At around 1:30 I heard the unmistakable cry of a newborn puppy and found that Bianca had quietly and secretly settled herself on the comforter in Ochie’s kennel and had given birth to her first puppy. Quickly I pulled out the birthing equipment, stationed it in the living room where there would be plenty of room and placed mama and baby in the birthing tub. With a gentle push, Bianca birthed puppy #2…another boy…and by around 4:00 she had added five more for a total of seven beautiful puppies…three boys and four girls.>

I realize that the old saying about “the miracle of birth” is just that…old and trite. But if those words are stale and over-used, I am feeling compelled to find others that I can use to tell you about the emotional “high” I attained by watching this amazing process. I have watched piglets, lambs, calves, puppies, kittens and human babies being born on many occasions, but that does not blunt the sharp awe and excitement I again felt as Bianca’s puppies were born one after the other.

An easy push brought the emergence of a glistening sac with a puppy secreted away inside; a quick bite and tear of the membranes from her teeth ruptured the sac and suddenly a new life was released into the room where only a moment age there had been one fewer creature. When it was all over, Bianca and I were both exhausted!

At birth, each of Bianca’s puppies was given a name and a color-coded yarn necklace, photographed, weighed and measured. They ranged in size from a couple of blocky little fellows to a tiny and fragile little girl, the runt I suppose. While the other puppies eagerly cuddled up to mom for warmth and dinner, this tiny one always wandered to the cool sides of the box and seemed to lack the vigor the others had. In spite of my best attempts, little Colette did not live and sadly I had to bury her tiny body this morning among the flowers in my yard. The remaining puppies are vigorous and healthy and are singing beautiful “puppy music” as I sit at my desk writing.

And now, a little about the names we chose for the puppies: Because this is Rosewood’s C Litter, we of course chose C names. But not just any old names would do! Because Kooikers are such special dogs we wanted to pick names that reflect their uniqueness and their regal appearance, and where else better to obtain such names than in ancient history? As you view each puppy picture you will see that I have given a short description of the name in history and that I have also included links that will allow you to read more about each one.