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.

The Cutest Puppy Picture Ever?

Nothing scarier than a five-week-old Cardigan Corgi puppy…so cute your head could explode. I know because it happened to me. Yikes.

Puppy Upper!

It's been a darn long time since I've posted any cute puppy pictures, so here are a couple I snapped when I got my puppy fix this morning visiting a litter of 5-week-old Cardigan Corgis.

With the good news about the passage of the Family Farms Bill (HB 2336), the day just keeps gettin' better and better! Enjoy!

The Darling Dozen: Ready to Fly?

It's almost like they do it on purpose just to make you feel old. You get together with friends you haven't seen for awhile. You ask about their kids and they start hauling out pictures (or their iPhones), regaling you with stories about taking Bobby Sue and Jimmy Joe to visit colleges. And you think, "Wasn't this the kid who was just starting grade school a couple of years ago?"

It's like that with this litter of puppies. It seems like only a couple of weeks ago they were little wiggly things the size of a large cigar. Then today I visit and find myself suddenly surrounded by a dozen fat little bears all eager to lick my face and gnaw on my exposed feet (a dicey proposition unless you feel like giving them their first taste of blood).

At seven weeks their ears are going up and down like elevators, though some have definitely taken a stand. They're all spoken for, some going to "show homes" and some to "pet homes" but all of them thoroughly vetted. (I checked credentials…after all, I am their Auntie.)

But even though it made me feel like time is flitting by, I can't seem to stay away. And by the end of next week most of them will have flown the coop.

WARNING: Cuteness Alert!

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IF YOU ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO ATTACKS OF PUPPY-ITIS WHEN CONFRONTED WITH EXTREME CUTENESS, PLEASE AVERT YOUR EYES.

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See? I tried to warn you. But did you listen? No.

One-month-old Corgi puppies have been known to overwhelm the most hard-hearted, cranky and nettlesome of old poops. One of these babies in your hands at the gates of heaven and even if you've lived the most heinous of lives, St. Peter's eyes would get all gooey and he'd shoo you right in. If Dorothy had one of these instead of that yappy Toto, the witch would have thrown water on herself just to get out of its presence.

I myself have been innoculated from their evil spell because I have one of my own. Kind of like having a magic shield or a ring that prevents the toxic rays from reaching me. Not that I can resist spending time with them whenever I'm invited to the puppy pen at Kim's (and picking them up, and petting them and letting them lick my face). Ack...the horror!

A Bad Case

There are some things I have to avoid completely. Otherwise, I get sucked into the vortex and end up having to claw my way out every time. Certain food groups fit in this category (see oysters, below). Certain people, too. And there was that time I had my first vodka martini. But that was long ago and the lesson was learned.

But the one thing that gets me every time (and I haven't figured out how to avoid it) is puppies. And you have to say it like the Wicked Witch of the West. "Puuuuuuuuuuuuppies." Dangerously cute. Frighteningly cuddly. So infectious that I have only to see them at a distance to catch the disease known as puppy-itis.

This time it's little guy named Walker, a Cardigan Corgi about four months old. He has huge front paws, big wobbly ears and meltingly big brown eyes. "And he's house-trained, and Rosey likes him," I say to Dave, who just shakes his head, knowing I'm deeply in thrall with another canine infection.

The good news is that I've progressed enough at this point in my life to know that it's just going to take a few days (and nights) of togetherness for the magic to wear off and reality to set in. So before I jump into the vortex this time, he's going to be coming for a few days over Christmas to see how he does with Rosey and Chester, not to mention our shoes, since he's going to be at that chewing stage. I'm hoping that'll be the cure and the fever will pass.

But then again, if the honeymoon isn't over when it's time for him to go back? Well, I'll just have to keep you posted.