Puppies start their next important phase

The pups left us this morning and life is returning to normal.

When I look back on the last 6 weeks, I can hardly believe how quickly it has gone. 6 weeks and 2 days ago, I was watching life coming into the world. that in itself is a very special experience.

Now 6 weeks and 2 days later I watched the pups being driven away to Guide Dog kennels where they will be vet checked and microchipped before making their journeys to the puppywalkers on Thursday.

I feel such a rollercoaster of emotions as always. I’m so sad to see them go. I’ve devoted 6 weeks of my life to caring for them. And I say devoted because caring for young pups is not a job you can do half heartedly. It’s a job that uses up every physical and emotional ounce of strength I have to give. You can see from previous blog posts what is involved in this process. It’s one of the most rewarding things I do every year and I’ve given my all.

I’ve had moments where I’ve sat just watching them sleep, moments where they have all been jumping on me and biting me and I’ve been laughing out loud and moments where I feel as though I can’t cope (usually 10pm at night or 6am in the morning when they escape!)

So now I listen to the silence in the house where once there was barking and squealing (if I ignored the barking!) and my kitchen looks like a kitchen again instead of a dog breeding centre. The floor is mopped, vet beds and toys are being washed and all the puppy stuff is being packed away for another year.

It’s incredible to watch how quickly they grow, how their personalities are formed by day 2 and develop further over the 6 weeks. I know each pup by name (and some of them by smell much to the horror of my friend Shaun!)

I know their personalities, what they like, what they don’t. I know which one wakes first and which one goes to sleep last. I know which one likes to help with cleaning up and which one likes to bite my nose and which one likes to chew my shoes. I know the fastest eater and the slowest and the ones who like to swap bowls half way through!

This morning, I allowed Blade to play in the lounge with his mum. It was fun watching them together. As soon as I put him back, he barked and squealed for about 15 minutes. I know that they need one to one attention now so it was time for them to go. It’s time for them to enter their new phase of being puppywalked, where they will get even more attention and even more love than I can give because it’s hard to give them the attention they need when there are seven of them.

My body is aching all over and I’m physically exhausted.

I know I’ve done my best. I’ve given everything I have. I’ve given them the best possible start and now it’s time to devote some attention to Pepsi and Gracie.

As soon as the pups had gone this morning, I picked Gracie up from a friend’s house, brought her home and then took her and Pepsi out for a walk. They were really pleased to see each other again and Pepsi was really happy to be out walking again.

So life is returning to normal and the barking and squealing will start to fade and become a memory.

Good luck to Amy, Blade, Ashleigh, Arthur, Angus, Marden and Beacon. You all have a piece of my heart. And good luck to their puppywalkers whose hard work begins now.

Thanks for reading, for sharing in the joys, the heartache, for laughing. Thanks to those who came and visited and helped give the puppies such a good start by socialising them and getting them used to different people. You are all an essential part of providing blind and partially sighted people with their future. That’s what makes this all so worthwhile.

Jude. x

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