Peanut was the daddy, and he is a
pound smaller, 3 pounds 4 ounces, than Callie, 4 pounds 8 ounces. But it didn’t seem to matter, her two puppies were very large, especially for her little frame. I don’t think they are going to be large Chihuahuas, it’s just that when they were born, they were larger than we were used to. As a matter of fact, her little girl probably wont be more than 3 pounds, I think. We do hear from her parents from time to time, and she is still pretty small, so I guess we’ll see what happens. 
Things started out easy enough, and pretty much on par with what we are used to. Callie didn’t eat at all that day, which is normal. She got this forlorn look in her eyes, and started “preparing” the couch. She doesn’t look very big in this picture, but by the time she gave birth, her little belly looked as if she was carrying four or five puppies. When she started scratching the blankets up and laying ON TOP of them, we knew it was time. We had already set up a birthing kennel, so we moved her over there. 
Now Callie is an independent minded, read spoiled rotten, little thing. A Momma’s baby from head to toe, capable of bending her Mothers whim with a simple glance of those precious brown eye’s. Of course I’m totally immune to this, yeah right I’m just as much of a push over as Blinda. Callie was going to have none of this birthing kennel thing. Her spot is on the couch beside Momma, and she knows it. She fought us, resisting the kennel, a first for her, and insisting on staying where she was most comfortable. Of course being Callie, we had to sit, one on either side of her for the duration, she’s such a needy child. 
She really did have a difficult delivery, we were very, very, worried. In the end, I had to kind of move things around a little so the babies would pass through he birth canal. I noticed that the babies seemed to be pushing on the upper side of her vagina, and I had to pull it up a little so the first one could slip out. After that, it was no time until the other little tyke was born. As these things seem to go, the biggest was born first. A little boy weighing in at a whopping 8 ounces. The second was a little girl at 6 ounces. There was no doubt they were Peanuts babies, both of them had the exact same markings as him, and his ears and head. 
We were able to move her to “her” kennel when all was said and done. She just was not going to have anything to do with that birthing kennel. Callie was an exceptional mother. She seemed to never want to leave her babies side. Blinda had to physically take her outside, being sure to shut the doggy door so she couldn’t rush back in. This went on for nearly a full month, it was pretty funny, now that I look back on it. Callie even ended up taking in two other puppies when we lost Sable, a story I will get into at a later date, very tragic and hard for me to talk about. 
I almost thought we were going to end up keeping Callie’s little girl. Not because no one was interested, everyone wanted her, she was so small. She was just had the most outgoing, sweetest personality we have ever seen. Blinda became so very attached to her, when she finally did head off to her fur-ever home, Blinda cried for hours. That is one of the hardest things about breading, the letting go when it’s time. She was forever holding her, and calling her Itty Bitty or Tiny Girl. The little boy was a tad more “boisterous”, and was always play rough with Itty Bitty. She held her own though, and would keep the others in their place. 
I had promised to mention a surprise puppy. During the time we were letting Callie out in the first month, we had to lock all the other dogs up in their kennels, or Callie simply would not come out at all. She was just so protective. One night, we were letting Callie have the run of the house, to stretch her little legs. All the dogs were in their respective kennels, taking a nap. All of a sudden there was a commotion of activity, and the every one of them started barking. A different bark than normal. We went to see what was going on, and low and behold, Tia had given birth to a single baby boy. Teco was sleeping with Tia at the time, and when we found them, he was as far away from Tia and that funny looking little thing as possible. I think if he could have squeezed through the kennel bars, he would have happily. 
We had just that evening laughed and commented that Tia must be having sympathetic pregnancies syndrome. Her teats were swollen and she acted pregnant, but was not big at all. Little Tia had been segregated when she came into heat the last time, because we were trying to skip this cycle. Little did we know Peanut snuck a little time with her before we caught on. Yes it was with out a doubt Peanuts offspring. A little, solid white long hair boy. who became the plumpest Chi baby we have ever had. Tia had also taken in two of Sable’s Babies afterward, and later Annie's runt because her other babies were not letting it get enough milk. We called him Weebles, as in Weebles Wobble but don’t fall.
Junior Boy has become a permanent part of the family, as I told you about earlier. This is the first time we have actually kept one of our pups, even as tempting as it’s been over the years. The only thing I can say, is that Blinda did it to herself, LOL. Once all of Junior’s brothers and sisters had been sent off to their fur-ever homes, she began showering the cute little boy with tons of loving attention. At the time I was unfortunately working out of town a lot, and not home very often. Naturally the boy bonded rather solidly with Blinda, to the point that he is pretty uncomfortable with any other human.
He is rather like his dad Peanut, and has some personality traits of his mother, Tia Marie. He has a knack for watching me through the corner of his eyes, almost as if he doesn’t trust me. It’s really pretty funny to watch, because he gets this funny expression on his face, and won’t make direct eye contact when he’s doing it, never letting Blinda out of his sight at the same time. He loves nothing more than laying on Blinda’s lap and getting loved on. Of course many times he has to situate himself as high on her chest or shoulder as possible, head resting comfortably against her neck.
He has grown into a very impressive young dog, with a muscular physic, and proper proud stance. Unfortunately he seems to be a little camera shy, and won’t let us get a picture of him while in this magnificent stance. So unlike his mother Tia, who would prefer to be in front of the camera lens if for no other reason than she is the center of attention. However, he is very much like Tia in the fact that he must have as much loving attention as possible.
Junior Boy also formed a very loving relationship with Mai Tai the Bengal Snow Leopard. I am not really sure why this happened, but for some reason Mai Tai was more comfortable with this group of puppies that he has been before. Unfortunately, since Junior has grown up, Mai Tai has returned to his old aggressively hermit-tized habits, and no longer allows the attention of the little boy. They now play only occasionally, and usually under a closed door from opposite sides.
It’s alright though because Junior has plenty of other playmates he enjoys chasing around and wrestling with. He has a particular affection toward Roxanne and Babe, and can be seen chasing them around the yard on any clear, nice day. He also likes Annie, but she is not very appreciative of the attention, preferring to exert her queen of the house status and keep him in his place, worshiping at her feet. Junior also plays with his father, Peanut, but not nearly as much as with Teco and Meeka. They all love to chase him through the house and around the coffee table because he is so fast.
So that is our little white Prince of Hearts, a very loving and affectionate Chihuahua. A true joy to have around, and a wonderful addition to our family.
Next week, I’ll start some updates on the last three litters, including a surprise puppy that made an interesting appearance at our household.
Just yesterday, Frankie, Linguini, and I were passed out on the lawn taking in every ray of the sun in anticipation of a rather stormy weekend when M (think James Bond), decided to join us. She got her supplies (coffee cup and camera) and came outside. Aaaah, she stretched and smiled at us. But then her expression changed and she startled us all by jumping up and down, spilling her coffee, and yelling, "AHA! I finally figured it out!" Huh? We all stared at her clueless and annoyed by the interruption, plus she was being disruptive.
I apologize for the dirty post, but I felt it was necessary. I was hoping it might be helpful to some of--especially if you have access to citrus fruit.
Twink!
The neighbor saw her as she was trying to warm herself on the pool deck and called my folks. Megan Marie darted back under the shed but came out when my Mom got own and called her.
She was stinky but in good health and spirits. My parents are so relieved.
When searching for your lost dog, you need to consider widening the distance in blocks (or miles) you will search for your animal. This tiny Chihuahua was about a quarter mile from my parents and roamed even further, based on sightings by neighbors.
I made a flyer for my parents, using the triptych collage photo featured in the previous post about this dog. My folks submitted the flyer to their neighborhood association website, which featured it prominently on the site's front page, with the header "Have You Seen This Dog?"
I encouraged my folks to talk to EVERYONE in their neighborhood, and to give them the flyer. My folks received word about sightings of the dog within hours and the man who found her had seen the flyer, plus talked to my Dad the day Megan Marie got lost.
Not all "lost dog" stories have happy endings, but I'm sure glad this one did!
