Only a few days until our lives are turned upside down. Stella is due to deliver her load of puppies on March 24, 2009. That is when the real fun (and work and mess) begins. Poor Stella will be thrilled to lighten her ever growing bulk. She has gotten quite large in the last few days and it is getting difficult for her to get up! She waddles around the house, lowers herself to the ground and breaths very deeply. You can in fact hear her breathing from anywhere in the apartment. She still accompanies me on my morning walk, but other than that she is staying close to home. In the evenings when we have the woodstove going, Stella gets overheated and likes to spend hours lying on the deck outside. The cool air must feel good to her.

Tomorrow we are going to try for some spring skiing up the Whiteface Memorial Highway. I do not think we will take Stella with us. Oliver will fly solo on this mission. Later we will take out all of the whelping supplies and setup the BOX. The care of the puppies will take over our day to day lives, so it is only fitting that the whelping box takes over our living room.

We are all wondering exactly what Stella will have in her litter. Only a few more days until the mystery is solved…. Stay tuned!