It was only a matter of time

"Why doesn't Gracie ever have puppies?"

What a great question. And it requires not only some background, but also merits a real in-depth analysis.

First off, for those who do not know, Gracie is our 6 1/2 year-old Labrador female. She came to us as a puppy, when Zoe was around 6 years old, and they were quite good friends up to the end of Zoe's life. Since Zoe has left, Gracie has been a bit more nervous, and at times, a bit less happy. For the most part, however, Gracie is a wonderful dog.

For both Zoe and Nike before her, we made the choice to have them spayed as young dogs (less than eight months old). Although Zoe would have made an excellent mother (and often stood in for the blogger when the babies were crying... a photo of her trying to nurse a very agitated Emily 11 years ago comes to mind) we always felt it was for the best.

Gracie, however, was quite sick at around 7 months of age, and it took her several months to fully recuperate (it turned out she had eaten a Wisteria pod... HIGHLY poisonous as it turns out and we didn't take note in time). With the help of our excellent veterinarian, she recovered (he came in special on Sundays to give her shots as she got better!).

So, Gracie did not get spayed as was common practice for us. Then life got busier with the actual arrival of Abigail (Gracie had her first heat while we were in England for Abigail's arrival -- much to the shock and consternation of our house-sitter). And then, for some reason, it was hard to organize.

Fast-forward to 2011. February 19th to be exact, when we are sitting around after dinner watching the human girls run around the living room with the canine girl. And Abigail queries, 'Why doesn't Gracie ever have puppies?'

It wasn't just a question about Gracie... because I know from experience that her older sister, Emily, was quite interested in reproduction at this age. Emily was Abigail's current age (5 1/2) when Abigail was born. And the questions (too bad I didn't blog those!)... suffice to say that Emily was quite clearly instructed on ALL aspects of human reproduction at that age, and has since asked some questions for clarification, but she seems to have grasped the essentials from the questions she asked and the answers she received at age 5 1/2.

When Amanda arrived in 2009, Abigail did ask the usual questions about her origin but I noted a distinct lack of understanding, and she seemed almost unable to follow the detailed information we gave her. Apparently, she wasn't ready to hear about the reality -- perhaps we should have expounded on something about cabbage leaves?

Again, fast forward to the present and out came the book about 'how babies are made' and a discussion about how the whole process occurs; additional details about how dogs and humans are quite similar and ultimately explaining that Gracie needed a male dog to help out with conception. As anyone who knows us is aware, males are in short number in our house, particularly those who are of canine origin.

Abigail seemed largely satisfied with this response, but then so was her sister when we provided a first full explanation of the 'birds and bees'. I think it is only a matter of time, as Abigail assimilates this new information for which she was finally ready, that she will continue to ask questions, just as Emily did, for additional clarification.

Stay tuned, faithful reader(s)!