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June 21, 2006 ...

My sister and I took a road trip today and visited our daddy and his wife.

Skipper made it to her new family safe and sound.

June 20, 2006 ...

Along with getting turns at sleeping in a crate in the living room, the pups also take turns running errands with me. My favorite place to take them is to Jill's school. It is a culturally diverse school so the pups get to see all shades and sizes of people. One of the cream girls went with me today.

Mera's puppies are getting so big. They all spend the day in the house with us then take turns spending the evening and night in the house. They get to run around the house in the evening. When it is their turn they spend the night in a crate with Kori. I take them outside to potty around midnight and get up around 3:00 a.m. then again around 6:00. I really hope they go home soon. I'm going to get worn out.

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June 18, 2006 ...

Today was devoted to resting.

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June 17, 2006 ...

Today was a great day. I got up, did some computer work, did some cleaning in the puppy area, then went to the vet all by 8:10 a.m.

When I went to the vet this morning to pick up the pups that were spayed/neutered yesterday I took along the girls that were spayed Monday. I thought their stitches looked funny. They didn't look infected but they looked swollen and crooked. The vet looked at them all and said they will be fine. He said they have been playing and running and that is straining the stitches. He acknowledged that it is impossible to keep these little puppies still so this can happen. He said they will be just fine and this is nothing to worry about. I picked up the other three puppies then waited around in the parking lot for a few minutes. Mera's dad brought her there for me. I wanted Mera to go to the romp with us. She is looking good.

After they left I got everything but the dogs and pups all packed up and ready to go. By then it was time to pick Bridegroom up. He lives less than five minutes from my house. When I got there, nobody was home and the car was gone. The guardian dad is on call this weekend. He has the kind of job that if he gets called in, he has to rush there right away. That is what happened. Bummer, I was looking forward to seeing him and having him play with the others. Oh well, I am (was) in the medical profession too so I completely understand.

Velvet - The first Lincoln Manor Breeding dog and the matriarch, retired.
Mera - Velvet's daughter from her first full litter here. Born in Bryony's bedroom. Has had two litters. Lives in a guardian home.
Kori - She is two halfs of a doodle, 1/2 Golden Retriever 1/2 Labrador Retriever. She is spayed.
Ruby - Mera and DaVinci's daughter from Mera's first litter. She lives in a guardian home.
Four of Mera and DaVinci's puppies from their current litter. They stayed in a separate area.
Shawny (or Mr. Brady) - The boy we kept for stud from Rosie's litter. He lives in a guardian home.
Baby Junior (Riley) - From Mera/DaVinci's 2005 litter. Lives in a pet home.
Chevy - The boy we kept for stud from Mera/DaVinci's 2005 litter. Lives in a guardian home.
Chloe - We got her from another breeder. Has a great personality. Will be spayed this summer. Lives with Chevy.
Da Vinci - THE Mr. stud muffin. Born in Australia. Lives in a guardian home.
Josie - From Andria/Koby's 2005 litter. Born in our utility room. Already passed her health testing and will be having puppies for us. Lives with DaVinci.
Holly - One of the F1's I got from Oklahoma. Has had one litter so far. Lives in a guardian home.
Montana - Holly's puppy. Born in Bryony's bedroom. The biggest whitest Doodle I've ever seen. A real head turner. Meeko's litter mate. Lives in a pet home.
Lacy - From Velvet/Koby's fall 2005 litter. A very stunning girl. Will have her health testing this summer/fall. Lives in a guardian home.
Chamois (Shabbi) - From Velvet/Koby's fall 2005 litter. Bless her heart, she has a great personality. Lives in a guardian home.
Rosie - An F1 we got from Sunshine Acres. Very pretty red/dark apricot color. Sweet girl. Three of her puppies were here today. Lives in a guardian home.
Buddy (Cindy Brady) - Rosie's puppy. Lives with Rosie as a pet.
Francie (Carol Brady) - Rosie's puppy that we kept for breeding. Lives in a guardian home.
Petra - An F1 we got from TN. She is the one that had a Parti Doodle puppy. She is looking terrific. Her coat is full and thick and shiny. Turns out she was probably only having problems due to poor nutrition from where we got her. It kills me that I had her spayed. It was great seeing her and her doodle buddy. Lives in a pet home.
Shirley - The pup from Leather and Bridegroom that was chosen to be trained to become a service dog. Her training is coming along nicely. Lives in prison with a specially trained inmate who is training her.
Who did I forget? I know there were others. (Really, let me now if you know of someone I didn't list). There were other doods there too. Woody, the Goldendoodle from the Zoo; Justice the puppy; Petra's house mate; Corey the doodle who was boarding there; and....who else am I forgetting?

The romp was just the best. I loved it. One of the puppies, Isaac, was chosen and went home with ICAAN to follow in Shirley's footsteps and be trained by a specially trained inmate to become a service dog.

After we got home, Mera's and Ruby's families came and picked them up. Man am I tired and hungry. I was so busy that I didn't take the time to eat today until after the romp. Rick made a wonderful salad for me and brought it to me at the romp. I felt weird eating in front of people so I only took a few bites. Anyway, I'm a happy tired.

June 16, 2006 ...

This morning I took Ruby to a new-for-me vet about 30 minutes away from here. He is going to do Ruby and Chevy's Pennhip testing. Chevy is Ruby's litter mate that we kept back for studly work. He also lives in a guardian home. His guardian mom was to bring him in since that vet is only a few miles from her house. I never forgot the bad treatment DaVinci and Josie's guardian mom received from a tech at the vet's office who usually does our Pennhip testing. That was not called for so I've been wanting to switch vet's ever since. Hopefully this one will be better. Since I don't know this vet yet I'm only having him test the hips. After we get the results I'll take them back in for their EKG, Thyroid, and other testing. After waiting around for while I was just getting ready to leave when Chevy showed up. I went through the check in procedures with him. After getting them all checked in I dashed home, got Jill ready, and packed up the three pups that needed to go to the vet 30 minutes in the other direction from my house. When we got to Jill's school her class had just left for the park. We were already late taking the puppies to the vet so Jill had to go with me to take them. One girl is getting spayed and two boys getting neutered. So, we took the puppies to the vet then went in another direction to take Jill to the park. Her class wasn't there yet so she went with me to the office supply store. I love going there. By the time we went back to the park her class was there. I stayed for awhile. I left the park and ran another errand then went back to the park to check in with Jill. I am feeling guilty but I don't know why. She is loving school. In the summer they go someplace almost every day. Once I finally tore myself away, I went home and worked on the puppy books. I had to get them all made and get all the puppies ready to go home. They aren't all spoken for but a family is coming tomorrow and they aren't totally sure which girl they are taking home. Also, ICAAN (the program where specially trained prison inmates train dogs to become service dogs) is coming to the romp tomorrow to choose a boy. That means all the boys and all the girls need to be ready. I also worked on email. As soon as I got the call that Ruby and Chevy I zipped out get Ruby and pay for both them. It was way more than I anticipated - total charge for them $747.00. It was an hour drive from that vet to the other vet where the puppies are. I simply did not have time to get Jill and make it to the vet in time to get the puppies. I had to call them to let them know the pups would need to spend the night. That was a bummer because I'm already crunched for time tomorrow morning.

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June 15, 2006 ...

Got up this morning at 4:00. Took a shower and all the usual getting ready for the day. Took the dogs and Gopher outside to do their business then brought them back inside. Did a double and triple check to make sure Gopher and his stuff were ready to go home. Did a little bit of email work. Then I took Gopher to the airport. That went too smoothly again. After that hour drive each way I ran home and got Jill ready and took her to school. Luida emailed in sick. This is the first time she has called in since working for me. I cleaned one of the puppy areas. I got Bryony up and moving. I took another shower then at 9:30 a.m. I went to a Dr appointment. After that I ran home and alternated between making sure Bryony was packed and ready to leave, doing email/puppy work, house work, and tending to the doods. I did cancel my root canal appointment. Something had to give and I canceled in time for them to refill my spot so I didn't have any penalty. At 2:00 pm I took Bryony to the airport. She is such a lucky ducky and gets to fly today and she didn't even have to take a puppy to anybody. I had teased her and told her what a wonderful coincidence it is that one of Mera's puppies needs to go to where she is going. Now I know why the last two puppy airport experiences have gone so smoothly. This time with Bry was a mess. The airline we used was a mess there. They were terribly understaffed and disorganized. Anyway, this doesn't have anything to do with doods except we can breathe easy now. I was afraid I was do to run in to problems with the next pup shipment. Now that we ran in to problems with shipping Bryony off, we are off the hook. I had to stay there until her plane was airborne. When I got home I cleaned the puppy areas again and took another shower.

Around 9:30 p.m. or so, Ruby came over. She is the female from Mera/Da Vinci's 2005 litter that I kept for breeding. She lives in a guardian home. They brought her over this evening since she has to be at the vet bright and early in the morning. They stayed for a few minutes so their children could see all the puppies.

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June 14, 2006 ...

All Mera's puppies got baths today. Gopher goes home tomorrow. My heart just about dropped when I suddenly remembered at 5:30 that I forgot to pick up his health certificate. He absolutely has to have that in order to fly home in the morning. The vet's office closes at 6:00 pm and they are about 25 minutes or so away. Gopher has to be at the airport by 6:00 a.m. so had I forgotten, well, I've already made that mistake and don't care to make it again. Thank goodness I remembered and made it on time it pick it up. I was supposed to have gotten it when he was neutered but they forgot to include the form with my other paperwork and I forgot to check for it. Man, I sure do a lot of forgetting.

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June 13, 2006 ...

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Five of Mera's puppies were spayed/neutered today and Oh My Goodness...no..no..I spayed the wrong dog. There are two cream females in this litter. One of them, Skipper, has been chosen by a family and is to be a pet as well as trained to be a therapy dog. She was to have been spayed today. There is a breeder who has been watching the development of the other cream female, Julie. Thank goodness she hadn't made a commitment yet. Still, if she had decided not to get this pup, I was thinking about keeping her (Julie the pup, not the breeder). This has been one my biggest fears. My biggest fear is spaying a pup that has been chosen and paid for by another breeder. Anyway, this is what happened: Last night I put all the pups to bed together as usual in their pen in the garage. I gave them fresh food and water and planned on taking it away when I got up during the middle of the night. I bolted awake this morning when the alarm went off at 6:00 a.m. (hey, I got some sleep - hooray for bark collars). I was supposed to have taken away their food and water. I went out right away and was so relieved that they were sleeping. It was very unlikely they had eaten or drank anything since going to sleep last night. So, instead of just taking away the food and water for all of them, I picked out the ones getting altered today and put them in a separate area. That way they wouldn't get mixed up and it would give me one more chance to check them to make sure I got the right puppies. I had the list of microchip numbers and the scanner and picked them up one by one and carefully checked their numbers to make sure I had the right puppies. When I picked up the cream female that I knew was Julie, I scanned her and checked the number and even said out loud "Yup, Julie". Then I put her in with the others to be altered. I scanned them again when putting them in the van and again when taking them from the van to the vet's office. Each time I scanned Julie I very carefully checked the number on the scanner and matched it to the number on her record. Each time I made a big deal out of acknowledging to myself that the puppy was indeed Julie. Several hours later I was watching the other puppies as they were running around in the house. I was looking at the other cream female and had this conversation in my head: "Wow, look at Julie. She sure has lightened up. I really can't advertise her as a dark cream anymore. I better notify that person who is interested in her. How did she get so light so quickly. I really don't remember her being lighter yesterday. She looks like Skipper now. Julie. She really doesn't look like Julie anymore. Julie....JULIE...oh my goodness, no!" I high tailed it straight to the telephone and called the vet's office in a panic. I asked if they had spayed the cream female yet and said she was the wrong puppy. She said that yes, she had her surgery already but that it was o.k., just bring the other pup right in and they could do her today too. The tech missed the point of my panic. She thought I was upset only because Skipper didn't get spayed today. No, I was upset because Julie had been spayed. For a split second I thought about sending Julie to Skipper's family and hoping they wouldn't notice. That wouldn't be right. Besides, so far Julie has a nice blocky build that would be great for a breeder dog, and so far Skipper has a beautiful coat that would photograph very well (hopefully she will be the subject of a book). They both have great dispositions. Anyway, I scheduled Skipper's spay surgery for later this week. She is scheduled to go home next week so it is no big deal that she didn't get spayed today. Now I need to figure out a better way of making sure I take the right pups in from now on.

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June 11, 2006 ...

Sleep...I just want to get a full night's sleep. It isn't funny anymore.

Mera's puppies all got baths today. They are so cute and fluffy. They are running around here in the house now having a grand old time. It is getting serious. Only three of them, Ginger, Gopher, and Skipper, have homes waiting for them. We (as in all of us) need to find good families for the rest of them.

Duchess' puppies are doing very well. They are all gaining weight. She is doing a nice job mothering them. She even seems much more tolerant of Mera's puppies now.

Gross Embarrassing Alert!!...Dogs are gross. I was just out cleaning around the outside of one of the puppy areas when I discovered a...uh...disposible feminine product with a string attached. It...uh...seems that it was taken out of the bathroom trash and swollowed whole by a dog. It passed through the dog and...um...came out in the end. Mera isn't here to blame that on. It had to have been Kori.

As long as we are talking about gross dogs. Duchess was being a little gross while I was just cleaning the puppy area. I was scrubbing one poopy area and she kept walking through it. There was plenty of clean space and it was like she was walking through it on purpose. I finally had to pick her up out of it. She kept trying to get back in it. She finally walked around behind me. I thought she was going to go amuse herself doing something else. Nope. She walked around to go to the other side of the poopy area to walk in it again. Silly doggie.

Well I better get going. I need to take Mera's puppies pictures.

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June 10, 2006 ...

Miracle made it home safe and sound. Wow, that was the best puppy shipping ever.

We (that would be the royal we) spent the day doing the usual doggie cleaning and stuff. I cleaned the puppy area three times.

My friend Connie came over and held the baby puppies for me while I removed their dew claws. I hated it. After doing some of them I seriously considered stopping and letting the rest keep their dew claws. But, I persevered. Some of them had rear dew claws that stuck out. I imagine if left intact they would cause problems later on.

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June 9, 2006 ...

I got up a little after 3:00 a.m., took a shower and got all ready (my hair looked good for a minute) and took Miracle to the airport. O.k.....I'm waiting for the shoe to drop. Absolutely nothing went wrong. Her family hasn't had time to get home yet so I don't know for sure that she actually made it in and they got her. I'll find out in a couple of hours.

After the airport (hour drive each way) I came home, got Jill up and ready and took her to school. Ran home and cooked breakfast, ate and spent a couple of minutes talking to Rick. Then I took the dogs out again and cleaned the puppy area. The bigger the puppies get, the longer it takes to clean their area. After that I had to take another shower. Then I fixed Bryony's hair and took her to her appointment. It was only 10:00 a.m. by then. Seems like I've already had a full day.

By golly I think she's got it. I think Duchess spent the night reading the "How to be a Good Doggie Mommy" book. Today she seems much more relaxed and is cleaning their bottoms and poops.

Somebody said I look more bright and chipper today. I said it is because I'm sleep deprived. Some people spend money on drugs to get high. I just go without sleep and get the same result. O.k., it is 3:00 pm already. I really must get off the computer and go out and mow the yard.

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June 8, 2006 ...

Duchess and her puppies are doing well. She does seem nervous and doesn't seem to understand that it is her job to clean their poops up. I took her to the vet. They ended up doing an x-ray because they thought they felt another pup in her. Nope, it was just poop. They said she and all the pups look terrific.

Miracle aka Luckita (Velvet/Koby pup from the last litter) also went to the vet. She is flying to her new home tomorrow. She is going to breed. She will get to live in the house and also be their family pet. She made a real splash at the vet's office. One of the techs took her around showing everybody. They really liked seeing her because she was the only survivor of the puppies born during the C-Section. They also raved about how beautiful and sweet and calm she is. Yes of course she is, she is one of my puppies. hehe

Suddenly Mera's puppies seem very big. Just yesterday they were tiny. They have become piranhas. They love to play and they also love attention from us. The weather was a bit icky today so Liuda and I let the puppies run loose in the house. They had a great time. I'm still trying to pick out the alpha puppy. There are several that are more outgoing than the others, but none I'd classify as alpha.

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June 7, 2006 ...

9:00 a.m. No Duchess puppies yet, but it will be very soon. I slept on the bathroom floor with her last night. Well, I didn't sleep much and neither did she. My long term plan didn't work. See, I thought that if I gained some weight, the extra padding on me would make sleeping on the floor more comfortable. It didn't work.

Noonish: Duchess is really trying to dig through the floor between my bed and the wall. That is where she usually sleeps and obviously where she wants to have her puppies. I was on the phone to someone who kept talking on and on and on. I kept waiting to get a word in edgewise and finally told her my dog looked like she was just getting ready to have her puppies and I needed to go. She absently asked "oh? what kind of dog do you have?" Then resumed telling me her laundry routine. It was like trying to talk to a TV. I finally managed to get off the phone with her and spent some time with Duchess.

6:45 pm I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the floor in the living room when I glanced over at Duchess and saw her standing straining and holding her tail up. She looked confused. Yep, I've seen that look before in Deni and Mera with their first litters. I very calmly and quietly ushered her in the bathroom and got her to lie down. She pushed and pushed. Poor thing. I got another phone call from someone else. This time I was very interested in what this person had to say. She was telling me about the conditions and her horrible experience when she went to a large and well known ...um...breeding place. I can not repeat it because I didn't personally see it and experience it. I was interested in what she had to say but honestly I was more interested in Duchess and what was happening here. This person kept talking and I finally had to interrupt her and told Duchess was pushing. This person was so upset about her experience and needed a sounding board that she told me to hang up on her if I ended up having to but she needed to let me know what was going on. I tried to listen and I hope I didn't say anything stupid. She is correct in that I needed to know what was going on. I did recommend to her that she go to this place. I'm just not sure it was good timing for me to talk to her at that exact time. I could see with each push that Duchess was getting closer. I finally interrupted her again thinking that a puppy was going to come out. I was so distracted by this time, I'm not exactly sure how the call ended. I really don't know if I hung up on her or what. Hopefully not.

7:20 pm - I called and invited Liuda to come over to watch. She still hasn't seen a normal puppy birth in person. She saw Velvet's C-Section. She was over within 10 minutes.
7:44 p.m. - She's a girl! gold and curly, 6.7 ounces. Once her head started coming out I had to pull.
8:01 p.m. - He's a boy! gold short straight hair, 5.6 ounces, I had to pull him too
8:19 p.m. - Boy, gold curly long hair, 5.8 ounces; Liuda went home after this one
9:15 p.m. - Boy, gold curly, 6.1 ounces; had to pull him too. As the others are drying they don't look as gold.
9:20 p.m. - Boy (anybody know how to do a sex change on puppies?), gold, straight, 6.8 ounces
10:27 p.m. - Boy, long gold; Duchess had a very difficult time with him. She pushed and pushed. The water broke with still no sign of a puppy. Finally a foot stuck out. I tried to reach in but Duchess is so small. I managed to get both back feet and started pulling. Between my pulling and her pushing, the pup started coming out. I was afraid I was going to break his legs. I kept pulling and pulling and he finally all came out. He is fine; 7.7 ounces. That is one huge puppy for such a small dog. Maybe I ought to spay her after this litter. I feel badly. I hope this isn't going to be too much of a strain on her body. She didn't complain though. She hasn't cried or anything. What a trooper.
10:35 p.m. - Girl! white, straight, long coat, 5.4 ounces.
I think she is all done. She did well and seems just fine. Once the pups are clean and dry their colors will look different.

This is the second night in a row I slept in the bathroom with Duchess. Here is a very useful tip for you: Don't sleep nose to nose with a dog who has just eaten 7 placentas. It isn't a pleasing aroma.

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June 6, 2006 ...

Shawny went home today. Poor Miracle (previously known as Luckita), now who will she play with while Kori is babysitting the babies? Right now Miracle is trying to take a nap but Velvet is washing her bum.

Mera's puppies all got their first round of immunizations today. They also got their deworming medication and got weighed. It was so funny, the boys all cried when they got their shots, but none of the girls did. Gee, it must be the same across species.

Duchess is in labor!! As the day goes on she is getting more serious about nesting. She is panting a bit and licking her bum a bit. A while ago she was on my lap whimpering just a little. It is 11:15 and she is definitely showing us that she is having the puppies soon. Bryony is good.

I scrubbed and disinfected the bathroom this evening. I even washed the lower part of the walls, the baseboards, the floor, the toilet, counter and sink. I got all the whelping towels neatly stacked, the hemostats ready, a pen and paper, clip board, clock, mat for me to sleep on and a blanket for me, and a bunch of other necessary whelping supplies. That is where Duchess is going to have her puppies. Now I am doing the Sponge Bob "I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready!" dance. It is time now for me to collect my little Duchess and go sleep in the bathroom with her.

Oh by the way, I got a prerecorded call from our internet provider today. They are working more on the service and expect for us to have interruptions in our service for the next several days.

Oh I almost forgot to mention. I went to a dentist specialist guy today. Guess what? I get to have another root canal on a tooth that has already been done. Aren't I lucky?

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June 5, 2006 ...

Kori is such a terrific babysitter. Mera doesn't want to be around her puppies much anymore, so Kori has taken on the job of babysitting yet another litter. She seems to really like it. Now that the weather is beautiful the puppies can go outside in the smaller fenced in area. I put Kori in with them to make sure a Hawk or something doesn't take a pup. She just hangs out with them without complaining. She plays a little and lets them play with her. At one point I had the gate to that area open and Kori followed me to the garage. We heard a puppy yell. Kori took off racing across the yard and nailed Shawny (our 3 month old future stud puppy from Rosie, here while his guardian family is on vacation) to the ground. He was being a bit too rough with a puppy. Later when one of the puppies went over to Shawny, Kori trotted over to Shawny and gently bit at his neck as if to remind him to play nice with the baby. I'm so impressed with her.

Duchess is still getting bigger by the hour. She is such a little girl that I can't really say she is as big as a house. Maybe she is big as a condo or apartment, or trailer. a condo, she is big as a condo. Bryony and I think she is getting close. I'm guessing she will have the puppies Wednesday. Bryony thinks she will start around this time tomorrow night (it is 11:11 p.m. now, today is Monday).

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June 4, 2006 ...

Today is my birthday.

This morning I got up before 7:00, let the doods out, cleaned the puppy areas, went to a family gathering, came home, let the doods out, cleaned the puppy areas, bathed all the puppies, took puppy pictures until I lost the sunlight, updated the website, then went to bed. It was almost midnight by then. Not a bad day.

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June 3, 2006 ...

Today I got up before 7:00 a.m., did the usual of letting the doods outside to potty and run a bit, cleaned up the puppy areas, tended to Jill and got her ready for the day, got Bryony up and going, then put the doods back inside. Bryony, Jill, and I then went to work for five hours at a fundraiser for Bry's homeschool volley ball team. After that we hurried home so I could let the doods outside and clean the puppy areas again. That took a couple of hours again. Then we rushed to my mom's house to visit with her and with my brother, his wife, and my sister. We went out to eat. After that we rushed home so I could let out all the doods and clean the puppy areas......

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June 2, 2006 ...

Today is Rick's birthday. Happy birthday Sweetie! I love you!

Duchess is getting bigger by the hour. She still has over a week to go. Poor thing is going to be miserable.

Meeko was going to breed with Lady Ashes. She is a Velvet/Koby puppy girl that I co-own with someone in Florida. She is cycling now. Her family backed out of sending her here at the last minute because they couldn't get her on a nonstop flight. The timing isn't right for them to drive her up here and stay while she breeds. So, they are going to take her to Tegan Park Florida and have her breed with Remington Bear (Poppa Bear's son). Poor Meeko, he is so sad. He is like a teen age boy now and he reaaaallly neeeeds a job. Looking on the bright side, I am excited to add a new line in my lines.

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June 1, 2006 ...

How nice, I heard from two different past puppy families today. Both just wanted to let me know their pup is doing well and they love 'em. I love that.

I also heard from Puppy Junior-now known as Riley. It turns out his kidneys are not formed correctly. That is why he was such a tiny runt. He is on medication now and the vet thinks he may only live a couple more years. His mom is so wonderful and even considered a kidney transplant for him. She opted not to go that route because then he wouldn't be able to be around other dogs due to the medication he would have to be on. Riley lives to play with his doggie friends. His mom takes him to doggie day care a couple times a weeks just because he loves it so much. He also gets together with his special doggie friend for play dates every week. Now I have to do some hard gut wrenching thinking. How far should I go to save a puppy? Have I gone too far? In the future how will I know how far to go? Baby Junior looked perfect and the vets could find nothing wrong with him. Sometimes a runt is only a runt because his placenta was not placed will in utero. In that instance they will catch up with their littermates and live a normal life without evidence of ever having been a runt. Other times there is a hidden health problem that causes him/her to be a runt. How will I know the difference? Maybe I should compromise. I have been doing everything possible for as long as it took. Maybe I should only go to extremes for the first couple of days then not go any farther than tube feeding after that. What I mean is, I will tube feed them for as long as they need it. After that I should not do anything above and beyond that. With Baby Junior, I think he was about two weeks old when he died and I did CPR and brought him back. Maybe I shouldn't have done that. I should have just let him go. There was a reason he died then. I suppose if I am psychic I would have known he had an underlying medical problem. Unfortunately, I am psychic as a doorknob (PDK). I say all this now. Just watch, next time I will probably not do it any differently. Maybe I will. I just need to think about the heartache Riley's mom and his playmate (yes, doggies mourn when a loved one dies or goes away) will go through.

I wonder how Ellie is doing?

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May 31, 2006 ...

One of Rosie's puppies is here while his family goes on vacation. He is the boy we kept back to be a stud for us. He lives with out best friends. Right now the pup's name is Mr. Shawny Brady. That is a stupid name. I'm changing it. Anyway, he sure is a cutie. He weighs 22 pounds and has a wonderful fleece red coat.

I finally got to paint the floor today. That is one half of the living room that is done now. Well, now we need to put the molding back and move the furniture back in.

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May 30, 2006 ...

Duchess is getting a little belly on her. This evening I felt what felt like a tiny puppy foot. I can't wait to see them.

I've been spending a lot of time with Mera's puppies to try to figure out what all their personalities are like. It is still hard to determine. One day one of them seems the most outgoing. The next day that one is calm and another is outgoing.

Finally I painted the floor with the primer. Tomorrow I get to paint with the real paint. I just did that about an hour ago (it is almost midnight now). Duchess is asleep at my feet and the other doods are all in my bedroom. The fumes are pretty potent. I'm not complaining at all. It smells wonderful compared to feces and urine odors.

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May 29, 2006 ...

All the puppies got baths again today. The little ones are to the point of needing baths every day.

I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the living room floor today. I'm determined to paint it tomorrow.

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May 28, 2006 ...

Jill and I hung out with the puppies much of today. They are so cute. I also worked on the floor some more.

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May 27, 2006 ...

My sister and I had a rummage sale today. That was so much work for the mere $33.00 I made. It was worth it though. In the process I set a bunch of stuff out for the trash and ended up taking a van full of stuff to the local mission. It was a really nice day today and a fun way to visit with my sister and the neighbors. It was a mile long neighborhood wide rummage sale. Every year I say I'm not going to do it. Every year I do it. It is my chance to clean out the garage.

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May 26, 2006 ...

Zorro went home today, and man, was it ever cool having them fly their own personal plane in to the local municipal airport. I think I might require all adoptive families to do that. Do you think that might hurt my business?

Duchess went to the vet this evening. She has been having diarrhea and vomiting. They think she probably has Coccidia. Since she is pregnant the only thing we can do is treat the symptoms. She can't take the medicine to get rid of it. They did an x-ray of her abdomen and found she is having seven or eight puppies!! That is almost twice as many as we originally though she is having. They have a digital x-ray machine and burned a copy of the picture on to a CD for me. I'm so excited to have it. We can see the puppies' skulls and spines. It looks like she has a bunch of tadpoles in her. The vet said that based on the calcification of the puppies, duchess is 45 days along. Gestation is 63 days. That puts her due date June 12th.

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May 25, 2006 ...

Poor Zorro (Velvet's puppy) was all dressed up with no place to go. He was supposed to have gone home today. He had a bath and was all packed up when his new mom called to say their flight was canceled. Her brother in law was flying them in his personal airplane to come pick up the puppy. Their flight was scratched at the last minute due to bad weather. They will try again tomorrow.

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May 24, 2006 ...

The little puppies all got bathed, and nails trimmed today. They didn't complain too much. They are so cute. It seems like these puppies are smaller than Mera and DaVinci's litter last year.

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May 23, 2006 ...

Today I worked on the living room floor some more. That is a tedious process.

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May 22, 2006 ...

Did I tell you last week that a reporter from the Veterinary News Network called? He asked if I would bring some of the Labradoodles, actually he referred to them as my kids, so they could video tape them. He is doing a story on hot hybrids. I have met this reporter before and got a good feel. Before I consented to this I asked what the twist was going to be. He said it was going to be positive. He also wanted me to do a sound bite. I said that would be fine as long as I didn't stutter. I often have difficulty finding words and I sound like I'm on drugs. That is why I prefer dealing through email - if it would ever start working. Anyway....next paragraph..

Oh my goodness...what was I thinking? Today I took the doods to Indianapolis for that video shoot. Definitely I had to take Bonnie since that is the one that reporter met the first time I saw him. She is the F1B representative. Of course I had to take Zorro and Luckita (Velvet's pups) because they are cute playful little 8 week old puppies. As long as I was taking puppies I had to take 2 of Mera's pups since they are so little and cute. I took a cream, Skipper, and a black, the Professor. I needed to take each kind of Labradoodle so I had to take Duchess for an F1 and also for the mini. Velvet is good and calm and since I was taking her pups I thought I should take her as the adult Australian Multi gen. Well, DaVinci has a wool coat, is a medium, and is cream. Creams look better on camera so I took him just in case. Kori wanted to go and she is a hybrid too after all. Well, why not? I slipped a leash on her at the last second. O.k., now, let's count who all went with me: two of Mera's pups, Velvet's two pups, Velvet, DaVinci, Duchess, Kori, and Bonnie. That makes nine dogs that I took to Indianapolis. I took the sling pouch Baby Junior's (Riley's) mom gave me that she used for him when he was little. I also took the stroller for Velvet's puppies. The shoot was at a veterinary hospital. I parked in the fast food parking lot next to the hospital. I am pleased to report that I provided entertainment for the people in line at the drive up. It was very tricky getting the back of the van open enough to get out the puppy stroller without all the bigger dogs escaping. So, I got the stroller out, got the baby puppies out of it and into the sling pouch, got the bigger puppies out of the crate and into the stroller, then I got all five bigger dogs out of the van and hooked up to leashes. Once I accomplished that major feat I had to manage to get all the way from the van across the parking lot and into the hospital without becoming too tangled up and without losing any doods/pups. Duchess is the only one that slipped out of her collar this time. The others did a lovely job doing the Maypole Dance with their leashes as the ribbons and me as the pole. We finally tripped our way inside. Thank goodness there was no one else in the waiting room. That isolation didn't last long. Right after I got sat down and the doods were settled, someone with a cat came in. The doods didn't care anything about the cat. They are used to our cats. They did, however, all want a turn getting petted by the cat's human. As soon as I convinced them to leave her alone someone with an absolutely huge dogs came in. They all wanted to play with her so bad and she wanted to play too. Finally, I got to take my pack of doods in an exam room so we (I) could relax a little. The reporter and videographer came in. I reviewed what type each of the doods are and what that means. They also asked other questions. Then we started the videoing. We started out by taking Velvet's puppies outside in the stroller. They were just being their usual cute selves. Then we took Bonnie and Velvet outside. They weren't active enough. They were too busy sitting pretty instead of romping and acting interesting. Next was Kori's turn. She got to sit outside next to a Weimerdoodle. They did great. Next, they wanted to do a pretend exam on one of the doods. DaVinci was the perfect choice for that acting job. It was also perfect since he had an appointment this afternoon at another vet's office to get blood drawn to send away. I asked if they could just go ahead and draw the blood and prepare it to send off. Poor DaVinci, he was sitting on the table all nice and pretty. One tech was standing up on a stool (camera angle) and holding DaVinci's head, the other tech was all ready to stick the needle in (the neck vein-ick) to draw the blood. Then the camera started acted up. That happened three times. The tech was just getting ready to stick the needle in and the camera malfunctioned. DaVinci just sat there pretty and perfect, not complaining at all. They finally figured out the tape broke. They put in a new tape, taped that scene, then redid everything else. They also taped Mera and DaVinci's pups while they were sleeping so cute-like. They did a sound bite with me. They asked me a couple of questions. We had to do a couple of takes because I was too nervous and wasn't talking smoothly. Finally they taped the end. They used DaVinci for that. He sat next to the narrator guy while the guy summed everything up. My brain froze when these words came out of his mouth "...so are these really hot hybrids? or are they just mutts?..." Oh my goodness, my jaw must have dropped. They did a retake with a much nicer ending. They kept thanking me for bringing my dogs for them. They gave me DaVinci's prepared blood sample and helped me get all the doods out to the van. I canceled DaVinci's appointment with the afternoon vet, went to the post office and overnighted the sample then went home.

DaVinci stayed and played with the other doods the rest of the afternoon. Bryony and my sister took him home this evening.

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May 21, 2006 ...

Duchess' guardian mom called me this morning. She reported that Duchess had diarrhea in her crate this morning (she never messes in her crate), has a swollen...um... girlie-part, is having discharge, and is licking herself often. She was afraid Duchess might have puppies very soon so brought her back to me. I think we just discovered a major drawback to having the guardian dog live so far away. I couldn't just run over and check her. They live 1 1/2 hours away. So, she is here now until after she is finished raising her puppies. I was really glad to see her. She is sweet as ever.

DaVinci came over this evening. He is spending the night because I have to take him to the vet tomorrow.

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May 20, 2006 ...

Have you ever looked at a chick (human type) and thought "Oh man, I hope she never has kids" because she was so...um...not beautiful? Well that is what I thought when I saw one of my guardian dogs today. I hadn't seen her for a few months. The last time I saw her I thought she wouldn't win a beauty contest but just hoped she would grow out of it. She is 11 months old and ...she has not grown out of it. If she were human we would focus on what a great personality she has. She really is sweet. Her guardian mom really loves her but has been telling me for some time that she is short legged. I kept putting off evaluating her because I didn't know what/how to say to the breeder. One of my fears is that one of my puppies' family will call me and tell me their puppy is growing up so ugly they want to return him/her and get their money back. This dood's guardian mom loves her and doesn't want to give her up. I took pictures and measurements and sent it to the breeder just so she will know. It is important for breeders to know how their pups turn out in order to know if they should repeat a breeding. The breeder was great. She is insisting I let her give me another pup. She does not me to return the pup we have. That would not be in the best interest of the pup who is very happy where she is now. This puppy was eight weeks old when we got her. She was beautiful and perfectly proportioned. Unless the breeder was psychic there was absolutely no way she could have predicted this girl would end up looking like a dachshund mix. I have told a couple other breeders about this situation because it is so unique. Of course the first thing they asked was "who is the breeder?" Well...I prefer not to answer that question. This breeding is not going to be repeated and the breeder is handling this very well.

Bryony is looking over my shoulder waiting to get on the computer.

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May 19, 2006 ...

Mera's poor puppies. She is tormenting them. They are four weeks old now (Can you believe that?) and she has started standing up to feed them. That is very typical for this age. The problem is that she is too tall for them to be able to reach. The poor puppies, she is dangling it in their faces and they just can't reach. These guys do seem so small compared to other litters. They look terrific and healthy.

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May 18, 2006 ...

All the puppies got their micro chips today. They also were de-wormed. Mera's puppies each got a temporary name. I like it so much more when we call them by a name and not a number. These are the names for this litter: Julie, Gopher (Burl), Isaac, Lovey, Doc (Adam), Captain (Stu), Ginger, Gilligan, Mary Ann, Skipper, Professor (Roy). Can you guess the theme?

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May 17, 2006 ...

Zorro, Velvet's puppy boy, got neutered today. His sister really missed him today. I felt sorry for her so let her have run of the house with Velvet and the others. Zorro seemed really glad to see her when he got home. I was going to let them stay in the house so I could keep my eye on him. I ended up putting them out in the garage because Zorro wouldn't leave his sister along. He kept barking at her and trying to get her to play with him. He was just fine.

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May 16, 2006 ...

We have two puppy areas set up in the garage. Velvet's pups have one area and Mera and her pups are in the other area, just at night time. They all are in the house during the day. They all just started going out there last night. They did very well. Mera is able to jump out of the pen if she chooses.

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May 15, 2006 ...

Kori came back today. She is such a bad influence on Bonnie. Bonnie had remained relatively clean the entire time Kori was gone. Not 15 minutes after Kori was home and they were outside playing, then she and Bonnie were playing in the mud. We sure did miss her and are glad she is back. So far I can't tell she has learned a single thing. Oh well, this book we are reading is great and our other doods are doing remarkably well with these methods.

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May 14, 2006 ...

Happy Mother's Day. I love you Mother.

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May 13, 2006 ...

We finally did it! We finally did it! We are ripping up the carpet. We took up half the living room today! I'm so excited! We ran in to a problem we weren't expecting. The carpet backing is stuck to the concrete slab and we are having troubles getting it off. We tried a scrapper, Goo Gone, and a hoe. The only thing that is working is my scraping it off with my thumbnail. Now how long do you think that will take? I scraped for hours yesterday. My back hurts. But that is o.k. I'm just so glad to be getting rid of that smelly 'ole carpet. We had envisioned that today we would take up the carpet, clean the concrete, then paint it, then put down rugs. That didn't happen. Bryony had a brilliant idea late last night. She suggested we just put drains in the floor and leave it bare concrete. That way we can live in a kennel. Jill is enjoying having a bare concrete living room. That makes riding around in her Little Tykes coup car so much easier.

Mera and Bonnie and another clean and dry day today! Jill also had another clean/dry night with no diaper!

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May 12, 2006 ...

Our internet provider was supposed to be finished with changing the email server over and whatever else they were doing. I'm still not getting my emails and the ones I'm sending out are not reaching their destination. I tried calling tech support today but just got the message "all circuits are busy, please try your call later". Something tells me I'm not the only one having problems. Rick spent much of the day today working on trying to fix my email troubles. He set up a new email account through our website host and is forwarding them...and...well I don't know what all he did. He is a computer guy thank goodness. He also spent quite awhile on the phone with tech support. It was like they were speaking a foreign language. It turns out the 2 weeks worth of email is still on the old server and is lost for good.

Kori should be coming back tomorrow or Saturday. Bryony bugs me everyday about getting her back.

I've really been working lately on getting Mera and Bonnie to not pee/poo in the house. They are getting much better. Today they had a clean/dry day. No pees/poos in the house. Jill has also had 2 clean/dry nights in a row!

Our phone is working again.

I just want everyone to know that even though we have had all this financial trouble, it hasn't affected our dogs or puppies. If anything I have been spending even more time with them because I haven't felt like doing anything else. The email problems have nothing to do with money. That is just bad timing on the part of our internet provider. Or maybe it is good timing. I haven't felt like dealing with people and this has cut me off from them. It is just too bad it happened at the same time our phone was disconnected. That is bad. We can't place any puppies if people can't get in touch with us. Anyway, the doods are fine. They are still eating their raw meat and raw bones and Kirkland. They got their Revolution on schedule, and the puppies are getting de-worming on schedule. Zorro is getting neutered next week as scheduled. I will not use his money for anything else.

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May 11, 2006 ...

It is very therapeutic for me to sit with a dood and comb out the coat. Thank goodness Bonnie is starting to get little mats in her coat. These guys are great. They make great therapy dogs. It is also great to just sit in the puppy area and just hold and pet the pups. I have spent so much time with the pups lately, just sitting with them.

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May 10, 2006 ...

We no longer own the bar and grill. We just have some loose ends to tend to and some bills to pay.

My mom is doing very well.

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May 9, 2006 ...

Bobby went home today. He was the last of Rosie's puppies to go home. He is living with CoCo and Little Daddy MacRascal of Leather/BrideGroom.

Bonnie still needs a guardian home. She is turning out so beautiful. Her coat is just perfect. It looks like it will be spirally. It (the coat) is very soft and does not shed at all.

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May 8, 2006 ...

Our financial world is falling down around our ears. My husband and I bought a little bar and grill a couple of years ago. We worked hard and improved the menu and food. Business improved greatly and we became known for having great food. As was our plan, once business was good we hired a manager and backed away from the day to day operation. ...huge mistake... Two weeks ago the manager went to jail for something unrelated. Rick and I stepped back in to a huge mess. Business had plummeted and the manager had paid very few bills for the past three months. Not only was the bank account empty, it was overdrawn. Hmmm, what do you suppose happened to the money? Did I mention the manager went to jail? Rick and I scrambled around and put all of our own personal money (but not the dog money) in the grill to try to keep it afloat. It isn't working, the electricity and gas are due to be disconnected. We don't have the money to keep it on. The mortgage is not late but without electricity and gas we can not stay open. We will probably lose the place this week. Honestly I hate having the place. I do not like going to bars and I certainly don't want my children having the kind of parents who hang out in a bar. I want to sell the bar but I don't want to lose it. If we lose it we will still be responsible for paying tens of thousands of dollars. Plus, that means we failed.

On top of this, our internet provider has been making changes. They are changing email servers or something. We are receiving very few emails and most of our outgoing emails are not reaching the intended destination. They are not bouncing, they are just out there somewhere in cyber space. That means it looks like I am ignoring my email. If anybody is inquiring about Mera's puppies, they will just think I'm ignoring them and will find a pup from someone else. Our phone also got disconnected today. How am I ever going to place these pups? They are this old and not a one has been spoken for. I just feel like it is all falling apart.

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May 7, 2006 ...

Each of the doods took a turn going for a walk with me up and down the road. Bonnie and Bobby did very well. Velvet and Mera took a bit longer to get the hang of heeling. I figured since I'm sending Mera back home pooing and peeing in the house, counter cruising, and trash can diving, the least I can do is to get her really good at leash walking.

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May 6, 2006 ...

Eewwww, one of the doods is barfing right now. Hopefully another will go clean it up for me. I think I will walk really slowly to get the paper towels and bleach rag.

Duchess went home today. That was hard. I've really been blindsided by how attached I became to her. She was very quickly moving right up there to how I feel about Velvet. If she hadn't gone to a guardian home now, I wouldn't have been able to part with her because I would have been too attached. I don't know what it is about Duchess that I find so enduring. She wouln't win a doodle beauty contest, she sheds, she isn't completely potty trained, she doesn't appreciate being in a crate by herself, she is picky. Hey, that is how I should have advertised her. Then I never would have had to part with her. I know what it is; she attached herself right to me. She was always by my side, she would jump up into my arms when I bent to pick her up, she was quiet (when with me), she is so little and light, and...well I don't know...she just seemed like a tiny little person with those little eyes looking at me. It was so much easier sending her home today knowing she would be back in a few weeks. In the meantime I will start thinking of her as Cyndi's dog, not mine. She is going to just the right home for her. She will be living with a retired lady and her two adult daughters and their cat. There are no children in the home. Duchess is fine with children, she just isn't drawn to them like my bigger doods. She doesn't particularly want to play with children or to run and fetch and romp. She wants a lap to lay in (lie in?). ...oh poo... now it is 5:45 a.m. now I really must get to bed...

Hey it worked! By the time I went to clean up the barf it was gone, but I did find some poo to clean.

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May 5, 2006 ...

Mera's puppies all had their first round of de-worming. I didn't see any signs they actually have worms, that is just a routine precaution we take. They also got weighed. They average around 1 pound 14 ounces. One of them is over 2 pounds.

I'm starting to freak out about not having homes for these guys. Not one of theses 11 pups is spoken for. One of Rosie's pups still doesn't have a home at 11 weeks. Bonnie still doesn't have a home at 4 1/2 months (and she is free!). Other breeders have a year long waiting list. I'm doing something wrong. I wouldn't think it is just the price if others with a waiting list have the same price. My puppies are cute, Bobby and Bonnie are absolutely adorable. I hate to think it is time to think about getting out of the business and going back to nursing. no no no That is not the answer. I've worked too hard to get here. Before I do that I think I would pack up and move to a coast. That seems to be where the breeders with waiting lists are.

It is 5:00 in the morning now. I've been up for a couple of hours doing website and email work and letting the dogs/pups out. I think I will go back to bed now.

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May 4, 2006 ...

Duchess is pregnant! Duchess is pregnant! I don't think I've been this excited about a pregnancy since Velvet's first litter. The vet said she felt at least four puppies. We really couldn't tell how many by the ultrasounds. Duchess did so well during the ultrasound. She just lay there on the table like she understood what was going on. She wasn't agitated or nervous acting at all. These doods are so good. I can't wait to see these little puppies. They will be like little rats (I like rats, that isn't meant in a derogatory manner, just as a size comparison). I called Rusty's family to let them know he is finally going to be a dad.

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May 3, 2006 ...

I've been reading "The Dog Listener" by Jan Fennell. I've learned so much about dog psychology and have started using her methods. Our dogs are responding so well, we are already seeing results. The author gave a lecture in Chicago today and I wanted so badly to go. I didn't go for two reasons, was afraid to be so far away from my mom (she is doing well) and I am afraid to drive in Chicago. I just kept thinking about that all day today. She is giving some kind of demo or something this weekend, maybe I can find a ride and go to that.

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May 2, 2006 ...

Bobby, one of Rosie's pups, came back home this evening. He was only at camp for a few days. He still doesn't have a family. He is so cute and getting so big. He is going to spend the night in the crate with Bonnie just like he used to when he was injured. He was the one that had the rubber band incident. He has completely recovered from that by the way.

Tonight Velvet's pups are going to sleep in the big pen in the garage. She no longer goes to them at night to feed them. I can't believe how quickly they are growing up.

Mera's pups are opening their eyes. They are so cute too. Every one of them is curly.

I'm pretty sure Duchess is pregnant. She is either pregnant or she swallowed some marbles. I can feel something in her. She goes to the vet tomorrow for an ultra sound.

DaVinci had some routine annual blood testing done. He had a complete Thyroid panel, CBC and chemical profile, and an STD test. the bill: $436.25

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May 1, 2006 ...

Today Velvet, Mera, Bonnie, and Duchess all got their monthly Revolution. Zorro and Luckita, Velvet's pups, are not yet old enough for that.

It seems so quiet here without Rosie's pups. They are quiet pups, but still, something is missing here.

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April 30, 2006 ...

My mom had another stroke today. I was really scared and upset. She was going downhill before my eyes. She couldn't talk or walk. Then she gradually improved right before my eyes. By the time I left the hospital she was talking just fine and could walk a little. She called me an hour ago and said she is better yet. She will be fine and will probably go home tomorrow.

Velvet's puppies are getting big and exploring the house. Right now they are playing at my feet.

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April 29, 2006 ...

Today was so much fun. We went to the Doodle romp in Indianapolis. It was hosted by the Indiana Doodle Owners Group. We took Duchess, Bonnie, Mrs Carol Brady, and Bobby. There were about seven other doods there that came from here. Let's see if I can name them all, hope I don't forget anybody. There was Quincy (Deni/Koby), Josie (Andria/Koby), Stella (Velvet/Koby - he sure gets around), Baby Junior now known as Riley (Mera/DaVinci), CoCo and Rascal (Leather/BrideGroom), Minnie from Baby/Hoppi but she was from Coyote Creek not from here. Mrs Carol Brady is now known as Francie. She went home with her new guardian mom. Her guardian mom is the daughter of Ally, Chloe and Chevy's guardian mom. Bobby went home with Josie and DaVinci's guardian family. He is most likely just visiting there. There was a teen age girl there who just fell in love with Duchess. She carried Duchess around for the longest time. She wanted her so bad but her dad doesn't want another dood. There was another family who is considering being guardian for Bonnie. I'd say it was a very productive time. Bonnie had a great time running and romping. So did Baby Junior/Riley. He was right at home there. His mom take him to day care there about twice a week. He is a big 40 pound boy now and he just loves to play and run and romp and wrestle with other dogs. There was another dood there today who also goes to day care so they played together today. Poor Josie. She is going through her coat change now. She needs to be shaved down. 'Fraid there is no getting around that. CoCo's color is unusual and very pretty. She looks like she might become a lavender. She had a good time playing and romping. Her littermate Rascal is looking good. Have to say that when he a baby I thought he was going to grow up ugly. He sure didn't. He is a dark color and his curls are uniform. He was a bit more reserved and stayed with his family most of the time. Quincy is beautiful. Stella is beautiful too.

Duchess has a guardian family waiting for her now. Someone called this evening. They will come pick her up a week from today.

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April 28, 2006 ...

We were stranded at home today with no vehicle. It was so nice. When the bartender from our bar called asking me to run to the store, I couldn't. When Bryony wanted us to go get donuts or to Starbucks, we couldn't. I did get lots of organizing done. Still, there was so much I didn't get done. I got stuck on one of the doodle forums I go to. It was fun there today and I had a difficult time tearing myself away. Also, Bryony's computer died. Now we share.

Mike, one of Rosie's puppies went home this evening. This leaves only Bobby and Mrs Brady (she is still looking for a guardian family). I have already worked a little on crate training. Now it is time to really get serious on crate and house training.

Velvet's puppies, Zorro and Luckita, had their first solid food today. They are so cute. They also got to go outside for a few minutes.

A couple of Mera's puppies started walking/wobbling today. I can't believe they are doing that already. It is time to get them out of our bathroom.

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April 27, 2006 ...

The vet thinks Bonnie's hip scores will come back very good. I'm so relieved. Now I just need to wait for the official test results before advertising her. I really really don't want to sell her. She is pretty, smart, funny, my whole family really likes her, and she is the only one from her line that I have. ...even bigger more dramatic sigh than yesterday...

Zoe, previously known as Lady Bug from Velvet/Koby's first litter that her family wanted me to resell for them, left today to join her new family in New York. My sister is driving her there.

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April 26, 2006 ...

Today I took Bonita (F1B from Baby/Hoppi that I'm keeping for breeding) in for her hip testing. She is only 4 months old and I do have other doods that are getting close to one year old that really need their hips tested now. Bonnie is jumping to the head of the line because she is old enough to have it done and she still doesn't have a guardian family. Once I place a pup in a guardian home, if she doesn't pass her health testing I just spay her and give her to the guardian family. This way if she doesn't pass, we can sell her as a pet (yes of course with the full disclosure of the results). If Bonnie does pass, I can sell her as a tested breeding girl. I really hate that because she is the only one I have out of those parents. I will have lost a nonrelated line. Really though I have no choice. I can't keep her here. That will make too many adult dogs here once she turns a year old. She is so pretty, funny, and has a wonderful coat. sigh...

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April 25, 2006 ...

Bobby, one of Rosie's pups got neutered today. He is the last one to be altered. I held out for him for two reasons. First, I wanted to keep him intact in case another breeder wanted him for stud. Second, because he is the one that had the rubber band incident. He was on antibiotics for a while. He still isn't spoken for but there are three families seriously inquiring about him and his brother. I'm confident he will find a wonderful family this week.

Oh how could I have forgotten what I did yesterday? Yesterday Liuda and I removed the dew claws from Mera's puppies. It was awful and I felt traumatized after. If I felt traumatized I hate to think how the puppies felt. This time I didn't just snip the toes off. I tried digging inside to remove the knuckle. That is what was so bad. They screamed (of course) and I still couldn't get most of the knuckles out. I did get a couple of them. Most of them I stopped digging and deemed it good enough to just have the outer part off. Liuda tried a couple of them. All the while I kept asking myself if it was really worth saving $110+. I don't know. Really though it wasn't just the money. I also really hate taking such young pups to the vet. They are very vulnerable to all the kooties there.

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April 24, 2006 ...

Yup, Mera is cruising the counters, getting in the trash, and pooping on the floor...just like old times. Well she isn't as bad as before. She doesn't do that at her home so it was like she just remembered "Oh yeah, this is the place where I can get away with fun stuff". Now though our counters are kept cleaner and the trash is usually empty. Our carpets smell worse than before. I do shampoo it once a week but it is beyond hope. The smell is ingrained in the carpets and just calls out to Mera, Duchess, and Bonnie "pooooop heeerre....poooop onnnn meeeee...". Who can blame them? I really do need to rip it up. I know, I know. It is getting really old reading my complaints about the smell here and about the dogs pooping and peeing on the carpets and about how I need to rip up the carpet. It just seems like other more urgent matters keep me from doing it. Back to Mera, she is not as bad as before. We are also not giving her as much of a chance to misbehave. She spends much time in the master bathroom and bedroom with her puppies and she doesn't poo/pee in there. I take the doods out every few hours and stay outside with them while they are out there. I'm worried about Crazy Neighbor. She has been quiet for too long. She is due for another crazy outburst.

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April 23, 2006 ...

Tinkerbelle, my mini multigen Goldendoodle girl in a guardian home, was hit by a moped this morning. She is at the hospital getting IV fluids and under observation. They think she is just in shock and will be just fine. The guardian mom is understandably upset. The guy riding the moped didn't even stop. That is just plain wrong. Actually I'm surprised he didn't wreck.

All the puppies and doggies are doing just fine. They are all so cute and so healthy. Mera's pup's umbilical cords have fallen off already. That is right on schedule.

Zoe is getting along great with our other doods. She has been sleeping on Bryony's bed at night. Bry loves her.

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April 22, 2006 ...

Mera and her pups are doing well.

Velvet and her two puppies are doing well too. The pups are so cute. They are starting to play and bark a little. I love this age.

Rosie's three pups are doing well too. They are so cute and are getting so big. They are all around 10 pounds now. I've been taking them outside and staying out there while they play for a little bit. They are enjoying the sunny outdoors.

Zoe came back today. She is from Velvet and Koby's first big litter here. When she was a baby she wore a yellow ribbon with orange ladybugs on it. We called her Lady. She was Bryony's favorite. Beside Ellie she was the runt of the litter. Well let me tell you, she is not a runt anymore. She is one really big girl. She is is 25 inches tall and I wouldn't be suprised if she is 70 pounds. She is housetrained and is a really good sweet girl. Her family is sad at rehoming her. They brought her to me to resell for them because they wanted to make a clean break. It would be hard for them not knowing each day if that was the day Zoe was leaving. Anyway, she is here now and I can tell she has been treated well.

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April 21, 2006 ...

This morning Sam, Rosie's puppy boy, went to the vet. One of the puppies started having loose stools last evening. Sam is going home today so he needed to go have a thorough vet exam and fecal exam. They checked his stool for Coccidia, Giardia, and parasites. They didn't find anything. The vet went ahead and gave me medications for all of that for all of the puppies just in case. Vet bill: $174.00

Sam's family came and picked him up around noonish. They drove all the way from Chicago. They brought their two girls plus a stray child. They were so cute. The girls were wearing new matching shirts with a picture of a red puppy that looked like Sam. They were so excited.

I had to take my mom to the Neurologist for a test at 3:00 pm. Mera looked like she was in a good mood and didn't look like she was going to have her puppies anytime soon so I thought it would be fine for me to take Mom instead of having my sister take her.

Bryony called at 4:00 pm to say Mera had her first pup! Bry was on the computer, heard a little squeaky noise, noticed Mera was moving around a lot, turned around and saw Mera on the couch with a new puppy, a cream female. I was going nuts. Mom was in getting her test, my sister wasn't answering her phone, so I couldn't go home. I went ahead and picked Jill up from school, picked up something for supper, then went and got mom from the dr, took her home, then went home. There was still just one puppy. Here is what happened:
discovered at 4p - cream female 12.9 ounces
5:17 - black boy 12.7 ounces
5:25 - black boy 10.5 ounces
5:50 - black girl, tiny white bow tie 10.6 ounces
6:00 - black boy 11.8 ounces
7:45 - cream (finally) boy 11.5 ounces
7:46 - black girl 9.9 ounces
8:09 - black boy
8:21 - black girl white goatee (my favorite) 11.5 ounces
Mera's family arrived and was here for the last 2
9:15 - cream girl 10.9 ounces
We thought Mera was finished. I was out of the room while her family was telling her "bye" when they called me back in to say she was pushing again
9:29 black boy

Mera did really well. She didn't complain or cry or anything. The puppies are all curly and seem healthy. I'm trying not to feel disappointed that there are no chocolates and only 3 creams. That is so many blacks. She has 11 babies and only 10 faucets so I gave 4 of them to Velvet. She was excited to get them. She cleaned them and nursed them right away. I let them stay with her for a few hours. All is well.

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April 20, 2006 ...

Liuda and I took Duchess, Bonita, and Mrs Carol Brady to the doggie eye doctor this morning. Rosie met us there. It was great seeing her (Rosie). Here puppy was thrilled to see her too. Rosie even let her nurse from her. They all sat so nicely on the exam table while they were getting their eyes checked.

Oh man, a couple of Rosie's puppies are having diarrhea now. I just bet it is Sam and Mike, the ones who just got neutered. Sam is due to go home in the morning. I made an appointment for him to see the vet first thing in the morning. I think I'm gaining special status with them. They do surgeries from 8:30-10 and see appointments beginning at 10:00 a.m. I called this afternoon and told them this puppy is due to go home between 10 and 11:00 in the morning. They said to bring him in and one of the vets would see him at 9:00 a.m. Vet bill: $175.00

A family that has a pup from Velvet's first real litter here called. They want me to help them find a new home for her. Her name is Zoe, we called her Lady while she was here. She is house trained and everything. They really love her and are sad to give her up. She is just not fitting in to their lifestyle. She will be coming back here Saturday. Hey, that is in time for the Indy Doodle Romp that is the following Saturday.

Mera came back this evening. She is here to have her puppies. I really didn't think she looked all that big. She was running around here and acting all happy and playful with the other dogs. Well, shortly after her family left I took her to our bathroom where she will have the pups. I had her hang out there with Jill and I while I gave Jill a bath. Mera lay down and...oh my goodness. She is huge. She will probably have 14 puppies. Bryony's vibes say she is having 9 puppies at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow.

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April 19, 2006 ...

I took my mom to the neurologist today where it was discovered she did have a little stroke. I'm not thrilled about being right.

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April 18, 2006 ...

I spent the morning at the ER with my mom. Based on what she described to me on the phone I thought she had a little stroke. After all the tests there, they said she didn't. Thank goodness, I would be terribly inconvenienced if she didn't have all her faculties. (just kidding Mom. I love you) She is my editor. Did I ever tell you what she did for me for Christmas? She copied the entire diary, put it in order, fixed all the typos and grammatical errors, printed it out, and put it in a binder. What would I do without her? I am not ready to find out anytime soon.

Two of Rosie's boys got neutered today. Vet bill $334.00

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April 17, 2006 ...

Between Jill, Velvet, and Duchess I was up every half hour from 3:30 on. Man am I tired and crabby today.

My husband and I still own the bar and grill. Somebody else has been managing it for us. I really don't want anything to do with it. I don't like going to bars much less working in one or even owning it. We just discovered somebody or some bodies there has been robbing us bli