Puppy post

This is Boniface, the runt of a litter of ten (that’s 10) puppies that our rescue dog from TJ unexpectedly produced. We (by which I mean LWJ) were expecting puppies, of course, just not so many. I’ve learned a lot by watching this process and occasionally helping out (that was the deal and we’ve mostly stuck to it). First, puppies are cute. They can melt the heart of even the flintiest non-dog person. Second, puppies produce astonishing amounts of poop and pee. That’s just how they roll. Clean-up is continuous. Taking on this project is a bad idea for almost everyone. Third, dames pretty much know what to do. Instinct is a fascinating thing. From before she pushed them out until pretty much now, Dulcinea, the dame, found a secret spot outside (which we had to extract her from), lay down and pushed out the puppies, fed them, cleaned up after them (details upon request), protected them from our not always cool-with-it other dogs, and at some point decided to encourage them to be independent, with some success. Fourth, the puppies come with little personalities from the outset. Pictured above is Boniface (the Brave), the littlest of the litter. He seems likely to have perished under natural conditions, being only half the size or less of his biggest brothers. Neither is he especially smart, but he is as his name suggests courageous. He does not back down even when our strangely upset Labrador confronts him after he has managed to wiggle out of their whelping pen (our former dining room). I think you can see the bravery in his philosophical face.