My dog Eden

A few years ago I read a book called One with All Life by James Allen Booth. A wonderful little book, a true story about a man's journey into a new and profound relationship with all animals. Through his dog, he learned the art of communicating with animals. I was extremely moved by this little book and I highly recommend it to any animal lover - you'll never see your animals in the same way. Since reading that book, my dog of 17 years, Hamlet, a Golden Retriever, had died and we acquired a new dog - Jack. Some of you have read my articles about Jack. Jack is a Catahoula Leopard dog who has since moved out with my son and his fiancée.

Then as if we didn't have enough animals in our home: 1 dog, 4 cats, a fish tank and 4 family members, we went out and adopted Eden, the current love of my life. Eden is a half Rottweiler, half Sheppard, she is sweet and playful and my loyal companion.

Well, then came along my eldest son moving back into my home and he brought his boxer, Soco. YIKES.Yes, we are back to two large dogs, 4 cats, a fish tank but only 3 family members. The difference this time around is my eldest son's dog, Soco was never FIXED - you can see where this is going.

Back in January my Eden and his Soco mated - how can I be sure? On Tuesday, March 16th, she gave birth to 5 - yes 5 puppies - AND SHE GAVE BIRTH TO THEM ALL RIGHT ON MY BED.
Must be an act of love or familiarity or something - I had a cat do the same thing once about 25 years ago.

Yesterday morning while my son, Michael, was checking on them he discovered that one of the pups was deceased. I think Eden accidently laid on him and suffocated him. I'm told that this is quite common with dogs. All upset, Michael, came downstairs to give me the news and I suddenly had to be the strong one. Wow, how did this happen? I had to remain calm, go in, remove the pup while watching Eden be very upset and confused and remove him from the pack. Michael has since been buried this little one in the back yard next to our golden and one of eldest cats who passed some years ago.

Last night, I slept with one ear listening all night for fear of losing another one. Did you know that sometimes these pups sound just like little babies whimpering - as you can imagine - it wasn't a good night sleep. But we did wake up with all pups alive and well. Eden is starting to get her energy back and seems quite proud and enthusiastic about her accomplishment. I wonder: did she know what was coming? Has she already let go of the little one that passed? Her instincts are marvelous; I am in awe of how much she knows to care for them.

A few weeks from now, we will have to take them from her one pup at a time and give them away. How would you feel if your children were being distributing to others? I am blessed to have this experience and will stay very close to her throughout the balance of this experience. In case you are wondering, we will get her "fixed" now.

Blessings to you,
Michelle