Noonoo on 15/08/22, proudly fussing over her newborn pups.
Our Daughter's Fox Red Labrador was apparently in the midst of a phantom pregnancy, according to the vet.
On 12 August, it became apparent that the pregnancy was far from being phantom.
Noonoo was very tired and decided to take a Noonoo nap in her open cage, the weather was hot and the metal cage floor was cool.
I was sure I could see movement on Noonoo's belly. so I balanced my mobile on top of the cage and videoed her belly during the 40-minute nap.
Sure enough, there was plenty of movement and it was all captured for my Daughter to watch. Off to the vets for a scan, there were pups but they were not sure how many.
I was told there was likely to be another 5-7 days before Noonoo pupped and she would start pawing the floor, gathering toys, and building a nest.
These were the three tell-tale signs I should look out for.
On the 15th when Noonoo was constantly panting (well it was a very hot day) and kept walking into the hallway and pawing the floor, I was looking for the toy collecting and nesting. Well, one out of three ain't bad.
Wanting to keep a close eye on the expectant Mother, I kept calling her into the back room, and she kept returning to the hallway, then the penny dropped alongside the first pup.
I had already started to type a text to my Daughter asking if Noonoo was likely to be giving birth, but I didn't want to be seen as panicking, so I held back from sending it.
I quickly grabbed a few towels and removed the sac from the newborn pup's nose and mouth, allowing it to take its first breath.
I could hear my Daughter's words - she'll only pup for someone she trusts and feels confident with. (basically, Noonoo wouldn't pup for me)
Whilst trying to call an experienced dog lover to take control of the unfolding situation, the doorbell rang, and I was faced with a delivery driver clutching a new single mattress for my Son. It couldn't have arrived at a worse time.
I humped the mattress past Noonoo and into the back room, out of the way.
The expert was on the motorway and had to turn around and come back. As I returned to Noonoo's side the second pup had arrived.
This was Noonoo's first litter, she was doing well, but didn't seem to understand the membrane had to be removed straight away, so once again I gave a hand.
Just before the third pup entered the world the expert had arrived and I could breathe a sigh of relief, both pups I had delivered were doing well and fighting to get a feed in off Mum who was licking them profusely, I won't describe what else Mother was doing - there could be kids present and it was turning my stomach.
By the fifth pup, Noonoo seemed to have mastered removing the membrane herself and could be left to get on with the job, whilst still under supervision.
Three and a half hours after birthing the first pup, Noonoo proudly watched over her brood of 9 wriggling bundles of joy. 6 black and 3 blondes. 5 girls and 4 boys.
We went to view them today as my Son will be bringing one home soon, a black girl who took a shine to him.
This photo is from today (28/09/22), they are having quiet time - after we went round and had a play with them all, Noonoo was there keeping an eye on us.
Thankfully they had all had a bath after their mid-afternoon poo-wrestling. It's like mud wrestling but with a different type of brown stuff.
They have grown so much in such a short time, as you would expect.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my adventure as much as I did living it.
The photos were taken by myself.