Day 3 continued

Alchmy Tango Litter 2010

Born

August 4, 2010

Cast of characters:

1. Girl (Blue Collar) Born 6:30pm 12.75 oz

aka: Lizzy

Lizzy got her temporary name in honor of Janet's mother. Janet's mother, Elisabeth, and My mother are both born on August 4th. Lizzy was first born and came rather abruptly! 'Science' tells us that there should be 48 hours after the temp spikes at 101.5. Ico's temperature spiked at 1pm on August 3rd. By 4pm on Aug 4th Ico was demostrating a lot of pacing, panting and nesting. She seemed to me ready for delivery, but her temperature just didn't agree. At 6pm I spoke with our vet and she told me to relax and that Ico wouldn't be delivering until later the next day (Aug 5th). I drew a breath of relief and called Lavena. Lavena was 'on call' to help with the delivery and had been planning to come over any time. I told her that she might as well go home instead of spending the night with me and a very restless momma. I hung up the phone and called Raquel (Ico's mom) to tell her the same thing.

"I'll let you know as SOON as I think that delivery is pending but go ahead and relax."

I hung up the phone and looked over at Ico, who was in the whelping box. She was licking her bottom. Wow.. I though perhaps her water had broken.... good sign! I got up and saw.... a Puppy! AND SO THE STORY BEGINS>>>>>

2. Boy (Purple Collar) Born 7:25pm 17.5 oz

aka: Leo

Leo is named for my mother who is Definitely a Leo :) She had been a wee bit disappointed that the pups weren't, after all, to be born on her birthday. Of course she was yet another person I told that my guess was wrong and that the puppies would come on the 5th.

Leo came into the world more like a Taurus than a Leo. Stuborn! He had great difficulty coming into the world due to his substantial size. I'm pretty sure that he's the one in the xray at the top of the pack..... he probably had a uterine horn all to himself and had no competition for food. It took what seemed like a life time to help Ico deliver him. His little nose and pink tongue was all we could see for quite a while as Ico pushed and pushed. We were able to give him Oxygen while we worked on getting his fat little body through Ico's slightly too small pelvic girdle. Happy ending to the story though. Luckly he appeared quite content and undisturbed by the whole affair.... perhaps he takes after his 'stoner' Grand Mother TinTin.

3. Girl (Pink Collar) Born 9:44 15.7 oz

aka: D'Lay

Pink Collar girl is being named D'Lay for Paula Wilder who owns her Daddy. Paula is hoping to find a 'pick puppy' from the litter and I'm hedging my bets in her direction. Of course it's way too soon to really know but what the heck. If I'm right I can say what a clever breeder I am and if I'm wrong, I can prove my point that you have to wait until 8 wks before you really know. Paula picked the name D'Lay June 5th 2010. How do I know the exact date she came up with the name? Well, it was the day before we were supposed to be doing the aritificial insemination and the semen had been LOST in Memphis by Fedex! It was literally touch-and-go getting that precious cargo in time. Luckily, the semen wasn't the only thing late.... Ico ovulated a day late, making the timing for the sperm and the eggs perfect. yet again another illustration of nature's quirky personality. Paula (once we knew everything was going to be okay, said: After having this litter put on hold because Nickel didn't get pregnant and after having to wait an extra day to breed Ico... I think I need to name my puppy D'Layed.

4. Boy (Green Collar) Born 9:59 15.5 oz

aka: Greenie

Greenie... ah Greenie.....

Ico was incredibly prompt with her deliveries. They were pretty much an hour apart. Nice calm deliveries with a good rest inbetween. After puppy number 3 we decided that Ico probably needed a potty break and sent Raquel out to take her for a walk. Not soon afterward we heard the door open and Raquel running down the hall. She entered the room with a puppy in her hands! Little Greenie decided to be born out side.... Just like his Mother! Ico was born while TinTin was out on a break. The most amazing thing about it is that Ico was also number 4 in order and her collar color was Green. We decided to start a family tradition.

5. Girl (Orange Collar) Born 11:20 12.95 oz

aka: Poppy

Just to make sure that there was no mistake on their birthdate, Ico delivered her last puppy just before Midnight, making all the puppies born on August 4th. I'm calling her Poppy because she just came popping out with no fuss, no frills and no fanfare, just simple and to the point. I think she's going to continue with this attitude. She is quite vocal but not barking like the others. She's rather... talkative and likes to chatter to herself as she nurses. I think she's going to me less of an instigator and more of a negociator ;)