The much anticipated BELLY BUMP has arrived! Every milestone along the way brings a new level of excitement and pulls this journey into reality a touch more. First the heightened clinginess is apparent, for Meiko this isn't a huge change as she is my shadow dog and on my leg already but for me at least, it's noticeable. 'Dancing Peanuts' are confirmed on an ultrasound. Reality of life is very apparent. Then what I call the 'fur flip' happens. Before the belly bump where the fur flips out at the bottom of her coat. Then to the next stage, the BELLY BUMP.
The oh so beautiful curves of the gorgeous growing Meiko mama are no longer hidden from the outside world.
The 'dancing peanuts' on the ultrasound are full pledged happy nuggets in the safety of their bubbles stretching out to say hi to each and every one of their litter mates.
Meiko is doing phenomenal as the days pass. She's been nothing short of the perfect mama. Her previous pups were all so drop dead gorgeous and now as they grow up to be adults, they are turning heads and stopping traffic left and right as they grace our world. They have brought so much joy to families, new love, renewed love and happiness to so many.
I am blessed to still be in touch with so many of these past Meiko/Silas pup families. They have shared so many stories of joy and happiness along with these phenomenal photos of their growing 'babies' from wee perfect fluff balls, to lanky teenagers, all the way to widening beautiful almost adult sized dogs.
Thank you all for sharing these very precious moments with me so I am able to continue sharing what the future will hold for this next 'litter' of families ahead.
This week brought an abundance of windows of sunshine to bask in but it was also filled with moments of snow, hail, wind and flooding rain. Oh the joys of the beginning of spring in WA. A couple of trees fell on the front dog fence in the wind storm making a giant 'stick party' for the dogs. Best party ever! And of course they thought it was created just for them. The party was definitely a massive hit and hours were had chomping on the gift of endless sticks before it was cleaned up. The fence was eventually replaced and the party was cleaned up in between the down pouring windows of rain. Sun basking continued in full force.
Their noses have been up in the air all week with all these shifts in the weather. I know without a doubt they pick up on all these shifts in nature. Their senses are so much greater than ours. For instance, Dogs have approximately 1,700 taste buds. People have between 2,000 –10,000. I think of this as they munch on their party sticks. Tasty?! A dog is able to locate the source of a sound in 6/100th of a second. Did you hear the tree falling before it fell? A dog's sense of smell is legendary, it has 300 million receptors compared with a human nose that has only about 5 million. Do you smell new baby squirrels on their way up in the canopy above? Maybe. Do you smell the type of sauce on the neighbors dinner next door? most certainly. Once all their excessive excitement over their yard additions diminishes and intake of smells blowing in from every corner of the neighborhood has died down, they slump back into their much adored stumps and spools and yawn into the afternoon.
Ever catch yourself yawning in the exact moment your dog is yawning? Yes, Yawning is contagious, even for dogs. According to research, the sound of a human yawn can trigger a responding yawn in dogs. And it’s four times more likely to happen when it’s the yawn of someone they know. The connection is very much undeniable. Studies have shown that having a physical connection to your dog like sitting next to them, petting or scratching their head can lower blood pressure in both the human and the dog by 10%. Not to mention just having them in your presence can lower stress, depression, loneliness and lifts away fear, anxiety and anxiousness. This is only the tip of the ice berg of course in the benefits of having a dog in your life. Adding new meaning, new and different moments of joy, a new reason to get moving, to visit that mountain top you've always dreamt of or that trail you've heard of. That visual that fills that childhood dream of always having a companion by your side. A hip and a hop to make you laugh, a head to comfort your sorrows, a paw to bring you make to earth, a faithfulness like no other and a selflessness like you've never experienced. I personally could go on and on.
Meiko always brings me back to being grounded when I'm up in the clouds. Her lean on my leg or her paw to the back. The connection, a little for her, a whole lot for me. New spools got added to the yard this week for even more levels to bound over.
Nails get trimmed back consistently and coats get combed through with shine spray to glisten their lengthening locks. The fluff on Tonka continues to blow me away as his coat grows in more and more wavy, thick, long and glorious as he matures.
His demeanor also continues to floor me. His balance in everything he does is what catches me so off ground all the time. One moment he's a goofy silly flip floppy boy and the next he's a serious thoughtful deliberately calm presence of energy. Checking in on his girls one at a time with a very deliberate appearance showing up for them in different ways exactly in the way they need. Then he'll do the same thing with me. Coming over weaving through my legs, sitting solidly between my knees, looking up at me asking what he can do for me in this very moment.
My hopes, wishes and dreams are to pass along fur companions even somewhat close to what I have here in my dogs. That's the goal. To fill homes with these souls that search, hearts that so desperately want to heal, happiness that is just waiting to bust out and coat you in their joyous energy. So we sit back and let nature take its course is its perfectly imperfect way. I watch this belly bump grow everyday into this gorgeous figure that Meiko so beautifully carries. Zoomies take place beneath my feet, around my legs and of course through my heart. Each heartbeat from each of these pups on the way I know is going to change lives. Not only of their new owners but of everyone around them. May these little 'Bird' babies grow big, strong and beautiful just like their parents and just like their past brothers and sisters who are so graciously already changing so many lives out in the world.
So grow my little 'Finch' stay safe my little 'Sparrow' can't wait to meet you little 'Raven'. May you all continue to grow beautifully. When you arrive in a few weeks time, may it be safely and soundly and with a bursting flood of happiness for all the families ahead so eagerly waiting for to make your appearance.
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