Birth, continued

I was determined not to give up, still praying with every breath I blew into the pup and on minute number seven the pup finally cried! Thank you God!
Jason and I cleaned the pup, tied and cut the cord, then placed a piece of red yarn around his neck for the sign of the Red Cross. This pup is a keeper!
Since his birth, Chance has always worn red bandanas as a reminder of his strength and determination.

Abby went on to deliver pups number five and six without incident and when all was said and done, or so I thought, I finally hit the sack around one a.m. The plastic table cloths and old comforter had done the job of keeping the new mattress clean for me to sleep on and I drifted off to the sound of six very hungry pups nursing off of mom. The nusring sounds reminded me of Maggie, the youngest child in the Simpsons cartoon, sucking away on her pacifier only with little moans and groans in between.

The next morning before getting out of bed, I peeked at the pups that were nestled up close to Abby. All looked peaceful and quiet so I headed off to the kitchen to get my first cup of coffee. I returned to the whelping room armed with cleaning supplies and proceeded to remove each pup and place them in Abby’s crate. One, two, three, four, five, six ,seven, I counted. 'Wait, seven?' Knowing my mind is not always clear until I've had several cups of coffee, I counted them again. Sure enough there were seven. Abby had delivered another one while I was sleeping. Bravo, Abby, for a job well done!