"Dals, Cows, and More ......": It's Halloween more than Trick or Treating and Candy for me... Memories & Puppy Happenings!

Baci & Nati sharing one on one time!

Lots of things have gone on since my last post but before I start talking about everything that has happened since Friday I have to mention some other things about October 31st and what today is for me beside just being Halloween. 30 years ago on October 31st, it was a beautiful warm fall Saturday. Why do I remember that? My Dad died of a massive heart attack that day as he and I watched the Ohio State - Purdue football game on TV. I was actually supposed to be at that game but last minute the plans changed and I didn't go to West Lafayette, Indiana with friends. It was very sudden and needless to say it changed the meaning of Halloween for me & for my Mom forever. Then 5 years ago on October 31st we lost our Dalmatian, Blemie at 9 years old, a young age for a Dal. It was a heart problem that took him suddenly without warning. It turned out it was a heart problem seldom seen in canines and we would have needed an Ultrasound to detect it and an Ultrasound would not have been requested unless there was symptoms and he had not had any symptoms. Blemie was a very bright light in many lives and when he died Dave said "A light that burns twice as bright only lasts half as long". It was such a true statement. Losing my Dad and Blemie on the same day with 25 years between, in very sudden similar ways has always been a little odd to me. I love & miss them - Continue to RIP! The funny thing is 30 years ago we had 5 adult Dals in the house and today we have 6 pups and 1 adult. As much as things change there are some constants and Dalmatians are one or the constants in my life. Thank goodness for the spotted dogs!

Ok - Now onto Happy Puppies make for Happy Mondays and Happy People! Why happy puppies because they are getting their requests to go outside when they need to go out answered for one. This also makes for happy people and a happy Monday. This weekend Dave set up a nice puppy play yard that makes it easy to send a pup out when they ask. It is very accessible to the puppy porch/room and a leash and collar are not required. So housebreaking and crate training started in full force this weekend. We had been working on both but this allows dealing with multiple pups' needs all at one time much easier. Accidents have been at minimum since it has been up and they have mostly been due to us being slow or not properly reading the signs. Six pups don't all ask in exactly the same manner, imagine that :-) !

Friday the pups got their 2nd set of shots. As expected they were a hit - imagine seeing 6, 10 week old Dal pups walk - no stampede into a room.... all the how beautiful, are those brown spots, what only one with black spots, will the others turn black eventually, oohs, and aahs, etc. etc., was the chatter in the waiting room. All the techs in the Vet hospital swarmed to help so they could play with the babies as well. Well Dr.Tim was so pleased with how everyone was doing he kept saying to me "I know I've said this before but this is a beautiful litter of pups and they are healthy and wonderful". Everyone had almost doubled in weight since the last visit. Very good to hear especially for Pebbles (she is now back in line with her siblings). The other marked change from last visit is that they actually tired out last time and went to sleep - not this time, they enjoyed the attention and getting to explore the new surroundings.

Following is some pictures from the past few days - enjoy and until next time....