Tierra the wonderdog

[Photo: Tierra and her brood of eight - less than 8 hours old] 

Readers of this blog (all three of you, plus my mother) will remember Tierra, the kayaking wonderdog who was stolen and rescued by accident (click here to read that story). For those who are new to Tierra, she is a labradoodle who has some of the best doggie adventures as part of the mis-adventures of her owner Trudy, including kayaking to town and back everyday--although I am not sure if this is classified as an adventure, it being a daily activity.

[Photo: Tierra and her many foster parents]

Tierra has always LOVED little toys that squeek. To Trudy, this was an indication that Tierra was destined to be a mother, so a date was arranged with a distinguished poodle. At a party at Trudy's, three of her close friends wondered about this pregnancy and knowing Trudy, we just KNEW that something would go awry. The question was what. A sense of joint ownership of Tierra made us try to predict and prevent any possible hiccups in this process. The question was raised 'how long is a dog pregnancy?'. Page 25 of a convenient doggy breeding book told us....' the average dog pregnancy is 63 days, although they can be anywhere between 58 and 68 days.' I looked at Denise and laughingly suggested that Trudy would probably be away at the critical moment. When Denise mentioned it was a distinct possibility as Trudy was going to be on a boat in the Queen Charlottes sometime in May, we knew this was the hiccup. Trudy, passing by with a tray of cheese and crackers pooh-poohed that suggestion. She would be home on day 61 a few days ahead of the due date and Ian would care for Tierra until she got home. I looked at Denise and Denise looked at me and we knew!

Today is day 58 and look at these beautiful puppies. They are perfect all eight of them! Trudy, as far as we know is somewhere off the coast out of cell and email range.