In The Puppy Way

There's no doubt about it now: Leah is "in the puppy way!" Her tummy is swelling, she's eating a lot, and she sighs often. I think those are all signs of pregnancy, based on observations of some of my girlfriends who became mothers. Leah is a bit confused by the whole process, I think. Sometimes she turns quickly and looks at her tummy with great interest. If she had one of those cartoon bubbles over her head, it would say something like, "Just what is going on in there??"

Poor Leah. She's not only dealing with being pregnant for the first time, but also with that bad cut on her leg. After a week of being a very good girl and not bothering the staples, we got a little too lax about making her wear the Elizabethan collar. It is quite aggravating  for her and for us. Wouldn't you know it, she very neatly removed all twelve staples by herself and spit them out on the floor. I discovered this fact just as she pulled out the last one. I was quite distraught, as it was 10:30 p. m. on Saturday, three days before Christmas. The wound opened right back up; it hadn't healed at all. Luckily, a veterinarian who used to have a practice here still maintains a home just a few miles up the road, where he and his family spend most weekends. Robin had him take a look at Leah's leg on Sunday afternoon, December 23. His prognosis was that the wound was not at all infected (thank goodness!) and would eventually heal on its own. He recommended applying Neosporin twice daily and keeping that awful collar on her until the healing was complete. We've followed his orders all week, and I'm glad to report that the cut is healing nicely...slowly, but nicely. Leah will have a nasty scar, but that is small potatoes as long as there are no more complications.

The puppies are due around January 10th. That's less than two weeks away! We're both excited and a little apprehensive. Hopefully Mother Nature will make sure everything goes smoothly, with mama and puppies healthy and strong when all is said and done. Robin and I have been looking forward to this for a long time. We wanted to have some puppies from Red because he is such a good, good dog. It took us close to two years to find a Leah, as Kelpies are scarce, especially black and tan females. And, as we move through the elder care season of midlife, we decided we were due for a little joy. What better for that than a litter of sweet little puppies!!

After wearing her collar all day, Leah gets a break. She's sleeping a lot more
now, resting up I guess, for taking care of  her babies.