20 October 2007
we have puppies!
As of 5:18 p.m., we have puppies.
When we got up this morning, Stella was *really* anxious and didn’t know what to do with herself until she plopped in her box and then growled when anyone so much as moved. Oh, and she was panting uncontrollably.
Thank goodness she got up long enough, though, for me to move her box from the kitchen to a more comfortable birthing suite downstairs, out of traffic.
For the next nine hours or so, she panted, paced, and then finally settled in while P and I gave her privacy. The first whimpers came not too long after that.
I’m not sure when she was done delivering, but there was a lot of crying going on down there. I snuck down a few times to peak, but there wasn’t much to see. She’s a good mom and was protecting them accordingly.
Around 10 p.m. the newly skinny Stella decided it was time to walk around a bit and go outside, so she, Luna, and P did so–and I got out the camera.
Here they are! All SIX of them!
The count is: 2 colored like Stella (without the white accents so far), 1 black, 1 white, 1 brown and white (on top), and then the last one who was sleeping ever so cutely underneath that whole pile who is kind of mix of everything.
You can see that one better here:
(click to enlarge to see the colors better)
Please excuse the poor quality of the photos but those little buggers just wouldn’t listen to my pleas to sit still. I guess that’s not surprising since they can’t even hear or see yet.
So Mamma and babies are doing well, as are Zia Luna, Nonna Sognatrice, and Nonno P (if a little taken aback by the number SIX).
And now I’m wondering…anyone want a puppy? And will you come to Calabria to pick it up?
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Technorati Tags: puppies, dogs, birth of puppies
Related posts:
- love thursday: a mamma’s love
- doggies in a box
- puppies in residence
- doggie update
- puppy eyes & puppy sighs
78 beans of wisdom »
stefanie on 20 Oct 2007 at 10:31 pm #
So cute! It cracks me up that you couldn’t even get a clear picture of them because they were wiggling around so much. You’ll have to wait until they fall asleep, I suppose.
Good luck finding homes for all of them! (Sorry I can’t help you out with that.)
Miss Mrs...a blog of everyday delights on 20 Oct 2007 at 10:57 pm #
HaHa, don’t tempt me…I don’t need another excuse to drop everything and fly to Italy….especially for a little puppy! How bout this….
I’ll meet you in Naples, and we’ll go touring Salerno and then I’ll bring home a puppy.
Oh, I better keep on dreaming
Jessica on 20 Oct 2007 at 11:39 pm #
They are adorable! I remember vividly when I was 10, and our cat (ok. slight difference there…) gave birth to 3 kittens. I found it very humbling.
I would take a puppy happily…if only I were nearer.
Kathleen aka Coffee Mom on 20 Oct 2007 at 11:54 pm #
Oh my gosh! So cute!
I wonder how difficult it is to bring a puppy back to Canada from Italy…….?
Vee on 21 Oct 2007 at 12:10 am #
Auguri Nonna !
They are gorgeous. So glad they are all doing well.
Ninotchka on 21 Oct 2007 at 12:18 am #
Oh my goodness. Congratulations! What a happy day. Sniff some puppy breath for me. Wish I could take one! xxoo
Geggie on 21 Oct 2007 at 12:28 am #
Congrats Nonna! I can’t wait to see more pictues.
african vanielje on 21 Oct 2007 at 12:42 am #
Oh well done lla Bella!! Your babies are sooo beautiful. I would love a puppy Sognatrice but I can’t even in my dreams come to Calabria to get one, or keep one here even though I am in the country. My daughter would kill me if she knew I was turning donw these cuties. My guess is you’re gonna find it hard to let them go!
flutter on 21 Oct 2007 at 1:57 am #
Nice work, little girl!
karen on 21 Oct 2007 at 2:17 am #
Congratulations, Nonna! And soooo cute! I wish I was in Calbria (for more reasons that getting a puppy!) because I would definitely be collecting a puppy from you.
Expat Traveler on 21 Oct 2007 at 2:24 am #
how adorable! And congrats. We want one badly but one be getting one any time soon.
Tejase on 21 Oct 2007 at 2:33 am #
Congratulations, Nonna, and happy belated birthday! These 6 little ones have a birthday close to yours.
Enjoy this time. They’re gorgeous little creatures, aren’t they? Are you keeping any of them? I hope so. Your just growing your family!
qualcosa di bello on 21 Oct 2007 at 3:30 am #
i’ll take any excuse to come…
but i am not sure if phil & L. would want a “sister”…
congratulazioni, nonna e stella!! sono molto preziosi!
Roam2Rome on 21 Oct 2007 at 4:50 am #
Ciao Sognatrice!!
I have a new Blog Description for you:
An American girl moves to her family’s ancestral village in southern Italy, falls in love, gets a dog (edit: EIGHT!), writes to her heart’s content, and begins bleeding espresso. No, really.
Yes.. Eight
Yey, congrats!
Life keeps getting better, doesn’t it!
Hehe…
Shan on 21 Oct 2007 at 4:51 am #
Welcome puppies!! They are adorable!
The Passionate Palate on 21 Oct 2007 at 5:31 am #
OMG…how exicing! You guys must have been beside yourselves. I don’t know why they wouldn’t sit still? In no time you will have them trained. Good luck finding homes, eventually…for now, have fun playing nonna.
Gil on 21 Oct 2007 at 7:15 am #
Congrats Nonna!!! Years ago my daughter came home with a cat and it had 5 or 6 kittens. We always had dogs that were fixed even when I was a kid. Therefore, never had the pleasure of puppies.
Mae on 21 Oct 2007 at 7:57 am #
OMG, they are SO CUTE! I wish I could come to Calabria to get one. That would be awesome.
Alas, puppies are not in my future, nor is a trip to Italy… at least not in a time frame where they’d still be puppies!
You just reminded me of when I took Italian, actually. Most of the stuff I said in class was about my dog. LOL.
Mae on 21 Oct 2007 at 7:59 am #
PS. My cat gave birth on my brand-new Martha Stewart sheets. At least Stella didn’t do that!!!
With me sitting right there, I might add. Then she moved to the box I’d gotten ready and put in the closet (because cats are supposed to be private about such matters!).
sognatrice on 21 Oct 2007 at 9:33 am #
Stefanie, I’m hoping that sooner or later they *will* all be sleeping at the same time…just seems like a lot of whimpering right now….
Miss Mrs, that sounds like a great plan to me–they’ll be ready for Christmas
Jessica, I’ve never been around for the birth of kittens, but I imagine it’s just as amazing. Thanks for visiting and commenting!
Kathleen, if you tell them the puppies are half North-American (sort of) maybe it would help?
Vee, thanks! I’m so relieved everything went OK–reading some of the stuff on the Internet really had me worried.
Nino, I promise to sniff puppy breath just as soon as Stella says it’s OK
Geggie, thanks–I’ll do what I can on the photos, but no promises. Stella’s tough
AV, I think you’re right about it being difficult about giving them away. We already have one promised out (assuming at least one of the six are male)…working on the rest, but Stella was good for timing their availability just before Christmas
Flutter, Stella thanks you!
Karen, I wish you were here too–for more reasons than getting a puppy
Expat T, yeah traveling really doesn’t lend itself well to puppies unless of course you get a dog that loves to travel I suppose.
Tejase, I don’t think we’ll be keeping any just because of space issues–I would love one (or more) of course…the more the merrier! If only we lived in a villa in the mountains….
Qualcosa, aw, come on! I think Phil and L would *love* some more company!
Roamer, that’s funny because I specifically said to P last night, “Ma ti rendi conto che in questo momento abbiamo OTTO cani?” Yeah, guess I have some editing to do….
Shan, adorable indeed! I can’t wait to watch them grow!
Jeni, I am so, so excited. It’s so fun to watch Stella be a mommy and I can’t wait until she lets me near them
Gil, thanks! New life is new life I think–always exciting and amazing
Mae, that’s too funny about talking about your dog in Italian; I’m sure that’ll come in handy next time you come to Italy!
And I have to say that Stella was *very* good by going right into her box and doing her thing–no new sheets involved at all (although I had some fears for the nearby couch!).
alyndabear on 21 Oct 2007 at 9:41 am #
I WANT ONE!
*pouts*
Ryan on 21 Oct 2007 at 10:44 am #
I want one so badly….you planning a trip up to Northern Italy anytime soon? I am seriously considering getting one when I get back to America, and if you were closer or it was possible I would take one! Too bad they didnt come a month ago!
Antonino Condorelli on 21 Oct 2007 at 10:52 am #
Congrats for Stella. Very wondefull puppies.
Deb R on 21 Oct 2007 at 1:52 pm #
Aaawwwwww….puppies!! I LOVE puppies!! They are SO cute!
Sabine on 21 Oct 2007 at 2:14 pm #
What an exciting experience, thanks for sharing it with us! I’m afraid I’ll just echo all the others: The puppies are soooo cute (and so is mama)! But I can’t have one of them either… Simba would fight him/her tooth and nail!!
rochambeau on 21 Oct 2007 at 2:27 pm #
How truly exciting!!
I’m glad it all went smoothly for Stella and the pupsters!!
I’m going to say a prayer that each little puppy will find a loving home. One the you will approve of !!
Eryn on 21 Oct 2007 at 3:23 pm #
sooo adorable. that picture of stella at the top is priceless.
so i’m guessing that stella was pregnant when you guys adopted her. how sweet of you!!!!
goodluck with the puppies, i know you’ll find them all very loving homes!
maybe you can name them all after constellations….or something celestial
sognatrice on 21 Oct 2007 at 3:34 pm #
Alyndabear, come on over
Ryan, well they’ll be ready at Christmastime if you’re looking for an excuse to take another trip south
Antonino, thanks…who woulda thought that after holding those puppies at Cherrye and Peppe’s a couple months ago that I’d have some in my own house so soon?
Deb, another puppy lover here! Aren’t they just too adorable?!
Sabine, aw but they’d love each other after just a bit of fighting….
Rochambeau, thank you much–I think we’re going to need it.
Eryn, well we didn’t *know* Stella was PG when we decided to keep her, although we did realize it just a few days later. In fact, now we think that maybe that’s why someone abandoned her to begin with–how horrible!
I don’t know if/when we’ll be naming the puppies or not…it’s in the stars I guess. Hah!
The Other Girl on 21 Oct 2007 at 3:35 pm #
Puppies! What sweeties. Congratulations to all, and give Luna a little extra skritch behind the ears from me, because no matter how much cuteness invades your home, she was adorable first.
sognatrice on 21 Oct 2007 at 3:39 pm #
TheOG, extra petties are definitely in order for Luna…in fact, she’s getting nearly all the lovies around here since Stella is so busy with her new family and all
Christine on 21 Oct 2007 at 4:34 pm #
SO so cute! I’ll take the little brindle one on the top left of the first photo. I don’t know that it would be so fun traveling back to Philadelphia for him/her (shim?) though.
Congratulations!
traveller one on 21 Oct 2007 at 4:48 pm #
Oh can’t you just toss me one across the Adriatic?!?! Pleeeease?
Congrats! They’re all adorable!
nyc/caribbean ragazza on 21 Oct 2007 at 4:50 pm #
awhh, congrats Nonna. They are too cute!!
Maybe Ellen wants a puppy (sorry couldn’t resist).
The (Mis)Adventures of a Single City Chick on 21 Oct 2007 at 6:11 pm #
OMG, so cute!!! I would LOVE to have a puppy, but 1) I’m not flying that far to adopt, and 2) my home is definitely not puppy-proof, especially knowing how long I’d have to leave the poor thing alone during the day. Sigh. So, I’ll just have to keep living vicariously thought you. They are all so cuddly.
Christina
Giulia on 21 Oct 2007 at 6:56 pm #
Weeeeeeeeeeeee, the puppies are here! Good job Stella! Oh and, I think it was due to an excited Nonna taking those photos that caused them to come out blurry. Hard to take a good clear shot if your hands are shaking from excitment!
Jeni on 21 Oct 2007 at 7:01 pm #
Congrats to Mama Stella and Nonna and Nonno and Zia! Heck of a big addition to the family but oh, so doggone cute! If I had the money for the plane fare to Italy, I’d be there when they’re big enough to leave home.
Shelley - At Home in Rome on 21 Oct 2007 at 7:09 pm #
Congratulations! How exciting. I hope you are able to find good homes for all of them, and/or care for all of them, at least in the meantime. It’s a great example to see them not being abandoned like so many people unfortunately do here in Italy.
Rob on 21 Oct 2007 at 7:30 pm #
Aw…bless!
Wow! I had forgotten how amazing it is to witness animals birthing and raising their young. Been years since I have had that priviledge…
Enjoy the weeks that are to follow - they should be filled with a great deal of laughter and a few scares as well (pups being kids and all that), take heaps of pics too.
If you still have dogs going spare in February next year I should be in a position to take one or two (and collect too) but we can talk nearer the time…
Audra on 21 Oct 2007 at 9:04 pm #
Puppies puppies puppies puppies PUPPIES PUPPIESSSSS! I loooove puppies! Congratulations to the wonderful nonni and zia Luna. I wish I could take one but I live on campus, so pets are a no-no!
But enjoy them! They grow up fast. *sniffles*
Debbie Egizio on 21 Oct 2007 at 9:36 pm #
Oh, they are so precious. Congratulations! That’s great that you accept the nonna title.
When my brother would bring his dog “Grover” to my parents house he would say, “Grover, go by Grandma”. My mom would reply in her Italian accent, “No, I don’t wanna be a doggy grandma, I wanna be a human grandma!”
Enjoy those little cuties, Nonna!
JoAnn - NL "My digital eyes" :) on 21 Oct 2007 at 9:42 pm #
OOOW So sweet!!!!
Give them al many many hughs from me and Ios (my dog) so cute little sweet puppies are!!!
I am back from my short trip to South of Italy,(Taorina)I thought you might be intersted to know? thanks for ‘not forgetting me’ I posted an overview of pictures from my holiday there, soon more… Have a great sunday!!!
Greetings JoAnn:)
Currier Quinn Balent on 21 Oct 2007 at 9:51 pm #
We go away for the weekend and of course you go and have the puppies! Congratulations! I LOVE THEM and wish we could come to Calabria and adopt one but Bruco and Paolo keep us plenty busy.
Maryann@FindingLaDolceVita on 21 Oct 2007 at 10:45 pm #
Wonderful! I was wondering when it would happen. Congrats. The babies are so cute
somepinkflowers on 21 Oct 2007 at 11:30 pm #
be right over…
i want
the pinkish one…
Wanderlust Scarlett on 21 Oct 2007 at 11:34 pm #
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
YAY!!! I am very excited for you, what a wonderful gift.
I’m sure we’ll be seeing lots of photos of them, but newborn pics are precious.
Wish I could take one! They’re so cute!
Scarlett & Viaggiatore
My Melange on 21 Oct 2007 at 11:57 pm #
Awwwwww…Puppieeeeeeees!!! Yeah!!! Who doesn’t love a puppy. Any kind really. They are all soooo cute and smell sooo good. I love that puppy smell…
Of course I would *love* one….but…. a trip to Calabrai just isn’t the cards right now
Taffiny on 22 Oct 2007 at 1:01 am #
Any insight into who babydaddy might be, based on the pups markings?
I am not a dog person (strange typo I wrote I am not a god person), don’t you keep showing me super cute puppy photos till I forget that. I am not a dog person, I am not a dog person ( will be my new mantra to say to myself while I read your blog). But oh they are so cute. (and will get cuter by the week)
Oh how I wish I was a, hop on a plane and go to Italy type of person.
Congrats Nonna. I am glad all are doing so well.
Jen of A2eatwrite on 22 Oct 2007 at 1:40 am #
Congratulations! It was also puppy day for my German daughter and her family’s bichon frise. Her pups were adorable, too. I’m glad mom and pups are all doing fine!
Red on 22 Oct 2007 at 2:56 am #
Awwwww!
That’s about as intelligent a response as I can muster after seeing those pictures…
Caroline in Rome on 22 Oct 2007 at 8:16 am #
How adorable!!! And I’m not even a dog person! Have you found owners for them yet?
sognatrice on 22 Oct 2007 at 9:33 am #
Christine, isn’t that one too cute? I can’t wait until they get a little bigger so you can really see how cute they are
Traveller, hmm…that’s not *too* long a trip….
NYC, I did see that about Ellen…crazy, isn’t it?
Christina, well it’s good you realize that having a puppy is really a full-time job…I wonder what having SIX is
Giulia, if my handy dandy camera didn’t have Image Stabilizer, I’d say you’re right
Jeni, there’s still two months to save up! And how excited I’d be to have them go to central PA!
Shelley, I’ve told P that this means we’re just going to have live in campagna
My biggest fear in adopting them out will be that someone will just abandon them–hoping to keep them close to home so we can keep an eye on that at least…but…
Rob, really?! We’ll *definitely* have to talk closer to the time. I know you wouldn’t abandon them, so this would be an exception to the “close to home” rule
Audra, the worse thing about college for me was definitely the lack of a pet. Then when I was finished, in my first two apartments–no dogs allowed, so I got kitties. Love them too
Debbie, hah! Maybe since I don’t have any human children yet, I’m happy to have canine children and grandchildren
JoAnn, happy to see you back–I’ll be right over
CQB, aw come on…don’t you think P and B need a little buddy?
Maryann, thanks! We’re very excited
SPF, how did I know that’s the one you’d pick?
Scarlett, pics forthcoming! How’d you guess?
Robin, well just in case you want to do Paris or Rome at Christmas….
Taffiny, pups do have a way of converting the non-doglovers, don’t they? We have no clue who the babydaddy is–we’re not even sure she was sperminated here in our village as we found her after she was already with puppies. I’m just hoping he wasn’t big.
Jen, ooh, what great news! A little secret? Whenever I read that breed of dog, my mind says “Bitchin’ Frizzy.” Makes me laugh every time
Red, understood. Completely.
Caroline, we’ve found an owner for one of them so long as there’s at least one male in the bunch (they already have another male dog). Working on the other five….
Enza on 22 Oct 2007 at 12:02 pm #
CONGRATS!!!
Gill on 22 Oct 2007 at 12:43 pm #
Awwww they are so sweet! Congratulations!
Anonymous on 22 Oct 2007 at 1:07 pm #
So your dog had puppies and now you want to give them away. Have you ever thought of “fixing” her so that doens’t happen!?!?
sognatrice on 22 Oct 2007 at 1:11 pm #
Enza and Gill, thanks!
Anonymous, thanks for stopping by, but if you had read more closely other posts on my blog, you’d have realized that we found Stella abandoned on the side of the road when she was ALREADY pregnant. So, as it was, we took in a pregnant dog and are now responsibly dealing with the situation as we found it.
But thanks so much for your concern.
Sharon on 22 Oct 2007 at 2:30 pm #
Oh in the stars..hmmmmmmmmmm!
Contest?? And the winner gets a …no that wouldn’t work!
Taffiny on 22 Oct 2007 at 3:57 pm #
Oh I didn’t mean “the” dog, I meant any clue as to the breed of dog, but I guess you can’t really tell from wee pups, maybe as they get older there will be some tell tale signs. Or maybe not.
sognatrice on 22 Oct 2007 at 4:01 pm #
Sharon, hey you’re close enough to come over and get one! What color would you like?
Taffiny, I’m thinking whatever he was, he was mixed something or other. Should be quite interesting to see how these pups develop
Karina on 22 Oct 2007 at 4:09 pm #
OMG…Puppies.so.cute! I want one! sigh…
sognatrice on 22 Oct 2007 at 7:06 pm #
Karina, come on over!
chris & erin on 22 Oct 2007 at 7:48 pm #
wow! this post is a popular subject
I’m so excited to hear about the puppies - keep us updated with photos as they grow a little! SO CUTE
Sara on 22 Oct 2007 at 8:15 pm #
She whelped! She really really whelped! (Can you tell I really really like the word “whelp”?)
OMG, they are so cute! But…six? Yikes. That is really a lot of puppies. I join with the others wishing you luck finding good and responsible homes for them all (unlike poor little Stella’s previous one).
Snuggles and pets for anyone who wants them, and felicitations all ’round.
KC on 23 Oct 2007 at 9:01 am #
They are so sweet! Believe me, if we weren’t getting ready for our own little arrival, I’d come right down to Calabria and bring one of those cuties home with me!
sognatrice on 23 Oct 2007 at 9:10 am #
Erin, yeah, apparently lots of people love puppies
Sara, I love “whelp” the word too; not so much the process, but the word is nice
SIX is definitely going to be a challenge, but the Christmas timing will work in our favor, I hope–more people around, at least, since plenty of people come back home for the holidays.
KC, you mean a baby and a puppy would be too much? OK, if you think so
weimie on 23 Oct 2007 at 12:02 pm #
Precious!!
Amazing, there were sooo many!
sognatrice on 23 Oct 2007 at 3:12 pm #
Weimie, tell me about it! SIX!
Figs Olives Wine on 23 Oct 2007 at 4:21 pm #
How wonderful!!! I’ve been waiting for this, but I couldn’t make your site load yesterday. Congratulations to all of you - they must be so unbelievably sweet. So wriggly already too
I had no idea that doggy labor lasted so long, by the way. I don’t know why I assumed it’d be so much faster than ours. Stella sounds like a champ. Wish I could come get one of her pups!
Linda on 23 Oct 2007 at 7:23 pm #
Congratulations to Mom Stella and the family. They are precious.
Shameless on 23 Oct 2007 at 7:50 pm #
I’m sure they will be snapped up!
She did a sterling job.
sognatrice on 24 Oct 2007 at 9:21 am #
Amanda, the site not loading was my fault–made an adjustment to the template and then didn’t double check what I did before I logged off. Oops! Anyway, I’m not sure how long labor technically is, but they say that dogs are usually anxious for about 12 hours before they deliver (Stella may have been anxious before we woke up that morning…only she knows!).
Linda, thanks! As of Wednesday morning (the 24th) they are still doing well.
Shameless, from your fingers to a higher power’s ears
The Passionate Palate on 24 Oct 2007 at 8:20 pm #
Congratulations nonna and nonno! I’m commenting late since I was away. I go away for two days and look what happens - one of my favorite bloggers becomes a grandparent.
Kathy on 25 Oct 2007 at 5:02 am #
Okay, I missed your birthday and the birth of the pups?!?!
So precious. I would love to fly to Italy right now and bring one (or more!) home with me!
sognatrice on 25 Oct 2007 at 7:21 am #
Jeni, isn’t that always the way? Thanks for the congrats!
Kathy, believe me, I wish you could come too
a far away friend on 26 Oct 2007 at 4:10 am #
Oops! I fell a few days behind…now I see. There are 6 little ones. How sweet!!! What a great addition for your birthday.
sognatrice on 26 Oct 2007 at 11:57 am #
Friend, your comment, coming from a cat person, is greatly appreciated by Stella
Erin on 27 Oct 2007 at 3:09 pm #
Kind of late on this one, but congratulations!!! What sweet little puppies.
sognatrice on 31 Oct 2007 at 4:55 pm #
Thanks Erin
bleedingespresso.com » doggie update on 15 Jan 2008 at 3:49 pm #
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