Goodbye to our Dear Champ - Hello to New Life

We're a small family; having only one daughter, so we have added some furry friends to the mix.  We have a while female AKC Mini Schnauzer named Annie, but on any given day, she could be "Annie", or "Nini", or "Fifi".   Lately we've taken to calling her Fifi as Casey has affectionately dubbed her.  Originally we got Annie for Casey to be a companion so she would not feel lonely.

Annie is married to Lincoln, aka, the chicken stalker.

Lincoln has captured my heart's affections, and on any given evening, he can be seen burrowing under the covers as he curls up by my side for the evening.  Did I mention that I just like that?  Yep, he knows how to capture my heart.

So Annie has had 3 litters with Lincoln now, and their puppies sell like hot cakes here locally.  AKC purebred Mini Schnauzers are funny, intelligent, vigilant, loyal and adorable pets, and a big plus is that they positively DO NOT SHED.  Not even 1 hair!   I could be wearing a black velvet dress and wash blow dry and brush them out and never even get a morsel of hair on me.   That makes them good for families with allergies. They are also great car companions, and easy to pack and go.  They LOVE to go bye bye with me in the car.

This past week has been SO eventful here at our home.  Our beloved Champyon, our 11 year old yellow Labrador Retriever, passed away on Friday of last week.  I was with him when he passed and our hearts have been broken since then.  We still expect to see him on the front porch when we get home, and it is strangely quiet outside right now....

My husband Joe got Champ for me as a consolation when I had a sudden miscarriage back in May of 2001.  Or else, my lovely daughter Casey would have had a baby brother to pester and boss around.   It was a heart wrenching event, very painful and devastating to us.  I was 44 years old at the time, and it was my second and last pregnancy. Champ was an adorable 6 week old pup.   He had soft brown eyes and the kindest heart.   Champ was never in good health though, and his health kept going downhill no matter what we did to try to help him.

His favorite thing was just to lay at our feet.   So loving, so accepting, so docile.  A true friend.  My husband called him BooBoo and I called him Buddy.  I will miss Champ terribly but I am glad  his suffering is over and he is laid to rest next to his brother Buster and Emily in our back yard.

I love you, Champyon Taylor.  Thank you for guarding my front door every night for the past 11 years.  Thank you for your undying affection, and for being excited every time I came home.  Thank you for your friendship.   If there is a dog heaven, Champ, YOU would be in it!

So while we have been grieving over the loss, day by day, Annie was getting more and more plump.   Her little sides bulged like a pack mule's saddlebags!  Yesterday I saw her walking around the back yard and I thought,  "TODAY I go and get her special "box"; her whelping box that we make and line with towels and give her a special side easy access entrance.

So I brought the box in from the cabin, and cut the whole and showed it to her, and she RAN into it and immediately began pushing!   About 3 hours later her first pup was born.

Here is the Hotel Fifi....we keep it in the living room until the pups are about 2 weeks old, then expand into a wire play yard...then a kennel...

I had to help her deliver; she had a couple of pups who did not make it.  We had not planned on breeding Annie this year at all, but she and Lincoln found a way.....love does, I guess, and our attempts at keeping them apart proved unsuccessful.   But now we have an adorable liver colored male, and a beautiful black and silver female.   We're always tempted to keep them but most likely will sell them when they are weaned.  

So in the midst of our grieving over our old friend, we have new life and new hope.  I guess that is what springtime is for!

Well just wanted to update you on what has been happening, and I will post again probably tomorrow as I have some exciting new things to share!

Bye for now!

New Life - New Love...New Puppies!

G'day, Maties! A quick post on this lovely day, Sunday, my favorite day of the week!

Yesterday was a busy busy day.   I literally fell into my bed last night, and thank the Lord, slept fitfully the whole night through.

After doing the Conroe Saturday AM Market yesterday,  Casey and I rushed over to the church to attend a Children's Workers Appreciation lunch.    We had delish enchiladas, and talked about our children and how to better and more effectively serve, mentor and teach them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.   We re-signed for another year of lovin' our little kiddos.  I feel like all of 'em belong to me......what a joy to teach children!

We raced home, as I had a "feeling".   I bet Casey $20.00 that our little Annie was having her puppies, and I was right!    This is her 3rd litter, and the first one was a little rough, and the second one was very eventful as I had to quickly learn the art of puppy midwifery and hand deliver 2 of her pups.

Annie is a registered AKC Mini Schnauzer.   I have always liked BIG dogs, you know, the ones who go "WOOF" and it scares you.  But my husband bought Annie for my daughter who needed a companion and something to take care of; hence our love affair with Minis has continued to this day.    

This is what AKC says about them:

AKC MEET THE BREEDS®: Miniature Schnauzer

Known for his distinguished, handsome appearance, the Miniature Schnauzer is characterized by its whiskers and double coat, which has a hard, wiry outer coat and close, soft undercoat. Coat colors can be salt and pepper, black and silver and solid black.  Despite his small stature, the Miniature Schnauzer can give an alarm just as well as a larger dog.  That, combined with his naturally protective nature, makes him an excellent watchdog. He is also the most popular of the three Schnauzer breeds, which include the Giant and the Standard.

A Look Back

Derived from the Standard Schnauzer from Germany, the Miniature was exhibited as a distinct breed as early as 1899. He was originally bred to be a small farm dog, able to go to ground for all kinds of vermin, and is recognizable in German paintings as far back as the 15th century.

Right Breed for You?
Smart, trainable and consistently cheerful, this diminutive breed adapts easily to small city apartments, yet remains just as much at home in the country with lots of space to run around. Their double coat requires hand stripping for the show ring or clipping for the average pet owner, but sheds very little.

If you are considering purchasing a Miniature Schnauzer puppy, learn more here.

• Terrier Group; AKC recognized in 1926.
• Ranging in size from 12 to 14 inches tall at the shoulder.
• Farm dog; companion.

By 10:21 last night, Annie had had 6 of her pups delivered live, with me holding and rearranging her bedding, etc.   It is a beautiful thing to see new life birthed!  


I had been in the kitchen making more soap, and I walked over and the last puppy had been born, licked clean and Annie was gently nudging the little one but he was not breathing.  So I picked him up, massaged his nose, blew some air into his open mouth, held him gently upside down, but he did not respond.  I wrapped him up and held him close to my heart and tried to listen for a heart beat.  I prayed for him, spoke to him, and waited.   Annie kept looking at me like "What are you doing with my baby?"   I held him down to her nose for her to see, and she grabbed hold of his ear and drew him down in from of her and licked and licked and sniffed, and waited.   Finally after an hour, he did not respond so we had to admit the little guy did not make it.

Ah well, the other six babies are doing well and oh so cute.  Annie does not let them out of her sight; she is a great mommy!   Today she finally got out of her little U-Line box that I had ordered gift boxes from earlier that week

These boxes are great as birthing boxes!  I take all that gorgeous brown paper that is post consumer  packaging material and put it down and then layer towel after towel after towel.  It gets really wet in there!

The time has arrived for my washing machine to get really busy.  We wash towels everyday as the puppies need fresh bedding every several hours.   If anyone has a better way, PLEEEEASE let me know  =).

Today, Annie is much skinnier.  Poor thing, she look so uncomfortable the last two weeks.  We used to carry her around if she needed to go up the stairs, and most days she just rested her belly on my cool kitchen tile floor.   We love her so much!

Here's a sneak peak of her puppies!

Oh, and, here is a picture of the Proud Daddy, Lincoln, humbly taking his bath......

Shh, now, he'd be mortified if he thought you saw him like this....lol!   He's the sweetest little dog that I know.  We call him "bunny" because of his ears.   When he barks, we call him "Kitty" but don't tell him I said that......sshhhhh.   

Puppies are one of God's sweetest gifts to my little heart.   They wag their tail even if you're in a bad mood (not admitting anything, just sayin')  and they think you are wonderful.  And, when they sleep under the covers with you on a cold winter evening.....they are so cuddly and soft.    Sometimes, I can't sleep at night (my age!) and I'll go downstairs and just sit on my sofa and there will always be a puppy to come and sit on my lap......

Well, folks, that's all for today!    Pretty soon I will exchange my towel washing for paper towels and Windex as little puddles appear everywhere....but for now they are asleep and sequestered to a soft warm box....

Toodles!

If you don't have a puppy in your life, I wish you a pet or a loved one that will give you the kind of unconditional love like a puppy will!  In any case, even if you don't, know this:  God loves YOU unconditionally and is always there!   He loves you better than any puppy ever could!

Just sayin'....