Posted on August 18, 2009 by: WayCoolDogs

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Several years ago the two old ladies I co-exist with used to breed Cocker Spaniel puppies and cockapoos .  As I look back (and they say a dog has only 14 minutes of short-term memory! HA!) I remember one day the entire farm was getting ready for two litters of Cocker Spaniel puppies to arrive.

As usual, everyone was nervous….except for me. I was a little bit excited but not too nervous! But actually excitement is me chasing the ol’ gray cat and nervous is when it turns around to chase me! Of course, that didn’t happen too often….heh heh.

THE LITTLE MOTHER,  WILLOW

The little black cocker, Willow, already had one litter of puppies two years ago which they kept one female back, named Parti Girl. It NEVER occurred to any of us they would have 14 puppies between them in one day — much to the help of moi’,  the  busy and ever diligent little Miss Holly Higgins.

Ahem….I have been known as the “puppy nanny” as soon as I could walk and talk because for some reason, no matter where we went to other breeders, no mother dog ever minded I was around. I helped the two ol’ ladies help mother dogs who were having puppies or if they were in trouble. A quote from one of the ol’ ladies toward my much-needed services, “Now, if THAT is not trouble happening then nothing is!”

Was that a compliment, I keep asking myself?  Anyway….

THE BIG PUPPY DAY

Our day started early, about four in the morning. The old ladies’ feet hit the floor without the alarm going off so I knew “something” was up. When that happens, mine usually hit the floor at the same time. This morning, I ran  through the house as fast as I could— barking as loud as I could to send out the alarm “PUPPIES WERE ON THE WAY!” to all who could hear.

Yeah, right! Most of the old dogs around here only got up to potty outside, and then blindly trotted back to bed to sleep until noon. What a life! Thank goodness they had me….a female black-and-tan long-haired quality dachshund, if I may say so myself!

The old ladies let it be known they didn’t believe in any female dog whelping puppies by herself without an owner or breeder around. This did not make them very popular (as if they cared) with some breeders while to others, we made midnight calls. But nothing made the ol’ ladies madder than a hornet to hear about someone  “finding a litter” of puppies the next morning with one or two dead, when the mother dog had spent the glorious moment by herself without care or attention.  Anything could go wrong, and they associated it with throwing a pregnant women into an ol’ out house or shed and being told “Get to it, woman!”

COCKER PUPPIES–ONE BY ONE

Proper or not, Willow was not the type of dog to whelp in one spot. She would be standing and walking, walking and running, or just sitting and staring at us — “Make it go away!” — depending on the contraction in question. The welping area consisted of the length of the entire kitchen (thank gosh we had no rugs on the floor anymore), with Willow dropping a pup on the way and never looking back.  But never fear, Holly was here!

As the dedicated puppy nanny, I was doing my best to catch them ‘en route, if you know what I mean. IF I could only move the old ladies out of the way, with their continuous suppy of used towels in hand! MY JOB!! MY JOB!! I mean, how could they be as objective and caring as another dog, when they were too busy emphasizing and wringing their wrinkled ol’ hands, saying “You poor baby … oh….you poor baby!” Geez…..who is the puppy nanny around here, anyway?

By the end of the afternoon, Willow had dropped (literally) all nine puppies,  fat and sassy little butterballs. Nobody was paying attention to Parti Girl, her black-and-white spotted daughter, who had been sitting on the couch barking at her butt. What? We just thought she was barking because “I” had been barking throughout my nanny chores (letting everyone know I was around and all),  until we realized she has just whelped her first puppy. Well…I guess all the goody two-shoes opinions of the ol’ ladies just went out the window, didn’t they? Ha Ha…

Just about then, lightening hit the darkening sky and the electricity went out. Dead quiet and empty sounding! WOW!!! There’s only so much a busy little dachshund can handle! All I could think to do was sit back and how at the top of my lungsl. NOW, I was nervous!

MOTHER NUMBER 2 — COMING UP!!

A whelping box had already been  arranged for  Willow and her nine babies, with me attending in spreading out the blankets for the cute little arrivals — kind of.

Willow did not mind me in her box helping to puppy-sit and clean the babies,  thank goodness. But with Parti-Girl getting ready to whelp, I was only doing my job half-heartedly  with Willow’s puppies. One lick and onto the next. One lick and onto the next. One lick….HEY! Were did the little guy go?

Then off I went into the living room at a dead run….forgetting to spit the last pup out of my mouth. Uh, oh….back to Willow’s whelping box. Gently dropping it in front of her.

I was petrifed the ol’ ladies and Parti-Girl would be done by the time I was done. Time was running out! Another litter was needing my immediate attention. Mother number two. And a new mother to bat.  My…I was sooooo much in demand…even though the two old ladies kept getting in the way,  making it impossible to do my job! I kept repeating as loud as I could…MY JOB!! MY JOB!!

A CONTRARY MOTHER

Parti-Girl had never had puppies before, and she refused to bear down. Later on, our vet would say she was the only dog he ever had to give pain pills to for after-whelping pain. By the end of two hours, she had to be taken to the vet down the road as she would not have the next puppy.Flat refused. So off the ol’ ladies went to the ol’ pickup, carrying the mother in a blanket with her number one black puppy.

I quickly scurried into the front seat on the driver’s side as fast as I could. HURRY! But I was just as quickly removed from the other side by the passenger. I scooted under the vehicle to jump into the driver’s seat again, only to find myself quickly deposited on the ground a little more firmly. WHAT! There had to be some mistake here…. “You can’t go Holly, you need to stay here and watch the other puppies. We’ll be right back.” But…but….I’m the puppy nanny!

I am ashamed to say, I threw a dog fit. I howled. I barked. I screamed. I groveled in the driveway—with the ol’ grey cat watching from the corner of the barn. Nothing happened….I was carried back into the yard and deposited like a piece of unwanted garbage. A nobody!

By the time they returned, I had barked myself hoarse and nothing could come out but little squeaks. I was so mad at them I sat in front of the gate with my back turned to them. Let them ask me to help be puppy nanny anymore! I knew when I was unwanted!

But by the time they reached the gate, I had quickly changed my mind when I saw the five little heads peering over the blanket and began jumping up and down. MY JOB! MY JOB!

….and the electricity came back on about then. How mad can a little dachshund be, anyway? After all, who is the puppy nanny around here, anyway?

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