A couple of nights ago during my daily phone call to my friend Joan, my pug Waffles' breeder, she announced to me that her pug Releve's rapid weight gain might be due to something other than food. "I think Releve is pregnant," she said.
Joan wasn't planning for puppies, especially not this week when she has two of her children visiting -- one of whom is already convinced she has too many dogs. But, this is of little importance to Releve, who has swelled to mammoth proportion and looks like she might burst. Tonight, she had already claimed a corner under one of Joan's cabinets to have her puppies and was shredding newspaper in there and warding off the other dogs. She will not have them there. Joan has a nice clean whelping box ready for her away from the commotion of the rest of the pugs, but so far Releve keeps escaping her fashionable new digs in favor of her do-it-yourself condo. It will be interesting to see who wins out.
Releve, who happens to be mom to my pug Waffles, has another daughter Griffles who gave birth last July. Tonight we visited our friends the Damitzes, who are up visiting from Massachusetts, to see the offspring of Griffles' son Goofy and the Damitzes' other pug Truffles. They are now seven weeks old and beautiful. They have homes ready for two of the three. Joan already has a friend in mind for one of Releve's new litter and we are placing bets on how many she will have. Looking at her tonight, it is easy to guess high, but Releve was becoming pleasantly plump even before this. I've guessed four, but said I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was five. Seeing puppies born and grew has been among my favorite things at Pugdom, Joan's home.