Sometimes life is like that...

If 2020 reminded us of anything, it's that things don't always go the way you hope they will. Just in case I had forgotten, yesterday was chock full of reminders. Describing a painful, disappointing event might be a horrible way to begin a blog...except that blogs can be helpful to discuss those times that take more than a moment or two to describe in order to do them justice.

I guess there's no way for me to dance around what happened. It's one of those things that are inevitable when you raise animals. You get to experience those amazing and wonderful moments that not everyone gets to see, such as birth, but along with it come those times when you lose an animal, or maybe more than one.

We were expecting two litters of puppies in quick succession, and we were delighted! Batik's litter was due first, but not for a little over a week. Nevertheless, she began to show signs of going into labor. Sometimes you can feel their contractions, other times, not. This was a time when I was not able to feel contractions. Just as Ricky and I were discussing whether or not we thought she was truly in labor, Batik gave birth to a stillborn puppy. Most dogs would simply ignore a stillborn pup, but not Batik. She kept cleaning her and keeping her warm. I decided to wait until she delivered another puppy to try to remove the stillborn pup. When I saw that another puppy had arrived, I removed the first one, much to Batik's distress, but she couldn't focus on that, since she had another puppy to tend...except that he was stillborn too. I planned to wait until another puppy was born to remove the second pup, but hours went by. Batik still kept tending the puppy, as if willing him to spring to life. I wished it could happen too. Watching Batik love her little dead pup so dearly was absolutely heartbreaking, but still strangely endearing. There was something so precious about the strength of her love and devotion, even though it was incredibly bittersweet, at best. After many hours had passed, Batik nosed at the puppy, trying to get him to move, then whimpered. She repeated this several times. A few minutes later, as she was busy cleaning herself, I took the opportunity to remove the second puppy. When Batik saw that he was gone, she was a bit frantic and began looking for him. I felt like the worst jerk for having taken him from her, but what else could I do? I had given her a small stuffed puppy at some point before removing the second pup, but she was not fooled. She gave up the search after a few minutes and laid down in defeat. I picked her up and held her close. I think I might have needed it as much as she did.

the remainder of the evening, and much of today, has been spent snuggling with Batik. She seems to be doing much better today. She still seems a bit sad, and hasn't eaten as heartily as normal, but she is okay. If her sadness persists until Dottie's puppies are born, we will offer one of them to Batik to raise.

We have pondered the many possibilities of why it occurred, but the truth is, we can't be completely certain. Sometimes these things just happen. They just do. The fact that this is the first time we have ever lost an entire litter, (small, though it was,) is a testimony to how blessed we truly are. Even after the loss of yesterday, we are so incredibly grateful. Even so, here's hoping the next blog post will be a happy one!

Blessings to All,

Laura