Puppies, Perhaps for the Last Time (February 2024)

Marigold started giving birth in her doghouse on a cold, winter evening when Henry was here. By the time we discovered she was giving birth, one puppy had already lost so much body heat that he was dying. We revived him inside and had her whelp in our bathroom through the night and the long next day. One puppy got stuck in her birth canal and was stillborn, but the remainder survived. With no adequate shelter for them outside, they spent the month of February in the whelping box in our sunroom, greeting any and all visitors. Living in a house with cute puppies inside a whelping box, still young enough for Marigold to clean up after them, was mostly delightful. 

(March was a different story, and Susannah, Piper, and Lucinda were super-heroes.)