My wife has a gift for finding strays around our neighborhood. About a month ago she found a little dog on the canal walk that was thoroughly covered with oil, ticks and dirt. Anne was able to get the dog to come to her and the rest is history. After about ten baths, de-oiling and doing major tick removal Rosita became part of the Bennett Zoo.
I was taken back after our rescue of Rosita that she obviously had bad experiences with men and thus didn't respond to my tlc at all. It took about a week of bribing her that she would even come to close to me. During the first couple of weeks of Rosita's new life with the Bennett's it became apparent that she was going to produce our first 'grandkids'. We finally got around to taking her to our local vet to discover she was only days away from giving birth.
Anne had done her homework through her internet study to see first hand the practical how to's of helping Rosita have a successful first liter. We had the dog kennel and various supplies ready for the welcome birth of puppies. We had gotten first hand instructions from some of our Hispanic friends who are experts with Chihuahuas. Anne was truly ready for the birth process but had some fears about what if something doesn't go right.
Saturday night around 8:30pm Rosita disappears upstairs to have her puppies under our bed. Jon, our son, who usually shows little interest in the pets, is the one to notice Rosita's move to the upstairs. Anne just catches Rosita as the first puppy comes into the world. It was a little scary at first knowing what to do. Anne quickly took the membrane off the little puppy and I got the scissors to cut her umbilical cord. The little puppy was breathing and ALIVE and we were grandparents. After the first birth we quickly became seasoned experts with the next three. Our daughter Heather and her husband quickly drove over to see the puppies.
Birth is such an amazing experience to see the frailty of these little puppies who are totally dependent upon us and their mom. It wasn't too long before their little tummies were full of milk or as Anne would say rich cream and sound asleep that we were ready for bed around midnight.
The sad thing the following night was that after church a few of our kids found two little kitties that had been abandoned in trash cans. After looking at these little kitties it was obvious that they were left to die. The smell was so bad that it was difficult even taking these little ones in the car. We struggled with what to do, clean them up and try to save them or take them to the Animal Hospital to have them put down. It was with lots of tears that Anne took them to the Animal Hospital where she found very caring help with these abandoned kitties.
Life and death can be so overwhelming. The joy that comes from the birth of a new born can be overshadowed by the illness or death of a grandparent. I know that the kids who discovered the kitties were confused as to why anyone who do this. I don't have an answer for that but know that God wants us to love life, be responsible for life and do the difficult things.
I want to thank my wife who isn't afraid to jump in to make a difference in the life of a little dog, cat or kid.
dave
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