The pups are almost at the halfway point where they will be going home, so I have started to compile a checklist of everything we need. We have also made it our mission to come up with a name for our pup that will be a traditional Italian name. We have downloaded countless lists of Italian boy names. We have busted out with the pens, highlighters and process of elimination tactics. Picking a name will be no small chore. This is not a task for the faint-hearted. Meanwhile, Diane has sent us more photos – both group and individual shots! The big guy with the dark blue ribbon keeps catching my eye, same with one in this batch of photos that seems to have lost his ribbon…
From Diane: “Hi Everyone, Sorry I have not sent any pictures or updates lately, but things got a little bit hectic last week. Alondra and the pups are doing really well. They have outgrown the whelping box and were actually climbing out, so I have moved them to a double ex-pen in the middle of the house. Here they have quite a bit more room to move around, are playing with each other and their toys, are exposed to the other dogs, hear lots of noises, and have been started on some paper training (no guarantees on that!). It seems that their “big” sister (my 15 week old puppy “Fin”, daughter of Saggio and Dolly) is very curious and loves to just sit and watch them. She talks to them and gives them kisses thru the fencing—-really, really cute! I started out with newspapers, but Alondra seems to have developed a knack for making little balls out of the sheets of paper so now I am putting down brown paper and it’s working out much better. They are actually doing pretty well with using the paper instead of the blankets. Big news is that they are eating out of puppy dishes and have wonderful appetites! Since I had been helping Alondra with bottle feeding, with them eating on their own frees up about 6 hours a day for me. BUT, now the clean-up gets to be more of a challenge! Attached are some random pictures taken this week. Hopefully life will stay in order and I will be able to send more pics very soon! Enjoy! Diane“ We are taking off on a family vacation, so we reached out to Diane to let her know we would be traveling with little access to email and phone service.
This was her response: "All is well. Babies are growing very quickly and it's all we (myself and Alondra) can do to keep them fed and clean. Took a few group shots today so you can see how big they are already. I did do individual pictures yesterday and will try to go thru them tonight and get them emailed out. Hope you enjoy your vacation with the family! Happy Fourth to you too! Diane" Here are the individual shots that Diane took of the pups last night. The one with the dark blue ribbon and black ribbon are still my favorite, but one that has a light blue ribbon is also very handsome! The boys: The girls:
We are finally getting photos of each puppy individually. The males and females are sent in separate emails, which makes it easy to start picking favorites. The ones with the dark blue ribbon and the black ribbon are like little bears, but they are all so gorgeous, it’s going to be a tough decision. From Diane: “Hi Everyone! Well, Alondra’s babies turned one week old yesterday and are doing fantastic! They had their tails docked and dewclaws removed this past Monday and everyone at my vet’s office were surprised to see how much they had grown in just 4 days. Alondra is feeling so much better and is just the perfect momma. I took some pictures of the puppies yesterday. I put ribbons on them just so everyone can watch each individual puppy grow. Only had to shoot 532 pictures to get a few good ones of each pup! I just can’t seem to get them to sit still very long! Attached to this email are the girls. The boys will be sent in another email. Enjoy! Diane” The boys: The girls:
From Diane:
"Hi Yvonne, Things are going very well. The pups are just growing so fast. Alondra is a great mom, but had alot of discomfort the first 3 days. I felt so sorry for her, but now she's doing so much better! The puppies were at my vet today to get the tails docked and dewclaws removed. They couldn't believe how much they have grown in just 4 days. I have attached a few pics taken this morning. More coming very soon! Take Care, Diane" Yesterday, we sent Diane a long email with a million questions. Little did we know that she was in the middle of Alondra’s birth. She answered us this morning. Below is part of her response and our response to her is in red:
“Hi Yvonne, I was so stressed and exhausted yesterday I never did answer any of my emails. We can completely understand! What an exciting day! Even though I’ve basically been up all night, I am not so sleepy to lay down so now is a good time to sit at the computer. This morning Alondra is still feeling the effects of the anesthesia/surgery this morning, but overall she’s doing well. I hope she continues to recover well. Poor girl. We can’t wait to meet her! I will (hopefully) be putting ribbons on the pups for identification, although sometimes this does not work out too well since momma wants to lick/tear the ribbon off. TEXT REMOVED……… Hope I have answered all of your questions. You absolutely did, thank you for replying so soon, we know you have a lot going on! If anything else comes up just shoot me an email or give me a call. Get some rest, we will be in touch soon enough! Thanks! Diane” Earlier today, I bombarded Diane with an email full of questions. We are so nervous and excited! And we have so, so, so many questions. Neither one of us has welcomed a puppy in years, so we want to make sure we do it all perfect for him. Instead of her usual prompt response to all of our questions, this was what we received from her!!!!!!
From Diane: “Well, it’s been a very long day, but just wanted to let you all know that Alondra gave birth to 13 beautiful babies today. We have 7 boys and 6 girls, all gray! We made the decision to have the babies delivered by c-section, so Alondra is still a little wiped out, but I am happy to report that her appetite seems to be back! The last few days she had been so uncomfortable that it was difficult to entice her to eat anything at all. I have attached a few pictures that were taken just after we got home—there will be many more to come! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! Diane” From Diane:
“Hi Yvonne, Alondra is just miserable already—-lots of moaning, even in her sleep. I feel so bad for her, the only consolation is we only have another 7-9 days to go. Sorry about the phone tag. This week is crazy busy as well, but come Sunday I will be home 24/7 keeping an eye on our momma girl. Talk to you soon, Diane” We are sooooo excited! The due date is not too far away and the communications with Diane have become much more frequent. We are definitely nervous to find out if we will indeed be blessed with the pup we have been waiting for! Below is today’s email from Diane and the photos she sent of Alondra are below. She is HUGE! And looks so tired. If she could count, she’d be counting the days until she gives birth!
From Diane: “Hi Yvonne, Things are good here, but extremely busy! I have been trying to get caught up on all the things I put off while having Dolly’s babies here and before Miss Alondra’s beauties arrive. I had to go to SC for a couple days and with Alondra being so close to her big day I decided to take her with me (really did not have a choice in the matter). She loves to ride in the van and seemed to enjoy a little extra personal attention. I am attaching a few pictures I took yesterday. Looks like my vet is right again—I believe she has a belly full of babies! I will be in touch sometime late next week with puppy news! Take Care, Diane” From Diane:
“Hi Yvonne, Her due date is June 20th, so we have about 4 weeks to go. She already has a good size belly! Talk Soon! Diane” From Diane:
"Hi Yvonne, Just wanted to let you know that your check arrived today. Thank-you very much. I will keep you updated on our progress here, but feel free to check in anytime. Have a great day! Diane” Over the last couple of days much has happened. Diane has sent us updated photos of both Saggio and Alondra, their pedigrees, the show puppy sales contract and right of possession document. We have asked her a ton of questions – all with perfect responses – sent her a deposit for the first pick of the litter assuming there is a show quality blue male in the litter – we sent her the signed sales contract and right of possession. In a few weeks, we will know if this litter was the right one for us! YAY! Saggio’s (Daddy) pedigree + recent photos of him: Alondra’s (Mommy) pedigree + recent photos of her:
“Hi Yvonne,
It was nice hearing from you again and I certainly hope everything works out for you with one of my babies! I feel confident you would provide a wonderful home. Have a wonderful day! Diane” It’s been almost a year of communication with Diane and the right pup for us hasn’t come along yet. We sent her an email today to find out if some of her planned litters for this time of the year will likely produce what we are looking for… We ended up having a phone conversation that confirmed exactly what we have been waiting to hear from her -> she has a confirmed litter due June 5th. The daddy is her Supreme Grand Champion Saggio and the mom is her Grand Champion Alondra – both are blue – and the vet thinks it’s going to be a big litter! She is pretty positive the litter will have many blue pups in it! She has deposits on puppies already, but apparently not specifically for show quality puppies. We may be in luck!
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YVONNE
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