I needed to take the pups to the vet yesterday. A couple of them were having constipation issues and the vet said just to bring the whole litter in for her to check. They were going to work me in and I needed to be there around noon. I was frantically running around the house trying to get things done and answer the phone, etc. Right as I was getting ready to go out the door, the phone rang yet again. I made the conversation as short as possible and then grabbed up the puppies and drove to the clinic. When I got there, we were met by the front desk girls who had fallen in love with Hope and wanted to see the babies. As everyone gathered around, we looked in the box and someone said "How many are there?" I said seven but as I said it realized there were only six in the box. I began a frantic search through the blankets looking for the missing puppy to no avail. I tried to act calm and laugh it off as I told the girls I would be back because I had to go find my other puppy. I drove the 15-20 minutes home in record time with all kinds of crazy thoughts running through my head. In my sleep deprived state I could just imagine the most terrible things happening. I called Mike and said, "I can't find one of the puppies. What if I washed it?"
"What if you washed it?", he said. "What does that mean?"
The fear and panic were coming out as I stated, "I washed the blankets they were sleeping in. What if I didn't realize it and sent the puppy through the washer and dryer.?"
I think the fear in my voice must have caused Mike to worry a little too. He was at the produce stand when I called and all the folks buying produce heard this conversation and all began to worry that the puppy had met it's fate in the washing machine.
I started saying, "I am such a bad puppy momma! I am a murderer! What I have I done?"
In total hysteria I somehow made it home just seconds before Mike and ran into the house so frightened by what I might find. I ran to the box where the pups sleep next to my recliner and threw back the blanket and there in the corner was one little puppy sound asleep. He never even knew his litter mates had been taken away.
I scooped him up giving him kisses and and saying "Oh, thank you God!" As I hurried out the door with him I ran into Mike who said, "Where was he?" I just smiled and said, "Right where I left him!"
Arriving back at the clinic, the pups once again had celebrity status. The techs who had assisted in their birth all had to come and see them and the folks waiting out front all had to gather around and "ooh" and "ahhh" over them.
The pups were all given an exam by the vet who declared them extremely healthy and growing well. She said she could not believe that I had not lost any of them. I couldn't quite find the words to say to her that all the positive thoughts and prayers sent out by so many are the real reason that the pups are thriving, as well as the sacrifices made by my husband who has taken on more of a load so that I could feed the pups around the clock.
The vet said that I could skip the middle of the night feedings now, so I actually get five hours of sleep at a time now! She said I can begin feeding them solid foods in about another week and decrease the bottle time even more.
It won't be long and the little ones will be running around getting into everything and making even an even bigger mess!