Saturday Critters with Eileen

I hope you don't mind Eileen; this is actually a post about the most important critters on our yard at the moment: Princess' pups. 

 

 
Thanks to everyone who has come along to view the pups and for the kind compliments about them. I passed your congratulations on to Princess and she says thank you very much! She too, is very proud of her beautiful pups! 

In reply to the questions about the paternal influence on the pups: I'm not at all sure. I did hear Michael telling the doctor that he thought the prime "suspect" was a big black dog which had hung around outside the gates at the time of Princess' enticement. 

 The company semi-detached house on the corner

As for the pups having been spoken for yet: well, we - Michael and - are so attached to them already that we have their future worked out in detail. I would like to keep two pups here along with Princess. We can house one pup at the Guest House (over the road from our house) to help Nando, the present guard dog, to protect the property.  There are several expats living in flats and in the Guest House so the pup  would get much attention as does Nando. Michael and I go across to the Guest House regularly, and would keep an eye on the new pup. 

 The distance between our house, the Guest House and the house on the corner, is about 80 meters!

There is also a company semi-detached house on the corner diagonally across from us and the Guest House. There are two gardens separated by a fence and the whole property is newly fenced in. These two gardens would house two pups each.  Every evening Grant and I walk up past this house, and back past it again, once we've done our 3.5km round trip. In the morning, Marita and I walk up past this house, and back past it again once we've done our 6.5km round trip! So I can keep a good eye on the state of these pups. 

I've also been asked if Princess has enough teats for seven pups. She has six teats and as far as I can see, the pups feed in sessions. 

 Three pups feeding while three sleep a little way from mum. (seventh pup was just off-camera) 

On Fridays Michael has a day off; Joshua is his relief. Joshua arrived to find a litter of pups to help with and he took his duties as nursery assistant very seriously. 

 Joshua and I laughed at the different poses the pups take up while not at the milk bar; here he points to one of the pups who was twitching and snuffling in its sleep

Princess eating one of her many bowls of warm milk and chicken-flavored biscuits while the pups drink or lie around near her. Note the same pup I zoomed in on yesterday...

...draped over mum's hind legs! 

I'm linking this post to Saturday Critters with Eileen which you can visit by clicking here

I wish you all a wonderful weekend.