Regina had her litter!!!

I woke up at 4:30 this morning.

Whatever you do, don’t wake up at 4:30. Too many unexpected things can occur that early in the day.

For me, it was one of those events you cannot dispel as just a coincidence. Regina had been quiet in her whelping pen all night, so I had no reason to believe today was the day.

It was Hobbes, our orange tabby, who woke me up wanting to go outside. I push open the window above my head and out he goes. Hobbes must have known something was afoot. Smart cat.

Then my phone chimes a text message. Jennifer  was confirming that she had found a rest stop in Georgia last night, a question I had texted her the night before.

After a minute or two of her wondering why I was up at that hour, I couldn’t get back to sleep. I realized then that Regina was restless. I got up to let her out.

There is something about a dog about to give birth that fascinates me. They communicate the event to you without even realizing it. I cannot explain it, because I don’t understand it myself. It isn’t the going into labor, it is an expression they hold as if they are saying, “Hey, today’s the day!”

If I had had the pleasure of being a father, I think I would know that feeling.

I saw it for the first time when Sooner (Odessa) had her last litter way back in 2006. She had this happy expression that was beyond normalcy. “Hey, today’s the day!” she said in her expression.

Regina had done so much more than gaze at me with that look. Over the past day, I would take her, Candy, and Monstro for a walk in the forest. Regina was always one to hang close, but not like this. It was as if she couldn’t get enough of me. I could hardly walk in a straight line, because she would velcro herself to my side.

After letting Regina out to do her thing (and watching her closely, mind you), I called Jennifer to hold my opinion that she was going to go into labor soon. And just like that, out comes the first puppy. My call to Jennifer was not to announce, “I think today’s the day,” it was to say, “Today is definitely the day!”

She had nine live births altogether. All of the females (5) are light in color, three white and three medium sable silver. The first three males all came out dark with an all sable black puppy that will rival Stanley. Two are charcoal sable silver, and one is pure white.

Regina was unsteady at first, kind of like a guy who holds a baby for the first time. She’s settled in now, though I will be keeping watch through the night tonight to ensure she does not lay on any of them.

No names for them yet. Jennifer tells me this is the “Genius Litter.” I suppose Einstein will be one of the males, but we’ll let you know in a future email.

In the meantime, I’ll have a sign plastered on my front window like they used to do in my parent’s generation: “It’s a girl!”

Other signs will follow: “It’s a girl! It’s a boy! It’s another girl! And another! The unknowing public driving by will think my wife gave birth to Octuplets. Good thing men don’t give out cigars anymore when their offspring arrive in the world—we would be out of business!

So no letter to you about rain catchment devices. This is far more exciting. Just don’t wake up at four-thirty in the morning. You never know what your day might bring.

Jennifer Stoeckl is the co-founder of the Dire Wolf Project, founder of the DireWolf Guardians American Dirus Dog Training Program, and owner/operator of DireWolf Dogs of Vallecito. She lives in the beautiful inland northwest among the Ponderosa pine forests with her pack of American Dirus dogs. 

ReplyForward