Who would have thought that I would be in a position to not only have a dog but assist my dog to have other little dogs!!!?? They say taste buds change, and they do, but so do 100 other things too! Three years down the line and I can say that we all feel like Coconut is part of our family. Yes, she is insanely spoilt and adamant on getting her own way most of the times, barks and drives us crazy when she can smell food or if she can sense someone outside the house and boy does she love escaping and having us chase her round the neighbourhood. Yes, she is a handful. Saying that, she is our delightful Coconut who, most of the times, makes us very happy.
Timing is a bummer. As soon we went into lockdown, Coconut was ready to mate. I had promised my dear friend Aliki that I would go through with it for her and give her a baby Coconut. My vet thought I had lost my marbles due to the virus but I said I’d do it and I did! So, in a nutshell, my vet and I found her a male, arranged their 2/3 dog-dates and the rest is history. 61 Days later, on the day lockdown was lifted, 21/5, Coconut had her Coconuts! Two male and two female doggies were born.
As soon my light bulb moment of wanting her to mate passed I slowly started to feel a little uneasy as I had no idea how to go about it. After hearing quite a few horror stories from others I just sought solace from my vet. Akis Maratheftis. A gem of a man and doctor. He was by my side throughout and made sure I did the right thing in allowing coconut to give birth in her own environment.
Being around while she was in labour, I witnessed her bring her puppies to the world and I fell in love with her all over again. What a mummy! She was and is amazing. She cleans them, feeds them allows for no crying and that motherly instinct we know so well is innate in animals too.
Now we are plus four and it is such an amazing feeling. Coconut’s puppies are growing by the minute and we love witnessing every new thing they do, every noise they make and every new blanket of fur we see. Akis told me they have to at least stay home with us for 40 days, the ideal he said is 2 months. I rushed to answer that they were to leave on day 4. 0. What was I thinking? I have no idea how I’m going to let them leave at all, and the time has now come!
My fam and I are thoroughly enjoying this new chapter, it turned out to be our lockdown highlight!
