It's a dog's life...

 Monday saw us heading off to the vet with Danie and Laila.  As her time to deliver her puppies draws nearer, we have become eager to know how many puppies she's expecting.  At least, when she actually starts popping them out, we'll know when we she's finished.  Laila is usually a very active, very strong and healthy dog and it's quite funny have seen her getting sluggish as her pregnancy's worn on.  Danie used to take her for regular 5km runs and she is fit and strong.  Very strong.  There's no ways that I can manage her on a lead on my own.  I tried it once on the beach and it was hard work.  She took me for a walk.

I took these pictures at Danie's house on Sunday afternoon.  We've had a ton of rain this winter and we were all just relishing in a little sunshine.  It actually got quite hot sitting indoors.  Laila was so lazy, she couldn't keep her eyes open for me.

 Laila!  Oh, there you go, hello pretty mommy...

 But seriously, if you were this "fat" you'd be exhausted too.  And I'm sure she's well aware that she needs to get her sleep while she can!

 So, back to the vet. You'll have to look very carefully at these next few pictures - I'm not much good in low light situations.  We first had a proper ultrasound done, where we could see the puppies hearts beating.  For those of you who've had kids already, you'll know that an ultrasound can be quite confusing at times.  Imagine it with a whole bunch of little things inside there and you have no clue where to focus.  The vet did the next best thing and took an X-ray of Laila's belly.  He popped it into the light box and began a head count.  Then a spine count.  Initially, he told Danie it was a small litter, probably only 4 pups, now he's confirmed 7!!  Oh my.  Least if there are lots of puppies, they'll be small and easier for Laila to deliver.

You'll have to use your imagination a little with these pictures and since I can't physically point the puppies out to you, it's a little more tricky.  Laila's head is on the left of the pictures and if you look at the bottom, you'll be able to see the spines of a couple of pups quite clearly.  Towards her tail end, there's a section that looks like it's bending in and is slightly darker - just above that and to the right are two little heads...

 The vet very kindly numbered each head and each corresponding spine, so that we could see what was what.  It's kinda confusing with so many little bodies to look at... 

 This one's probably the clearest of the 2 puppies I mentioned closer to her tail end.  Can you see them?  OK, is it just me, or is this just about one of the cutest things you've ever seen?  I am very anxious for these little beings to arrive now.  I want them to be safe.  I want Laila to be safe.  I cannot wait to share the moment with Danie and Jake.  Jake is beyond excited, he wants to visit them every day, he tells me...

For us in SA, there's a public holiday tomorrow.  I've taken Friday off as Jake's school is closed, so we're looking for a nice long weekend and hopefully the puppies will come sooner rather than later, so that we can enjoy them a bit before next week.  And hopefully I'll have some photos (if permitted) to share with you.

Take care and see you next week!

Sue X