Day Three of 10+10+9 & Me

Mary-Ann Sontag March 12, 2021

Daisy and the Moonshadows are easy peasy. Daisy happily sleeps with her puppies at night, keeping them fed and clean (and quiet).

Claire cannot sleep with her puppies because of her knees and the brace — even under supervision those miscreant puppies chew the custom-made brace.

Aunt Pozy is in there — can you find her?

And that explains why I have been up since 3:30 a.m. The Bright Stars wanted their mama — NOW! And someone had an exploding poop situation, and puppies are not especially careful where they walk.

It was a Hot Mess.

Luckily, I am a morning person and so I am pretty unflappable early in the day. If this had happened at 9 pm, the story would be less cheerful, and likely involve bad words and tears.

But at 3:30 am? Not a problem. Clean up was accomplished as puppies nursed — all’s well that ends well.

But who can go back to sleep after all that? Not me.

The advantage to being with the puppies all day is that I am right here to clean up — without the Night Nanny, this is no longer true at night. Darn it.

That said, even during the day it is difficult to get to the issue needing to be cleaned up with ten puppies trying to attach to your pant leg. It is like trying to walk through puppy quick sand…

You detached one puppy and two others lock on in the meantime.

Because I am now a source of food, the puppies cannot be fooled if I try to sneak up on them. They are clever, these puppies, and gang up on me whenever they get the chance.

That is what puppies do — bite, chomp, poop, walk in it, jump on you with poopy paws, chomp, bite, repeat.

Isn’t it just awesome? Seriously. How wonderful and amazing that I get to do this. I can say that — and mean it — because it is still morning.

Have a magical day.

Evening Photos

I got the Pandemic Puppy Yard set up today. It was too cool for the Moonshadows but the Bright Stars had fun…

Being Adaptable

Mary-Ann Sontag March 11, 2021

Night Two of 10+10+9 and Me offered insight about what will be different now that the Night Shift is off on a walkabout/camping adventure: Sleep.

Not more — definitely less.

What is there more of? Laundry.

I have accepted these things: 1) I will never be caught up with laundry; and, 2) it is okay if laundry is not folded. After all, we just unfold it anyway.

Raising a litter well forces me to accept things I normally would find unacceptable.

It is not unlike what we should all do in a pandemic — given the increased demands of Pandemic Life, what unacceptable things must we now accept in order to stay afloat?

Looking at a situation realistically, and changing our expectations so we can be okay in a new reality, is being adaptable — an important adulting skill.

Puppies require adaptable humans. People who like things “just so” are not great homes for puppies — or humans, for that matter. A puppy — like Life — is messy.

We all do better when we adapt rather than try to make a puppy, a human, or Life change to meet our needs. Only puppies and small humans get to be that egocentric.

And kittens — they can be egocentric as well.

And so I sleep less, fold less laundry, and put up with a house that appears to have been ransacked.

I prioritize my own mental/physical health, my job, and the 10+10+9 — not necessarily always in that order but those are the balls I (mostly) keep in the air. I try hard not to stress about the dropped balls — they can be picked up later. Or chewed on.

Something as big and demanding as a pandemic — or as small and demanding as a puppy — cannot just be plunked into the middle of our lives with the expectation that all will proceed as normal. That is magical thinking.

And so to those awaiting Moonshadows and Bright Stars — get ready to be especially adaptable.

Explore what can be dialed back in order to create space for the needs of a puppy. I assure you — those needs will not always be congruent with your own.

Also, stock up on band-aids.

The Moonshadows have the play room to themselves from 7 pm to about 7 am, and then the Bright Stars take over. Chaos ensues…

Have a responsible day!

Evening Photo

This sums up the day quite nicely: Wild…

29 and Me

Mary-Ann Sontag March 10, 2021

The Moonshadows have emerged from baby puppyhood and are now firmly in the puppy stage of constant interaction with their external world.

In fact, I looked over at the Bright Stars and noticed that someone shrunk!

Nope — just an escapee from the Moonshadow side of the Fun House.

In fact, there were three who decided to join the big kids for a bit. Because of the size differences between the litters, I do not let them play together but everyone was already tired and so it seemed safe for them to have some time together. A week makes such a difference at these ages.

Big T on the slide. Like his siblings, Big T is always so happy and friendly…

This is Moonshadow Arche.

Because the Moonshadows are the M Litter, all of the puppies will have a registered name that starts like this: Kaibab Moonshadow ______________ (fill in the blank). Homes may call them by any name but the registered name will keep the theme since it starts with an M, and it is both cute and meaningful.

Moonshadow Buck…

Dear Husband left yesterday for his camping adventure in northern Arizona and so it is now just me and 29 animals. Isn’t that wild to say?! Twenty-nine animals — and me.

So far, so good.

This is Orion…

…and Zaniah…

…and Claire, who is now eating from a bowl 95% of the time! Yay Claire!

Thank you to those who send wonderful gifts and messages — you know who you are. The uplifts you provide through tiny cupcakes and donuts (toys and the real deal) and stained glass and puppy toys and emails and texts and etc. — well, words do not do my gratitude justice.

It may be just me and 29 animals but I know I am not alone. Thank you.

This is a toy I bought for the puppies, and I thought you would like to watch the Bright Stars’ reactions as they engage with it for the first time.

Have a fun day!

Evening Report

Friends are so helpful. It isn’t 29 and me — it is 10+10+9 and me. That sounds SO much more doable. Thanks, Toby!

I took each of the Bright Stars outside on individual walks to reinforce following me, practice trotting for the upcoming evaluations, and also to expose them to the big wide world without the benefit of siblings. It went well but I only took the camera for the last puppy, which was Capella.