Its a girl!

The first puppy was born at 10:54 pm.

In good hands now

I'm actually dictating this to my staff from the whelping box. One member of the Helping Paws "Team Whelp" is here, and another is on the way. I know I'm in the best of hands now.

The Wait

Above is a picture of me when I was much skinnier. I'm about 15 lbs heavier now, but no pictures of that will be pulished here. My due date has been calculated by several people. Helping Paws says today, but the vet says Sunday. So that means that I must be on some kind of "watch" list. One of my staff came home early yesterday afternoon, and I have not been left alone since. Someone from Helping Paws came last night at 10 PM to check on me and make sure that I wasn't going to have puppies last night (thanks again to Helping Paws for that-it was truly appreciated) I got to sleep in the whelping box last night, and a staff member slept on the couch to monitor me overnight. And they follow me when I have to go outside. Do they think I'm going to sneak into the woods and give birth?

Right now I am hoping that Helping Paws date is right because I am getting very tired of waiting. And I'm tired of my staff bothering me too. They all ask "Is it time yet Cheers?" or "Ready to have puppies?" My response, if I could talk, would be "They'll come when they're ready-you can't rush these things" But I think the puppies must be ready. Judging by the way that they were moving around this morning, I can only surmise that they were having their own little pre-whelping party in there! They have worn me out and I have spent most of the morning just lying on the floor. I didn't even get up when I heard the bag of snacks being opened in the kitchen!

So there you have it. Waiting is no fun. I figure that I killed 10 minutes updating the blog. But I must go now. My tummy is so big that I can barely reach the keyboard anyway.

A Palace Fit for a Queen

Today the whelping box arrived. (Somehow this makes the impending birth seem even more real). My staff spent part of the afternoon setting it up, and of course I had to supervise. It was quite a process. This must be a really big deal if they are setting up a separate structure in the living room just for me.

The first step was to put down the tarp. I really like that color of blue. I think it sets off my coloring nicely :) Next up is the rug. You probably can't tell from the pictures, but the pattern on the rug nearly matches my collar. As with the tarp, I need to sniff it thoroughly.

After that it was 'the tray'. It's some sort of contraption made out of wood and linoleum ("vinyl floor covering" actually-thank you for the clarification Carolyn) and is to make sure that the puppies don't damage the floor. Every once in a while I had to provide some close supervision during the assembly process. :)

Voila! The finished tray. Do you know how hard it is to run a drill without an opposable thumb?

After that the whelping box went up so quickly that I didn't get a chance to take any pictures, and the next thing I knew, my pillow was in there and I was being encouraged to jump in and test it. I sent one of my staff in to test the pillow (one can't be too careful!).

The pillow was found to be satisfactory, so next I had to give it my seal of approval

It passes-This space to be filled with puppies next week!

I feel pretty!

Last night my staff gave me a bath. They thought that they had better get it done before we got too close to the due date. And no, not because I would be too big to fit in the bathtub. I may have gained weight, but I am not THAT big. Its just that once the puppies come, I will not have time for a bath.

Anyway, I was fussed over, pampered and preened. Bathed, brushed out and feet trimmed up. And I got lots of treats while it was going on. I heard one of my staff say I was getting too many treats, but I can assure you that is not possible. I made sure that staff person got extra wet when I shook myself off!

They also mentioned that I need to look good for Monday. Apparently I am going back to the vet so they can determine how many puppies I am carrying. This strikes me as silly as I already know EXACTLY how many there are. Why don't they just ask me ;)

That's all for now. I must get back in my spot before the staff starts arriving home.

The Sounds of Silence

The three day weekend is over. Everyone but me (and the cat) have gone back to school or work for the day. While I appreciate all the attention I get from my staff, sometimes it's just nice to be alone. The weather was good this weekend and I got out for several long walks. I find that they tire me out more than they used to so I'm enjoying the quiet today while it lasts. I just hope they get home in time to feed me.

Perspective and Ice Cream

Last night the Helping Paws person came over and we went over the plan. I'll skip most of the details as they will probably bore you (and some might gross you out :), but I learned a couple of interesting things:

1) I knew this already, but the person from from Helping Paws is very knowledgeable and committed to the program and she's been doing this for a long time. What I didn't realize was that she was present at my birth. And my mother's. And her mother's. And her mother's. And maybe even her mother's-I honestly lost track at that point as there was a leftover pizza crust on the table that was distracting me. (FYI, it was gooooooooooood!). Where was I? Oh yes, commitment. There's been a lot of time and energy and thougt that's gone into this, and it's greatly appreciated.

2) Now the really good news. I learned that I can have ice cream during the whelping. I love ice cream! At least I think I do, I'm not sure that I've ever had it, but it sounds really yummy. I love ice cubes, and anything with cream in is really good too, so the combination must be incredible. I can't wait! (Wag, Wag, Wag)

Other than that, not much is new. I continue to get bigger, and have actually started walking up the steps instead of running. In fact, as the pregnancy gets closer, I'm pretty sure that I am going to need one of these ------>

Tomorrow-We go over "The Plan"

Tonight my staff was busy straightening up the house in anticipation of tommorrow's visit from the Helping Paws Director of Programs. Apparently they are going to discuss "The Plan". I'm not sure what that entails, but they did mention something about pizza, so hopefully they will share a crust or two with me! I'm tired and going to bed now.

ME!

Brrrrrrr!

Not much to report today. Nothing to report actually, so, being a Minnesotan, I'll talk about the weather. Its COLD outside, and I find myself making an ever increasing number of trips outside.
I think my staff got the date thing on the camera figured out, so maybe they'll be along to post a new picture or two.

Oh, and a shout out to Faith-I have heard that she is recovering well from yesterday's surgery.

Welcome to my Blog! ! !

Hi! (my tail is wagging as I type) After much discussion amongst my staff (they think they are my "owners"), I have been given computer access and have been allowed to start a blog.

So here's the deal. I'm a three year old Golden Retriever. I "work" for Helping Paws. My current position is in the breeding program. My litter-mates also 'work' for Helping Paws, but they have positions as Service Dogs. When I was first given the option of going into the breeding program, it was a hard decision, but now that I'm pregnant, I realize that I made the right decision. I have always received much love and attention (my staff is good to me) but now that I'm pregnant, people are even nicer to me. I get extra tummy rubs and, more importantly, MORE FOOD. (wag wag wag)

So anyway, watch this space for updates. My little ones are due February 1st. That's all for now-pregnancy is tiring. And its hard to type with paws.

P.S. My staff is having some issues with the date on the pictures. Sorry! The pics were taken yesterday.