We Must Be Crazy-Another Dog

Yes, I'm sure my husband and I are just a tad bit off our rockers. LOL

We have 5 kids, which a lot of people who just meet us don't believe when we tell them. Then on top of that we have a BUNCH of dogs. I say a bunch because I'm not even sure of the count right now, but we DO have more dogs than kids.

Then...we went out and got this...


Yup - it's a French Bulldog. I'm actually starting a little blog about our adventure of raising a Frenchie for the first time after all our experience with pitbulls and about having a house dog for the first time and about having a dog we can actually enter shows with for the first time. We'd love to do shows with our pits too, but there are no UKC shows in Hawaii so when my husband started getting interested in that part of the dog world, we had to find something else to work with. The frenchie is it.

Puppies with Momma

By request, here are pictures of the puppies with their momma. The puppies are up and about and have their eyes open and everything. Such a cute stage!



It's feeding time!




MY puppy


Climbing on Mama - The one sitting on the right is the runt, so cute!

My Dog is Having Babies

She's due this week. Doesn't she look like a mama expecting babies in less than a week? The vet says it looks like only 8-10 pups in there. It's funny how dogs are like humans, they carry differently. Our other mama dog has carried 12-13 puppies and never looked THAT pregnant. LOL - Thankfully, none of them can read this blog and see what I'm saying about them. ;)

Doula To a Queen

It looks like I may end up an "animal person" after all. LOL! We have a cat who has taken up with us in the last several weeks.

At first she was extremely skittish and when we would open a door to go outside, she would run away. But she got progressively more comfortable with her and now she is letting us feed her and pet her.

This morning she stood at the back door and meowed. She's getting progressively fatter, we've noticed. And so we let her in and made a little bed for her. We think she's preparing a birthing spot.

How can I not help a mother in labor?

Right now she's hiding out in a warm spot under my son's dresser. My 2 year old is camped out in front of the dresser holding vigil. She loves this cat! And the cat is incredibly calm with her. Does this mean she had an owner at one time? I don't know anything about cats!

I've been using my Googling skills to try to learn something about birthing cat behavior. Did you know that when a cat gives birth it's called Queening? Isn't that awesome?

Queening. Looks like I might be doula to a Queen soon. :)

Hens: They'll Make Great Pets

I've mentioned before that I'm NOT a "pet person". Now, save your fake blood Peta people.

I do love animals, I do think we're supposed to care for them properly, I don't believe in killing them for fun or outerwear, and I would strongly correct a child who was unkind to one.

I just don't care for animals in the house. 4 kids is enough to clean up after. Morning sickness, pregnancy, new babies, toddlers... none of those seem to mix with pet care very well and that's been my life for 10 years.

When I was a kid we raised Shetland Sheepdogs for fun and profit. I loved those animals. They were the cutest little puppies, and faithful and loyal dogs. Thing is, they love tires. They can't help it, it's in their instinct to run after and nip things that are close to the ground (sheep= good. cars = bad). I will never forget how my Sheltie Brandy used to meet me every day at the bus stop and escort me to the front door, licking and nipping my heels every second.

I'll also never forget the day she lost a battle with a school bus tire. And the flippant way the school bus driver reacted. Witch.

Anyhow, I know my kids are probably missing out on all kinds of supposed benefits by not having pets. Oh wait, we have had quite a few fish but they all died within days. They also had two dogs that lived with Gma and Gpa, also dead.

Maybe all the death and dying is what turned me off!

But we DO own 9 hens. My 6 year old takes care of them, and they reward us with FREE FOOD. In fact the other morning they collected 21 eggs. That's enough for two whole days in this house!

So to quote Jane's Addiction (sort of), try chickens if you like free free range eggs and animals living OUT of doors.

They'll make great pets.