The whelping box

Monday, Hilary's dog Blaze gave birth to her puppies (called whelping, thus the box that you put her in so the puppies are safe when they are born; it's like a huge sandbox only without the sand). I was so thrilled to be able to share in the excitement. Unfortunately, there was also sadness to dampen the joy of new life: three of the puppies were stillborn. It was heartbreaking to see Blaze try to get them to start breathing and wondering if they were going to make it, and then to have to take them away so she could focus on the living ones. Still, it was incredible to witness the other puppies, just hours old, crawling around blind, completely reliant on their mother for food and protection. I wish we could have the good without the bad (as so often in life we do), but maybe it helps us appreciate things just a little bit more when we see how they can go wrong.