of their time outdoors which they just love.   They seem to really enjoy the sunshine and being able to explore — everything seems to hold special wonder for them these days.    They really have taken an interest in any toys or balls or chewy things that we have made available and are just happy with whatever is on the agenda.

They are getting neater all the time with their eating habits – although mealtime still does leave its own distinctive mark on each one of them.   I think they have just as much fun licking the leftovers off of each other’s face as they do eating dinner itself !!   They are all gaining nicely with the boys being between 10 and 11 pounds and the girls all closer to 9 pounds.    They are good solid pups with great balance and structure and lovely, expressionate eyes.   The photos really don’t do them justice at all – they have completely mastered the “puppy eyes” look and can melt your heart with a single glance.

They are an extremely sweet and well-behaved bunch.    I barely ever hear a peep out of them and they are so patient and gentle.    They play quite frequently with each other – but not usually to the same intensity as some of my other puppies in the past — they are just a very mellow and laid back bunch.   I think if they had a motto it would be “No shoes, no shirt, no problem”….   Everything just seems well and good with them ALL the time.   

This week we will make our first visit to see Dr. Van der Kraan (our vet) which is always an exciting outing.   The pups have had lots of visitors too over this past week – so they are very social and just love any chance they can get to be with people.

We had a long rainy day yesterday – which meant the pups were indoors for the day — so hopefully I will get some nicer photos of them out and about next week….   By then we will have some new adventures to share 🙂

A week of goodbyes…

Miss Rosie at 4 days old

It has been a difficult week here with the main theme seeming to be one of farewell….

Steele and Analiesa’s puppies have begun the journey to their new homes which is always an emotional time.   Our handsome boy Cooper left early Wednesday on a plane for somewhere south and our charming boy Charlie left just yesterday to begin life with his new family.  I know each puppy that leaves is going to a wonderful home and that he or she will now be able to get all the love and snuggles that a little 8 week old pup wants and deserves…  AND I keep thinking that it will get easier to say good-bye whenever it is time for one of our little pups to leave – but a piece of my heart still goes out the door everytime…

Overshadowing the departure of Analiesa’s pups — we also had a very unexpected and upsetting good-bye to our sweet little Miss Rosie (from Happy and Kori’s litter) on Wednesday morning.    I sleep not far from the whelping box these days and everything was fine with Happy’s pups through the night — I often get up to reposition the pups if someone crawls too far out of the bunch or if Happy goes out for a bathroom break through the night.    However – early in the morning I could tell something was not right with Miss Rose and I tried anything and everything I could think of to help her.    Within a few hours she lay lifeless in my hands.    I know that loss is part of nature and part of life — but it was still extremely hard to say goodbye.    My vet has probably had more calls from me in the last week than ever before – and there still seems to be no rhyme or reason to Miss Rosie’s death.   Unfortunately not everything has an easy answer or explanation.  

The hardest part was to watch Happy search the living room and the whelping box for the missing puppy.    She then wandered through the rest of the house and kept on coming back to me as if to say “Where is my puppy ?”.     I wish that there was an easy way to explain things to her…  I am reminded again of how profoundly goldens can feel and sense things — and of how great a mother’s love can be.

I have never liked goodbyes…    So it is time to focus on the wonderful family of goldens still in our midst and remember how precious life is.