watched our dog give birth in the front yard.
When we adopted our dog, (a stray which had shown up at our friends' house) the vet said she couldn't tell if the dog had been fixed or not. We never saw any indication of the dog going into heat, so we assumed she was fixed.
We were wrong.
(You aren't surprised in the least, are you?)
Four years after adopting her, on October 29th, 2008, I noticed that Brownie seemed to look a little thick around the middle. I just kept an eye on her to see if she would get bigger.
She didn't.
Two days later, on Halloween morning, Brownie didn't come when I called her.
After a bit of searching, I finally found dear Brownie in the big barn.
She wasn't alone.
My mouth dropped farther open and my language got worse as I counted.
One... awwww, isn't it cute?
Two... Oh, that one is even cuter!
Three... How many puppies are normal in a litter?
Four... An overachiever, are you Brownie?
Five... Are you kidding me????
Six... What am I going to do with all of these puppies???
Seven... Son of a $#$%^!
Eight!!!! *&%$!!!!!
How in the name of all that is good did my dog give birth to EIGHT puppies? And on an unrelated side note, how did I not notice she was pregnant until two days before she delivered EIGHT puppies?!?!
I brought Brownie some food and water and left her to care for her babies.
A little while later, I saw Brownie out in the yard. She was squatting, and I thought, "Huh. I certainly couldn't go to the bathroom that soon after delivering one baby. How's she doing that after delivering eight?"
And then I saw her turn around and pick up the "poo" she had just deposited onto the yard.
She hadn't just pooped, SHE'D DELIVERED ANOTHER PUPPY!
NINE! NINE puppies!!!
Only at my house could a dog deliver NINE puppies.
Brownie was a good mom and took fabulous care of her ridiculously large brood.
Thankfully, from the beginning, she let us hold and play with the puppies. The kids were in heaven.
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| Buttercup loved them the most. |
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| Turken was only 6 months old when the puppies were born. |
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| He never cried when the puppies were crawling all over him. Of course, he never smiled, either. |
In the end, we found homes for 6 of the puppies. One disappeared at 4 weeks of age, we thought because it was taken by a hawk or other wild animal. Two years later, we found out that lost puppy had actually shown up on the doorstep of a house half a mile away. The family ended up keeping him.
To find out what happened to Brownie and the two remaining puppies, you must read one of my first posts. You will not be disappointed. It is horrifying at first, but ends up so funny I cry every time I tell it. (Being one of my first posts, it isn't written all that well. Sorry about that.)
We still have one of those puppies. Her name is Hershey, and she is as wonderful a dog as you could ever hope for. Every year, at some point during our race to get everyone home from school, homework done, fed, dressed up, trick-or-treated, candied up, and into bed, we remember, "Oh yeah, it's Hershey's birthday today," and give her an extra pat on the head.
To see how other folks finished the sentence this week or to link up your own Halloween story, head on over to any of the following ladies' sites:
Your Hostesses:
Have a lovely day!
1. No, not surprised.
ReplyDelete2. TOTALLY surprised that it was four years before it happened
8. BECAUSE EIGHT???
9. OMG the poo was another puppy? I'd be horrified, except, well, maybe relate to the pushing poo but it is not a poo feeling...
4023: You found out the puppy was at the neighbors???? How perfectly wonderful and lovely is THAT? Yikes. Perfect.
1. Shoot. Thought I had you all snowed into thinking I was a responsible animal owner.
Delete2. Honestly, so am I. That's partly why we were so convinced she was fixed.
8. No joke.
9. Yes, NINE!
4023. It was astounding. We found out when someone came to our house looking for her lost dog. When she saw Hershey, she asked where we got her. I told her it was from our litter, and she said her friend had a dog that looked exactly like Hershey, just black. Worked it out to realize we had found the missing puppy/now a dog!
I'm just curious ... would you consider this a Trick or a Treat? lol Seriously, I once had a cat that gave birth on my bed, while I was sleeping in it! I awoke, felt something damp by my knee, looked down, and there she was ... giving birth. I had never seen a cat give birth before, little lone awaking to it. I was freaked out, but after thinking about it, felt blessed that she loved and trusted me enough to make me a part of her very special moment. Of course, when I counted five kittens, I too went "Holy Hell!!!!" Good post!
ReplyDeleteMostly a trick. Little bit of treat, since Hershey won't leave the yard, while her mom clearly did.
DeleteThat story makes me ill. Waking up to find a cat giving birth on your bed?!?!?! EW! We had a cat give birth when I was growing up. My mom. siblings, neighbors, and I watched the entire thing, completely fascinated. But the cat was in a box and I was wide awake at 4 in the afternoon.
I like how the language gets more colourful as the head count goes up! Love the photo too, Brownie looks like a very loving mum, such a shame though about what happened later.
ReplyDeleteYears ago I had a cross-bred German Shepherd which I'd taken in as a stray, she gave birth to eleven pups in the old outhouse down the back yard. Also within less than two weeks two of my cats had three kittens each and I gave birth to my son - that's an awful lot of babies all at once!
She was a very good mom. Too good, apparently, as she felt the need to show them how to hunt for food.
DeleteThat is a BOATLOAD of babies!! Quite a coincidence, the father of the puppies was a German Shepherd.
As in, the father of our puppies was a Shepherd.
DeleteYes, I did realise what you meant :)
DeleteI don't know what the father of my lot was, probably just a mongrel of some sort, but they were cute puppies. Six boys and five girls - I kept the smallest girl and sold the rest to a local pet shop.
The health visitor went ballistic when she came to do my post-natal check and saw all the puppies and kittens!
Yup, I a so oblivious sometimes to things that I could picture myself not noticing the dog getter thicker around the middle until almost the end. But seriously such cute puppies and my girls would have been in 7th heaven. They are begging for one dog and I am holding out, because they are just enough to handle right now for me. Very cute though and totally enjoyed reading :)
ReplyDeleteThe only reason we have dogs is to "protect" the farm. No way would I have a pet inside my house! That's also the reason I give for not noticing she was pregnant. It's not like she's inside with me all day!
DeletePuppies are about as cute as an animal can get. We all loved playing with them.
Nine??? Nine??? Nine??? For me that would be something straight out of a Halloween horror story!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, NINE!! Me, too, sister. Me. Too.
DeleteI know I've heard this story before but it gets me EVERY time...love it. Thanks for sharing for all the world :)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. :)
DeleteNINE - good grief! The only animal to give birth on our homestead so far has been a stray cat who only had three kittens. I was glad she kept it at a manageable amount and we quickly got her fixed afterwards along with her three kittens!
ReplyDeleteMy Halloween stories consist of candy and laying around in a costume watching movies. Pretty much every year. Kinda boring lol!
Yes, when we bought the house, it came with pregnant cats. They were very reasonable and only had 5.
DeleteOur Halloweens aren't usually anything to talk about, either. This was not normal.
THAT is hysterical! NINE??? holy moly! I had TWO cats of mine give birth in the same dresser drawer - several years apart from each other. I watched the whole thing, it's so amazing. That's so sweet that you took care of them and kept one. Great Halloween story!
ReplyDeleteI know! Nine is just plain ridiculous. I really hope that dresser drawer was empty. And how did they get in it?
DeleteI watched our cat give birth when I was a kid. Fascinating.
We didn't have much choice in the caring for them. Plus, as outside dogs, there really wasn't much to do.
We had to keep Hershey. She was such a timid little thing. You could just tell she didn't want to leave.
NINE!!! She was either a VERY big dog to begin with or...ummmm..................
ReplyDeleteThe pics of Buttercup, Turken and the puppies are absolutely adorable!!! Of course I had to go read the story and you were right... :O :D
Yes, nine. And no, she wasn't a big dog. No need to finish your thought.
DeleteAll photos are adorable when puppies are involved, but I agree, my kids are pretty cute, too. :)
I know. Crazy story, isn't it?
Awww...adorable. I love this post. It made me smile.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
I'm glad. Thanks.
Delete"Two years later, we found out that lost puppy had actually shown up on the doorstep of a house half a mile away."
ReplyDeletenow if you think about this, the story *does*, in fact, become really scary. For the record, I will not keep any stray that shows up around here, Halloween or not.
We just won't think about it.
DeleteAw, you cold-hearted person, you. I thought you were a dog person!
That is a fantastic story, and those puppy pictures are achingly cute! I love the 9th puppy entrance! :) Wow, that dog is a hero...
ReplyDeleteI have yet to meet a puppy that wasn't cute.
DeleteNo joke. Can you even imagine delivering nine babies?
Makes me want to go to the pet store and play with all the puppies!! Forgot about the back story! :(
ReplyDeleteGo ahead and play with them. Just be prepared to bring one home.
DeleteSorry to remind you about the other story.
That's a great story! My sister-in-law's pug had a litter of 9 as well, all boys! What are the odds?? Now I wonder, how did that 4-week old puppie manage to leave the farm and go to a different house? wow..
ReplyDeleteWow, nine boys!! That can't happen very often.
DeleteWe've thought the same thing. I can't imagine how he would have walked over there. Nor can I imagine Brownie taking him over there. Of course, I couldn't have imagined her killing two goats, either, so who knows.
Oh WOW - nine puppies?? I would have been saying *&%$!!!!! after about number three I think! You're kids must have been so happy. The photo of Butter with all (most?) of them at once is so gorgeous. Love that you discovered that the pup you thought had died was actually safe in a home not far from you - awesome story!
ReplyDeleteThe kids loved playing with those puppies. Shoot, I loved it, too. How could I not? Yes, nine was a bit much, knowing we had to find homes for them all. However, they were loads of fun to play with.
DeleteCrazy about that lost one, isn't it? We see him every once in a while when he gets loose, and yes, he looks a whole lot like Hershey.
AWESOME! I mean, well I wouldn't want 9 puppies! And how amazing that they all looked so different! I am jealous, except that I'm not LOL. If I was a kid I would have been in heaven! Happy Birthday Hershey!
ReplyDeleteIsn't that funny, how many different colors they were. The dad was pure German Shepherd, so all those colors must have come from Brownie.
DeleteI understand the jealous/not jealous thing. I wanted them, but didn't. :)
The kids loved it, though. I'll pass along the birthday wishes.
LOL!! What a fab story!! Yes, I would have started swearing after #3 popped out too!!
ReplyDeleteI would have sworn earlier if they were inside dogs, but since they were outside farm dogs that I didn't have to worry about peeing and pooping in my house or making noise all night long, I was mostly just worried about finding homes for them all.
DeleteAwwww how sweet. Brownie did good hiding her pregnancy. LOL!
ReplyDeleteYes, she did. Guess she was afraid to tell us she'd been sneaking out of the house to visit her boyfriend.
DeleteThat is a fabulous story. I would've responded about the same way. Thank heaven I have boy cats.
ReplyDeleteYou know Hershey was fixed the day she was old enough! :)
DeleteI can't imagine it's a post you'd soon forget.
ReplyDeleteShe loved those puppies to pieces.
They're outside farm dogs! They aren't like indoor dogs who are played with and petted and all up in your face to notice such things.