A Dog Called Little Stay Awhile; Remembering Puppyhood

I've realized lately that I don't really remember much about Tsin'tia II or Caesar as puppies. I remember an incredible amount about of Tsin'tia I's puppy days, and a little from Quanah's young months, but almost nothing about T2 and Caesar as individual puppies.

I remember delivering the 5 pups that were born at home and I remember a vet tech coming out with newly delivered Caesar at the vet clinic. He was so tiny and they said to put him in with the other puppies. I put him into the box with the other 5 puppies who suddenly looked huge compared to him. They had 24 hours of nursing under their belts and he was as they were 24 hours earlier. (Not to worry; by the time he was a week old, he had made up all of that and some more, too.) I think it was much like new parents with their first child; all brags and pictures. Later kids, not so much.

The problem is that when Tsin'tia I was a puppy, we had no other dogs. Everything she did was precious and noticed. We gave her all our attention and reinforced memories by sharing with friends (probably until they were sick of hearing the words, "You should have seen Tsin'tia..." or "Guess what Tsin'tia did!") So all those moments are burned into our memories of her.

When Quanah came along in 1990, we had T1 and 9 puppies, but we always knew we were keeping Quanah, so he got special attention. He was also very light colored as a pup and stood out from the others. He declared himself Alpha Pup, so was the leader of everything our little herd of puppies did. We were fascinated by him. Then the others were gone and we only had the 2 of them, Tsin'tia I and Quanah.

In 2005 we didn't keep a puppy out of the litter from Nikita (Khimshazi Julou Nikita, JC) by Indy (Ch. Paka's Nyumbu Dogo.) We still had Quanah, Asa (UCI Ch Paka's Julou Asa) and Nikita. Indy's family kept Lucy (Ch. Julou's Dread Pirate Lucy) and the other pups also got great homes. We did almost keep Rita, but Rebekah came along and talked us into selling her Rita. Rosey (whose litter name was Audrey because the first thing we saw was her little pink tongue sticking out and she latched onto a nipple right away and stayed on it as long as she could,) lives in Spring,TX with her family. Bogie (Chico in the litter) has a wonderful home in Dallas and is much loved. Chip (Julou's Misty-L Chip O block, CD) is a much loved therapy dog in Ft. Worth. Ginger who has returned home to us in Hutto recently at age 5, had a good home, too. Due to a death in her family, they had to move and could not take Ginger.

The 2007 litter was also 6 pups (there were 10 but inept bungling by a local emergency vet clinic lost 3 of them for us. They were Nikita's by AI (artificial insemination) by Ch Ruvanda;s Krueger of Sunsweet. I will only say that if you are in the Round Rock area and need an emergency vet, go to the one on 183 in North Austin.) I remember delivering the first 5 and waiting in our vet's office to get Caesar. I remember the following weekend when I spent 24 hours feeding the six of them every 3 hours because Nikita had emergency surgery. But as individuals, other than BeeGee and Krueger III (RIP baby both,) I really don't remember them as individuals either.

Now I look at Caesar and Tsin'tia II and wonder why I can't remember them as puppies unless I look at pictures of them. When T2 sits in my lap in my big green chair, and I trace the lines where hair growing one way under her neck meets hair growing downward from the back of her neck, I see how pretty she is and how feminine. Then i wonder how on earth I could NOT remember her baby puppy days and her young bitch growing days. I remember putting her Bitches' Britches on her in heat. She looks adorable in them, by the way, and she knows it.

I know she must have been adorable, but they all were. I was home all day with them because I was working from home when they were born. I remember all the constant feeding and changing puppy box paper & towels, etc. And when they were starting to get heavy, I remember having to lift them out of the puppy box and into the puppy pen in the back yard. I do remember Sally would always back away so she had to be last out. (She was accidentally let out of her house by her mama Karen, when she ran after 2 dogs that had gotten out and left the door open behind her.)

It makes me sad to know I will never have the memories of their puppy days like I do for Tsin'tia I. If we have another litter, I'm going to make more effort to remember them as babies. And I'm going to take more pictures.