Puppy love

In a little more than a month, one of these needy little bundles of squeaking activity will be ours.

Wednesday night we made what will be a weekly tradition between now and late July - a visit to the breeder to see the puppies (there are 11 in all). I quickly determined it's basically impossible to take a clear photo with my relatively slow shutter speed iPhone, because the subject matter never stops moving.

We won't get to pick our exact puppy until she's six weeks old. The breeder says there's no point to do so any earlier because of how much they'll be changing. Right now, each weighs just 2 to 3 pounds.

The mama dog had been outside when we first arrived. She had to have welcomed the break from her brood. A little while later, she came inside to let them nurse. Instinct certainly must give her patience. She hopped into the pen and almost instantly 11 puppies made their way over to her, squirming and scratching in a sort of a high stakes game of musical chairs. (The breeder told us Dixie has two fewer nipples than puppies.)

If you look closely in the middle of the photo, you'll see one puppy laying on its back as it nurses, feet sticking up in the air. Whatever works!

AJ, of course, never stopped asking questions. One of which was, "When was Dixie (the mama dog) born?"

The woman did some quick mental calculations. "Let's see. She's six. So, February of 2005."

AJ's face broke out into a hopeful grin. "Is her birthday February 5th?"

The woman couldn't remember, but just knowing the month and year were the same as his was enough. Suddenly he had a pretty cool bond with Dixie.

For me, it was harder than I thought to visit the puppies. How is it possible that one of these tiny little creatures that stumbles around with its eyes barely open will someday develop a personality as awesome as Maggie's?

I remember when I first got my cats - right after an old roommate's cats moved out - I felt a tinge of resentment toward them for the first day or so. They weren't the cats I was familiar with and loved. They had different quirks and habits, and were a lot more work. But we adjusted to each other fairly quickly and soon were inseperable.

I know it will be the same with Molly. Whichever of the puppies she ends up being.