Anouk and her pups

Well, it took about 14 hours, but when her mama instinct kicked in, BOY did it kick in! The boys can't even look in her direction without a growl. And poor Grifham, the very temporary surrogate papa got the boot. He gets a look and a growl too. But at least he's stopped howling! I underestimated him, thought he was clueless, I was so wrong.

So here she is in mama mode. She is very comfortable now with her pups, although we don't leave her alone with them because she tends to start out a little rough. Her puppies (we don't dare say "Baby" around her because it has a whole different meaning!) from left to right are 1) blonde boy nicknamed Tank because he weighed in at 8 ounces and is the first to the buffet (and last to leave!). 2) incredibly dappled boy, more so than Anouk with the temporary name of spot because he is so spotted (dappled!) weighing 6 ounces at birth. 3) That's our only girl, baby Bella who already has a home and is also dappled, although not as much as her brother and weighed in at just 5 1/2 ounces, and 4) That is our mini Grif who weighed in at 7 ounces and looks just like his father. Not a dapple on him. He, I anticipate, will be a beautiful red also.

That's it for today, we are all exhausted. Anouk is eating and going out, and healing up just beautifully. I'm proud of her. Special thanks to Erin, whom we got Anouk from nearly four years ago. She is a gift each and every day and loved beyond words.