Life is what happens when you're busy making plans. 

Life happened on Friday the 13th. Pippi went into labor around 3:00 am (or that's when I woke up). She delivered 5 plump puppies that morning. The same morning I was scheduled to drive to Moncton to pick up a litter of 11 puppies for the shelter side of my life. There were more twists than an Oh Henry story that day, suffice to say it was after 11:00pm before I got back home. 

The new litter turned into 9, then 8. What started at 16 was dwindling. The pups aren't thriving. They are struggling with the best attitude. They are underweight and their poops are not solid. 5 passed before I got there, one was kept, one was sold at 4 ish weeks old. One passed here, the first night. 

When worlds collide what often happens is a bigger world. I'm working diligently to avoid this colliding. The shelter pups have parasites that I am treating (with little noticeable progress). Where the shelter pups came from, coccidia, parvo, hookwork, round and tape are all pretty common. I've started at the start with roundworm meds. Now on coccidia meds. Next will be hookworm. They are kept away from Pip's babies for many reasons. 

I cannot help but compare this litter to Pippi's. Pippi who has a loving home that cares for her vet needs. Feeds good food. Has access to clean water. Loved. 

Pip's babies are thriving, I'm supporting Pip. The babies are well on their way to doubling their birth weight and are such content babies. They are strong and becoming more mobile daily.  Momma keeps them warm and fed and clean. They are taking their ENS, ESI and Motion Sickness training with ease. 

Stress, in itself isn't a bad thing. It's where growth and confidence and a sense of optimism comes from, Pip's babies get a little stressed by the protocols. Fair. They are meant to induce some stress. They recover though, and have puppy dreams. 

The shelter litter are under a different stress. They are not dreaming and they are not yet thriving. They will, it just takes longer. 

One facet of my life has healthy, fat babies. The other side has struggling, underweight babies. 

The Shelter babies were and Oops, Pip's have been in the making for 2 years. 

Shelter babies Mom has had no vaccines. Pip is completely vaccinated. Pippi's baby's already have a big head start and they aren't even a week old. 

A similar scenario plays out with human babies. Those who are planned and born to healthy, loving homes v/s those who were unplanned and have parents struggling to provide and shift gears.

"You know where it ends, yo, it usually depends on where you start" Everlast

Properly bred pups simply have better starts. Better quality food. Better experiences. Less negative stress.