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Knocked Up Dog

Pinks is pregnant. I don’t know anything ’bout birthin’ dog babies so I’m eyeballing her suspiciously. And where is the father I ask you!

Ahh, the perils of a single dog’s life. One moment of the intense need to continue the dog population and Chez Coma is looking at puppies. Apparently she was knocked up when we got her on New Year’s Day as she sort of showed up and didn’t leave. This happens at my house more than you think. So the commune will go from five dogs to a bunch of dogs.

Garsh.

I know nothing about the pregnancy of canines. So, I had some access to some old papers, I have an old Martha Stewart comforter that I was going to toss anyway and we are battening down the hatches. The vet said there will be at least six puppies in the litter.

Do I boil hot water?

Okay, I read this online. Yes, I got my Google-Fu on about being a mid-wife to a dog. Shut up.

The actual delivery can be anticipated by several means. The first way is to look up the actual due date based upon the breeding dates. Another method is checking the mother’s temperature. The normal temperature of a dog is 101F. Many times, a female will drop to below 100F within twelve to twenty-four hours of delivery. This method will work on the majority of pregnant dogs.

There are other ways to tell if your dog is about to deliver. She will often become restless with a greater need to go out and urinate. Pacing, panting, and digging at the nest are also clues the time is near. One other sign is a discharge from the vagina. This will often start out clear, change to a pale green and then to a dark green. This dark green means there has been placental detachment and puppies are immanent. If your dog has not had any puppies within a couple hours of this discharge’s appearance, contact you veterinarian for assistance.

In most cases, help from the owner is not required.

I like that last sentence.

I can look at car wrecks and dead people all day long but if anything smells like vomit, I’m a support system. You barf, I barf. Yes, I know that is disgusting. No, I don’t apologize for this navel gazing moment. Sending out the bat signal to ChristinaJade for pup advice.

On to other things because I’m getting a bit grossed out.

Hoots has been pretty cool lately although I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop regarding my place of employment. Any, and everyone, who is in my chosen profession is going through these feelings but I’m trying to be proactive.

Now, with that said, I need to learn video a little bit better (ALL RIGHT, A LOT BETTER, once again I tell you to hush) because I have found a guy that I want to tape. He has worked for Goodyear for nearly forty years and breaks down what is happening to long-term employers there better than I’ve ever seen. I could write about him all day long and it just won’t do justice to how he tells his story. I’m starting to realize that I need to do what I can. I’ve thrown my camera and/or mic into people’s faces for years. I am learning that I just need to do that with video but it’s still not natural to me.

My camera is just a 10 megapixel point and shoot and I just don’t think it’s going to get the complete story of this guy. He’s just bigger than life. When he’s talking, I just can’t look away. And I think other folks would feel the same way.

So there is that. And I need to use the video portion of my camera (it’s relatively new) because I need a new computer before I invest in video equipment. I guess if I could splice tape off a reel-to-reel 20 years ago, I can learn this.

Now, I saw Mr. Jimmy yesterday and he has calmed down about the cat head biscuits. Did I tell you he always has a library book in his possession? There is something so very cool about that.

And, of course, this is groovy.