Puppies from the past

The other day, I received several pictures in the mail from my mom, of me as a toddler with our family dog Barney Beagle.  In spite of the name Barney, the dog was a girl and she had puppies.  I do not remember the dog or puppies except through photos. 

I showed one of the photos to Hunter:

 

The conversation went like this:

me - "Do you know who this little girl is?"

H - "Hey - look at that electrical box on the house in the background!"

me - "Do you see the dog?"

H - "Is that a lantern by the steps?"

me - "This is me when I was little with our dog Barney Beagle!"

H - "Wow - there are TWO drain spouts on that house!"

me - put the photo down and sigh and think "Engineer mind!"

Back to the current batch of puppies, here are some photos from earlier last week.  We were so excited the puppies were old enough for us to hold!

 As a mom, it's been interesting watching this first time mom - of five!

The evening after the puppies were born, I heard a lot of loud whimpering and looked out the window onto our enclosed porch where Dixie and her pups are.  I saw Dixie standing by the slightly propped door, obviously needing to go out.  The puppies were all making frantic noises and crawling all over each other trying to find their mama.  Dixie stood there a moment watching them and I could see the struggle on her face.  Finally she dropped her head and came back to her puppies and laid down with them.  I thought "Ha!  Just like me when I was a first time mom and found out that I couldn't just go to the bathroom whenever I wanted anymore."

I few days later when I peeked out, Dixie was hiding under a shelf.  The puppies were sleeping peacefully and she was watching them, but she was several feet away.  I knew what that felt like too!  Sometimes you just need some physical space and don't want anyone touching you for awhile!

Other times I glance out another window and see Dixie running at high speed through the yard.  A minute later she'll be back with the pups, looking completely refreshed.  You know this one - sometimes you just need to step away and getting a little exercise and then you feel ready to tackle anything again!

There's more "mama dog observations" I've had but I'm out of time because one of my own little "puppies" needs his mama.  :)

"As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you . . ." - Isaiah 66:13