Something always happens when my sister and family goes on vacation. This trip has been no different. They left yesterday morning. Their very pregnant beagle Josie Bob decided to go into labor yesterday afternoon. Arrangements had been made for their little yorkie, their goats and chickens, their cat and Great Pyrenees, and even their parrot. Not a thing was mentioned about what to do if Josie Bob decided to have her puppies this week. Fortunately, we are next door neighbors.

We walked next door to check on everyone when we noticed J.B. running around whining. Arrrrrhg! Okay - I send Caleb to get one of our dog crates. Lexi gets some clean towels. S and I fix a place on my sister's screened back porch. Poor J.B. is not very pleased at being confined alone in a crate. I apologize but explain to her I know she would rather have them under our house right below our bedroom like every other neighborhood/stray cat and dog but not this time!

Someone walks next door every hour until bedtime to check - no puppies. We get up early this morning and check on her first. She has just had baby #2. They are absolutely precious. Everyone goes about their morning chores but Noah and myself. We perch nearby and wait for the next baby to appear. We stay for the next 2 to make sure she is doing fine. We decide we are hungry for breakfast. We tell her we will be back shortly. No sooner had we got off the porch when she started crying. I told Noah we would have to hurry through breakfast and come back. We walked a couple of yards and looked down at a very frightened J.B. running at our feet. I pick her up trying to be gentle yet keep her grunge off of me. We put her back in the crate with her crying babies. She quickly settles back down all the while keeping her pained brown eyes on us.

We had a breakfast picnic. I ran home and heated up some bagels and grabbed a couple of apples. We ate them perched over poor J.B. I called my sister and asked what she was doing. She had had a leisurely breakfast and was planning her day. When she asked me about my morning, I told her I was eating my breakfast while her dog pushed out baby after baby.

I am... pleased to say that Josie Bob W. is the proud mama of 3 bouncing baby boys and 5 girls! Mother and babies are doing just fine.

My sister owes me biiiig time!