Stage Beauty

I've gotten several messages letting me know that my website is down. I am aware of this but thank you for your concern. I got stuck in the domain host/account name/password/email/expiry Vortex of Hell when my domain expired and since I decided that I wanted to simplify my website anyway, I though I'd just start fresh. Once she is up and running, which should be later today, I'll post the new address and we can ooh and aah over my shiny new digs.

Every litter has a bit of a favorite, in this one mine is Miss Purple. I'm not sure why, possibly because her ribbon is the same color that Cora's was or maybe because she already has personality even at only a few days old. No matter what is happening she seems to be front and centre or doing something ridiculously adorable.

I managed to catch her snuggling briefly with her mom. Leeloo spends most of her time like this - in a sort of semi-comatose state - and the puppies are free to nurse or sleep or cuddle as they wish. Everyone is getting nice and plump and now that they are about 5 days old they are approaching the 2 pound mark. Once we get to a week or 10 days I will breathe a little easier but because these puppies were born already quite large they don't have as far to go, size-wise anyway, to be uncomfortable for Momma to accidentally lie on.

That is, except, Mini. Little Mini who continues to gain and thrive despite her size. She is always the first one at the snack bar, probably because her lighter frame means she can move faster. I have no doubt she will be the first to walk, the first to run, the first to escape ... She is usually underneath everyone while they scramble for the upper most faucets but she knows to wiggle underneath and have free choice of the bottom row. If you disregard the size of the two puppies, and only consider the body condition, you can tell each one is fat, full and healthy. When questioned why I wouldn't just supplement her anyway my answer is why would I when she is doing fine on her own? Mini isn't suffering, she's not struggling, she's not in any more danger of fading than any of the other puppies. She's just small and that's okay. Unless or until I, with my experienced eye, sees a change in Mini's growth or development, I will let her do what she knows how to do best, eat and sleep and grow at her own pace.