Puppy Love

The day we left for Europe (February) was a busy day! Lots of packing, printing off information, and making plans. Add to that confusion a vet appointment for our dog, Puggy. That is when we found out that she was expecting....in just three weeks! Because we would still be in Switzerland during that time, we needed someone to step in and help us out with this new development. Thankfully my brother and sister-in-love were up to the task. They came and picked up Puggy and took her home to care for spoil the new little mommy-to-be. She was as happy as a clam there basking in all of her new attention. The good news is, she knew them very well and loved being at their house. One Saturday morning, we were preparing to visit a local farm in Morrens, Switzerland, and we got a Skype call. It was my brother, and Puggy was having her puppies. What a blessing that through modern technology we could watch this event live from another continent!
Puggy had seven little puppies, but one passed away before we got home. Arriving home, we suddenly had a houseful of dogs! Eight in all and it was non-stop busy! It was a lot of work, taking care and keeping track of all of these pups, but we grew quite attached to them as the weeks wore on. We adapted the new additions into school work as the kids measured and weighed them each week, charting their growth with a line graph. Each night, our little family sat around the living room cooing and petting some little bundle of joy in our arms.

Soon, the time came for each pup to go to their new homes. It was a sad, rainy day that the first to leave, Dottie May, drove away. The sorrow was compounded because she was taking our dear friends and family, The Hunters, with her across the country. My cousin called me and told me, "You should put bows on the puppies and take some pictures with your kids."
What a great idea! I thought. I imagined my girls in beautiful spring dresses in a lush green yard cuddling all of our little pups sporting long, flowing giant silk bows. The boys would have blue bows and the little girl Zoe, a pink one. Even the edges of the pictures were fuzzy. Needless, to say...this is MY life and it didn't quite go that way. First of all our yard has been severely neglected lately because we are NEVER home! Secondly, my oldest daughter practically refuses dresses at this stage in her life. Thirdly, well....they are puppies. Enough said. Here is the reality of our puppy photo shoot:

 Between all of the biting, yelping, running, rolling around in the grass, choking each other with the bows, and 132 shots later, I was fortunately able to get a good picture!

Later that day we had some tearful moments as each of the pups went home. When we found out we would have puppies earlier in the year, we were shocked and a little scared, but it turned out to be one of our most fun adventures yet. I truly hope their new owners are enjoying them as much as we did!