Bwana Kennel

Caine has been the most insistant of hopeful Mothers, We have ever dealt with ! We have had false expectations before but never to this level !  Caine has rummaged through the home finding the stuffed toys she felt most closely represented what her "puppies" would look like a Stuffed yellow lion, a magenta gorilla, a brown pony, and a Sponge Bob. She carried them one at a time from room to room , placing them in her various nests. Then Curling aorund them with a deep sad sigh she would watch over them.

I did not worry overly much about her determination to have this litter until she began to tunnel under the Granny Cottage in the backyard. The first few feet were not alarming it was wwhen she made an acute left turn and vanished under the cottage it's self!  At that point I began to worry constantly.  Her colloars were removed out of fear she might become hung up on plumbing or a root in her tunnel and I began the battle to refill and board the den. It did not seeem to matter how much earth I replaced she would quickly have it flying back into the yard.  Then I used cinder blocks thinking that would stop her determined digging , however she simply went lower and und the 7 blocks put to create what I had thought to be a total impass for her den. Using sections of old ExPen I created blocks to block the cinder blocks  but this merely slowed her down a fraction.

You could tell she thought she would win on the days when she walked in and her breath smelled of freshly turned dirt , her paws covered in dirt and her normally glossy coat dusted with a coating of brownish grey micro particals.  She would smile smugly at me as if to say there is NO way you can get as far in as I did today...she was normally right. 

She would race to greet Bob each time he came in the room with one of her "puppies" in her  mouth.  Wiggling from the tip  of her nose to the end of her tail delighted to show him the pup and how wonderful it was!! He would gently take it from her and praise her deeply .  Heaven help the pack member who tried to take the TOY away to play, that brought the deepest of battle rumbles from her chest and a sudden stillness to her body.  Think of that moment in Matrix when bullets are whizzing past in slow motion as the look of clear determination stays on Neo's face.... Than would be Caine.

Thankfully this hormonal period has an end..... she is slowly forgetting to transport puppies with every room change. She is still very needy with Bob wanting nothing more than to lay with her head in his lap as he strokes away the need to sigh so very deeply.  Her den is nearly abandoned, she runs to the barracade and stares but now it is plain it is no longer worth the effort the redig the giant tunnel in which a full grown Ridgeback Bitch could stand and turn around. At least we are on to her plan for her next season !!