Jbers and His Line

The more I look at him, the more I see his mommy. He definitely has his very own version of his daddy's temperament - but he totally has his mommy's body and face.. The things that are totally JB are his curly tail and his turned up nose.

The line he is from has very strong traits though - the line that brought Lisa and I into each others lives. Her Sassy and Peanut are parents to Lacy, Peanut, Zoey, Lacy and our sweet Margie - and from a more recent litter, our Cocoa.

They are all rambunctious and playful as well as loyal and loving. They are all barkers - some more frequent than others - and they are all gate jumpers. EVERY ONE OF THEM!!! SO when they say its all genetics - it truly is!

Look What I Found

We have been wanting to create a little garden under the tree that we buried our sweet Margarita. I looked into a headstone but have yet to find the right one. She needs something special!

I was at Joanne's today and happened to fall upon one of there 70% off sale. All of their summer and garden items are on sale. I found these dog stepping stones and picked up three. With the sale the were under $4.00 each! I also found a couple dog shaped bird houses. The birds and squirrels love that tree so why not give them a little something too?

Once the rain stops the kids and I plan on starting our little memory garden with these stepping stones the main focus - A beautiful place for our precious Margie.

Happy Easter 8 Week Old Sweeties

8 weeks old today. How sweet is that??? And look at um! They are mowing on the hard puppy food and loving every kibble. Their ears are all straight up and they are just as cute as can be.

I can tell you that the two girls got their lap-dog ways from their mother. They whine like nothing you have ever seen if they are left alone. They love to be laying on or beside you at all times. I have never seen a puppy so determined to get their way. They are DIVA dogs for SURE! Now Bacardi - he has his daddy's personality. Loves people but loves himself just a little bit more. He is just fine by himself - an independent little dude.

I am curious to see which got the line's gate jumping skills. Lacy and Margarita - being sisters - got the skill from their mother. Margarita's son J.B. has the skill and even kicked it up a notch. There is no gate under 5 feet that can contain him. I am going to guess that Decadence will be the gate jumper. Gut feeling I guess.

Sleep Is Not An Option...

...but it's all good! I am tired for an amazing cause! With only two hours sleep since Thursday, we were up every two hours all night and right into today. The pups are amazing and are the only thing that keeps back the tears as we mourn for our sweet Margie.

We have named her first boy (the tan pup) Corkscrew. Corky for short. He was just too big for Margie to deliver naturally and was stuck in the birth canal. He was the "cork" for Margels. He would have been the first born and by far the largest - we were finally able to weigh him last night and he charts in at 5 5/8 ozs.

Her second boy has her adorable tan spots on his cheeks and above his eyes. With his black eye patches and little spots, he is much smaller than Corky and only weighs 4 3/4 ozs. We haven't found the perfect name for him yet - the jury is still out.

It's a family plan of attack keeping the boys fed and warm. The other dogs have all adjusted to the new whining sounds in the house. It's as if they know they are Margels babies and they all watch over the puppy box with such care.

Heart Broken

Everything seemed to be going well - Margie's water sack appeared around midnight last night. She was such a trooper and she pushed and tried so hard. She took several breaks - even with a bit of vanilla ice cream to help boost her energy. When the first puppy sack appeared at 2:30 am before the water sack was fully delivered, I knew we were in trouble. I called the emergency vet hospital at 3:00 am. The first pup could take up to 4 hours!

By 3:30 am and still no pup, I packed her into the car to take her in. She kept trying all the way there! Each time she would look at me with the sweetest eyes - as if she knew I could make things ok - I just kept saying, "Just a little bit longer Margels - A little bit longer!"

They rushed her in for an emergency c-section and by 5:00 am both of her little boys were finally in the world. I sat in the waiting room holding her boys while we waited for her to come to from the anesthesia.

By 6:00 am Margie had finally come to and her temp was rising. I couldn't take her home until it was at 101. By 6:30 they had me come back to get her and take her home. But when we pulled her from the kennel the worse was now evident. She was having a very hard time breathing and her oxygen levels were low. By 10:00 am there wasn't that much improvement. After viewing x-rays of her chest - the vet had alarms go off and was worried there was some bacterial infection in her lungs. Since the after-hours ER technically closed at 7:00 am we had to take her to our regular vet to be monitored and for further testing.

I was able to get her to the vet by 10:30 am and they placed her and the boys into an oxygen room. I must tell you that it was the most bitter sweet thing I have ever seen! Margie was still a tad bit groggy as her babies fed off of her. She seemed to have known they were there but at the same time - in a daze.

I needed to get the rest of the dogs to have them tested for a potential infection. Back to the house I went to get the dogs for a slew of x-rays. As we were getting the results that things looked clear - Margie crashed - BAD. They did a lung wash on her and were able to get 20 CCs of what appeared to be bile from her lungs. It looked as though the combination of ice cream and vomit made its way into her lungs while she was under for her surgery. It didn't look good at all but they said not to give up hope.

After dropping the dogs off after their tests, I drove back to get Margie and the boys. The vet was closing at 7:00 pm and the ER vet would then be opening then as well. She would have to spend the weekend in IUC at the ER vet. There was still a 50/50 chance she could pull through.

By the time I got there at 6:30 pm, she had crashed 2 more times. They placed her in the car with a tank of oxygen and was ventilated. The 15 minute drive to the ER seemed to last an hour. I pulled over twice to revive her - pumping her the entire way. She just didn't have the strength. My sweet princesses passed away at 7:45 this evening on the table at the ER.

Both of the vets said this was just a combination of some very bizarre events and that there was nothing I could have done differently to save her. The x-rays didn't show the issue of a large pup - she didn't have anything wrong with her lungs - she just was too strong for her own good - she never wanted to stop trying. Of course I still cannot help but ask what more I could do - I hurt more then anything right now!

She gave her amazing life for her precious babies. Before her first crash she actually nuzzled her babies as they fed. She was able to love on them and give them the nutrience they needed to start their first hours of life with. I have been crying all day and it doesn't seem to stop. I am devastated.

We buried her beside her favorite oak tree in the back yard. The entire family is crushed and there hasn't been a dry eye in the house for hours. The kids literally bawled themselves to sleep.

As devastated as we are, we also have her precious boys to take care of. We have been feeding them every two hours - while bawling on the couch. Our hearts hurt as we smile down on the boys - Margie's gift for us.

It's Started!

We knew it was the day because she was a bit restless and extremely attached to me - everywhere I went.

It was as if the first tinge from her contractions sent her instincts into over drive. She jumped into her whelping box about 40 minutes ago. She is now frantically nesting and panting - we are just waiting for the first sack to appear!

Another Day To Wait

Margie is at day 62 and keeps teasing me! Her temp dropped to 99.1 and didn't eat a thing all day. She begged to go to her whelping box - started nesting - wincing - and is very restless. She went about this way for a couple hours and then came back on to the couch.

About 7 pm she got up and mowed down a bowl of food and went to sleep. The waiting will go on yet another day.

She is SO Tired!

I couldn't help but snap a photo of this. This picture says it all!

Margie is so tired and sleeps the majority of the day. The usual backyard dominatrix has opted out of the afternoon frolics and watches from on the deck. She has been taking it so easy - but do you blame her? She is carrying so much extra weight!

This morning, while everyone else jumped up onto the couch with me she walked up to the doggie steps - look up and thought of the work it would take to crawl up them - and decided to just lay on the floor in front of them CLASSIC!

We Counted TWO!

Margie has TWO pups on the way! See the two little femurs on the pup on the left? With those developed, she should go into labor in the next 48 hours! EKKK! I am so excited!!!

With only two pups they should be good sized - they have a lot of room to grow. The x-rays can be deceiving though - they get to stretch out a bit more with all of that room. She is very sleepy and a tad bit cranky - I am sure she is as ready as we are to get them out!

Since I won this last bet I am now going to place a wager on her delivery date - I say Saturday night. Of course I hope that so that Brad can stay up late with me and not have to worry about getting up early for work the next day ;)

Any Day Now

Wednesday is day 57! We have the x-rays scheduled for Thursday but this week we head into the home stretch. Temperatures will be charted this week - and bets have been placed. The entire family is betting on the delivery date and the confirmed number of pups - I still say 2 - no matter what the first x-ray says.

A Lil Too Early and Just in Time

I originally had an appointment to take Margie, Martini and Ginny to the vet on Thursday. Those three could be a handful so when my 17 year old didn't have to go to work today I saw a perfect opportunity to have some extras hands to help!

Ginny needs her last set of shots and the girls were scheduled or their x-rays. Unfortunately the only opening they had was at 4:30. I usually go in the morning so I don't have to deal with the kid's impatience. With an appointment that late I would now have 4 extra sets of hands (A teenage son + teenage girlfriend = inseparable)

Ginny did AWESOME! Just a lil whine and a smaller whimper and she was done! She is officially a big girl now - rabies tag and all!

Margie is 49 days pregnant and Martini is 43 days. We knew we had a 50/50 shot with Tini but she has grown SO big in the last week (gained 1 whole pound even) we figured our chances were good.
Well - we didn't get a 100% definite answer but we have a good idea - for Margarita! The vet was able to find what she thought were 3 pups. Margie IS pregnant - we will just need to get the definite pup count when we go back on the 13th!

We couldn't see a thing on Martini. We still need to rule out a false pregnancy for her (which we honestly do not think is the case). She will be going back on the 20th for our second attempt.

Bye-Bye Girlish Figure

Happy Labor Day - and what a great topic for today - LABOR!

Margie's tiny and petite frame is gone - granted she is no where near as big as Martini, but she has definitely filled out. We have a little over a week before she could go into labor. She is 48 days along and could go into labor as early as next Wednesday. EKKKK!!!

We are 45 days in ...

and she is really starting to show Margie is not as big as Martini but then again, she started out a lot smaller than her too! She is finally starting to show off her belly and try to get everyone to rub on her buns in the oven!!!

Margie Grew Over Night!

After being away just a few days I was able to come home and really she the changes in the girls. They are getting so big! They have both lost their girly figures!

Everyone is getting so excited around here. We are moving Margie into her whelping box this weekend. She is 40 days today - well past the half way mark. She rests a lot more and is extremely affectionate. Lovin the lil mommy in her - We could be seeing her pups in as little as 17 days! Hot diggity dawg!

Lil Momma

We have already started to see some changes in Margie and she is only 2 weeks pregnant. She sleeps a lot more, has become a much pickier eater, has bonded a lot more with Ginny and she's not as active when the dogs are playing in the backyard. Margie is usually the first out the gate and the leader in the chase game pack. Now she just lounges in the sun and sniffs at the dirt.

Today she was the only one who noticed the little toad in the grass. Normally she is running around so fast that she would never notice it. It was really kind cute to watch her - she just nudged it with her nose until it hopped away.

We Are Gonna Be Grandparents!

Dude accepted the challenge and Margie was a trooper. As of 11am this morning we officially have pups on the way - or at least we HOPE that we do! Everyone needs to keep their fingers crossed. Today is day 9 so we will shoot for a second session on Friday.

They really handled it all superbly. Tied for about 5 minutes and only one small yhelp - true champs! I do know that explaining to the kids what would happen and then them finding them stuck together are two completely different things! We had a bit of explaining to do ;)

Aunt Flow Is Visiting

It's Official - Margarita has reached her second heat! As of this afternoon - let the fun begin. I should have known it was coming. Margie became very quiet - and had a loss in appetite. She became a bit irritable this morning and then wham - the little spots on the floor in the kitchen.

This is about a month earlier that we expected but we will take what we can get. I am sure she will bring the other two into heat as well so we will have a hormonal nightmare in the house for the next month or so.

Happy 4th of July!

We followed our annual tradition with a fireworks spectacular. The boys put on their show for all of us - including the dogs! Everyone but Baby and Margie loved the show. They were a bit freaked out to say the least. No barking or hiding under furniture like Duke used to do - but they scurried right into the safety of their doggie beds - and that's where they stayed all night.

Attack Of The Blue Ink Pen

We have warned EVERYONE to not leave pencils on the table on the back porch. Margarita has figured out how to use the chairs to get up onto the table and has a thing for pencils. She will chew them to shreds!!!

Today someone (who's name starts with a B) decided to leave an ink pen on the table - smart move aye???

Sterling - being the awesome helper that he can be - saw the pen in her mouth and got it away from her. It has the rather small dot of ink that spewed from the broken tip that started the nightmare!

It was just a small dot - he reached for a washcloth to clean it off his finger - within a matter of 1 minute the ink was now on the wall - the kitchen table - the sink and the faucet. It was the tone in his voice as he said "Umm.... Mommmmmmy??" when I knew things were not going to be good.

I walked into the kitchen and didn't know if I should laugh or cry. In trying to wash the ink off it smeared - and SMEARED - The ink was like rabbits - multiplied in the millions.

Bradley came home and saved the day - GOO-GONE!!!

The Instigator

I really am not sure how she does it - I assume it's her womanly ways - but she gets Comso all riled up and excited, which of course stirs up Dude - then we have the two boys growling and barking at each other while she stands off on the sidelines and watches. I swear you can see her smirk! What a little shit!