A House Guest Appears

As I've asked more than once, what's the point of having a blog if you can't post gratuitous photos of your dogs?

For the next few days we have a house guest of the furred variety, bringing the total canine population of the household to four: Rosey (our senior member at the venerable age of 15 years), then, in descending order of age, Walker, Kitty and Miss Thimble (left), our guest.

As a friend remarked, "I can't imagine being so thoroughly herded."

Word.

Photo at top, left to right: Walker, Thimble and Kitty. Rosey declined the photo opp, as she was napping soundly on her pillow.

Camp Stories: Containing the Corgis

Thank goodness Facebook and Twitter didn't exist when I was a young parent. (For the record, Al Gore hadn't thought up the internet yet, either.) I would have been one of those people posting photos of my kid in his wading pool, grinning after losing his front teeth or making the winning soccer goal.

Relaxing by the fire (l to r: Kitty, Walker, Jeff, Hank).

You know how I know? Because I can't help posting pictures of my dogs now that my kid is all grown up and doesn't appreciate any need I might have to share his life with the world. (What's up with that?)

Which brings us to the photo at the top of Walker (left), Kitty (right) and their new friend Thimble (center), who was recently adopted by friends. They're pictured tethered to a zip line, a thin rope tied between two trees on the edge of the campsite (and out of reach of any fire pits or tangling opportunities), with their leashes attached to the rope by carabiners. The carabiners slide along the rope, giving them more freedom of movement than they'd have if they were tied to a tree. Plus it's easy to unhook the leashes if (who am I kidding…when) the leashes get tangled.

It was a great solution for us (thanks, K!) and one we'll be using on future trips.

Puppies at Play

I've been bombarded with inquiries about Kitty's puppies, how they're doing, what they look like, etc., etc. Since I spent about four hours puppy-sitting yesterday, it was a prime opportunity to observe their activities, which consisted of play, sleep, eat, repeat.

Napping.

Occasionally these were interrupted by squatting in the wood chips at one end of their pen, but pretty much the previously mentioned three activities predominated. As you can see, they're looking less like guinea pigs and more like puppies, and are just beginning to chew on anything that catches their fancy. (My next visit is going to require close-toed shoes.)

More napping.

By the way, the sound in the background is a radio station. Kim Shira, the owner of Coedwig Cardigans, believes it's important to acclimate puppies to normal household sounds from the time they're very young. To that end she has a radio playing occasionally, as well as tapes that feature sirens, thunderstorms, traffic and other outside noises so they won't tend to be as reactive later.

You've got to admire someone who loves the breed as much as she does, and who's as conscientious as she is about how they're brought up.

Are 4-Week-Old Corgi Puppies Cute?

Why, yes. Yes, they are.

Fortunately both of Kitty's puppies are spoken for, so I can play with them and smoosh them to my heart's content, knowing they're going to loving homes when they reach 10 or 11 week of age. And I'm thrilled, too, that their mom is coming home to us when they're about eight weeks old, to retire in the comfort that she so richly deserves.

Can't think of a happier ending to the story!

Our Kitty Had Puppies

And two bruisers they are! The biggest puppies Coedwig Cardigans has had in 30 years of working with this breed, these as-yet-unnamed little dudes weighed in at 17 and 19 oz. each. (Normal birth weight for this breed varies between 8 and 12 oz. each.)

They were delivered by Caesarian section, and Kitty and pups are all doing well. She'll stay with them for eight weeks until they're weaned, which means I'll be making many more trips over there, so expect lots of updates to come. And don't worry, they're already spoken for, so feel free to enjoy them to the fullest!

(These shots were taken a little over 24 hours after they were born.)

Miss Kitty Regrets

My mother agreed with Ben Franklin, who said something like, "Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days."

While I'm sure that's true of some guests, this little lady has been a house guest for more than a week and we're starting to think of excuses not to send her home. Most of these wouldn't, to extend the fish metaphor, pass the sniff test. Especially since her owner, who allowed us to babysit while she was on a trip out of town, is a pretty sharp cookie.

Still, she just might go for the abducted by aliens story, wouldn't she?

Kitty Has Puppies!

What's a better start to the holiday weekend than seeing a pile of Cardigan Corgi puppies? These guys (well, five guys and three girls) are just 10 days old. Their eyes are still closed but they're fat and wiggly and demanding regular feedings from their mom, Kitty.

Oh, and don't worry about being tempted…they're all spoken for, thank goodness! I'll be posting on their progress, so check back soon!