Echoes of Puppies Past
When Ellie first came home with Sean and I, she made her opinion of us quite clear – “You stink, and I want nothing to do with you”. Our first tentative attempts to coax her out of her crate were met with undisguised contempt and loathing, and we were left wondering if she’d ever warm up to us.
We knew she was growing to love us the day that she decided she wanted to eat dinner with us. Ellie and the dogs ate in the kitchen, two rooms away from the living room. Ellie was always a slow eater, still working her way through her kibble long after the other dogs were through, and usually Ellie would come and join us when she was finally done. One day, during dinner time, we noticed Ellie running back and forth from the kitchen to the living room. We finally figured it out – she was carrying her food out to us, one mouthful at a time, and eating it sitting beside us. Carry one mouthful out, chew, go back for more, repeat.
After that, it was Ellie’s dinner time ritual – she’d bring her food out so she could eat dinner next to us, and Sean and I finally fell head over heels in love with her.
Two days ago, while I was doing some cleaning in the puppy room, all of the pups were sleeping in a big pile in their bed except for Jellie Bean, who was still picking at her food. When I looked over at her, I noticed she was grabbing a mouthful of kibble, and then carrying it over to the edge of the pen, so she could sit and watch me while she was eating. My heart instantly broke into ten million tiny little pieces, and I will admit that I broke down and cried a little bit.
Every puppy that we have carries echoes of the dogs that came before them. Every litter has a moment when I am struck by a resemblance to another puppy, or another dog. Every time I send puppies home with their new families, I send pieces of myself along with them, and the memories of all the wonderful, beautiful, beloved dogs that are their families and their heritage.
In other heart breaking news, Dexter has gone off to Michigan, where he is about to embark on a dual career as lothario and show dog. He’s staying with our friend Sue Case, of Epic French Bulldogs, where he’s about to discover the joys of fatherhood (hopefully). After that, he’ll be hitting the show trail. We’ll post a list of his entries, so that anyone who is in the area can drop in and cheer my little man on. He’s a bit of a momma’s boy, so please be sure to give him an ear scratch and tummy rub from me if you see him!
Some new photos of the crazy kids (who really, really love their green crinkly tunnel!) are below, or over on Flickr.
Not all of them? And Dexter? How can you stand it? I could never be a breeder because this is the part I could not handle…
I never understood the moving food thing before — Logan does it. Now it makes sense.
But you will have a Frenchie shortage. We will need to hold a web-a-thon for you to get you more Frenchies. Maybe some of the very interesting web sites that sell Frenchies will donate a Frenchie for a good cause. Or maybe just for shipping charges prepaid via Paypal.
I just finished reading this blog entry and I was also welling with tears as I read it. I know what you mean with the kibble, my other dog Cody used to do it all the time. She could never stand being away from me for a second. Sometimes I would feed her and then sit on the floor next to her while she ate, just so she knew I was not going anywhere.
Believe me, if that is what Jellie needs, she will have it! We are so looking forward to her arrival!!
I promise you Carol we will constantly send pics and updates and tell you exactly what is going on with us all the time! Jellie will send regular updates and pics!
Dang, that is a crazy face.
My Ernie does the same thing with his food. I have to constantly tell him to “go eat!”
Sarah’s last blog post..Potatoes are cool, until the toppings fall off
Lots of hugs to you… I’m sure your wounds still haven’t healed from Ellie, even though it’s gotten easier.
I’m sure Dexter will be just fine… he seems like he’s a guy that knows what he wants and will always get it.
RHz’s last blog post..Happy Samhain/Halloween!