“I’ve named them Charlie, Pepper, Daisy, Chevy…”
“Wait, stop! We’ve agreed not to name them remember?” says Jamie Ogden to Piper Tweten in reference to the 11 fist-sized pups curled up on their mother, Pasley.
Ogden’s family adopted Pasley last July, and the Twetens, who live three doors down, adopted her brother Murphy at the same time.
Both are rescues from the Baja peninsula, where islander Tara Meal has connections with people who rescue local dogs. The vets in Mexico give the dogs all their shots, and they are then flown up to Washington and brought to Bowen for a total bill of $150.
“I was a bit hesitant to get one of these dogs at first,” says Ogden. “I used to have a pure-bread golden lab, who was wonderful but had all kinds of health problems. Pasley has exceeded my expectations, she’s been an absolutely amazing dog since the very beginning.”
Ogden and his wife Maryam Erfani were advised by their vet to wait until Pasley went through one full menstrual cycle before getting her spayed.
“We have a fenced-in backyard, so we weren’t too concerned,” says Ogden.
The family then noticed the dog’s nipples were swollen and learned she was pregnant.
“We’re pretty sure that Murphy is the dad. I guess when they’re in heat, they will find a way.”
Last Thursday morning, February 23, Ogden said that both he and Erfani were focused on getting to work and getting the kids, Elsie and Cashton, to school.
“We noticed her panting, and Maryam asked me if I could come home at some point to check on Pasley,” he says. “That wouldn’t have been possible because I was supposed to be working in Eaglecliff. So I just stayed home.”
Ogden says the labour started at 9 a.m., and continued until 9 p.m. that night.
“The puppies just kept coming,” he says. “Number six was stillborn.”
Erfani left work early because of the labour, and she picked the kids up from school early as well.
“I wanted to be there for Pasley,” says Erfani. “And also, I didn’t want us to miss this special moment in her life – a once in a lifetime experience for all of us.”
She adds that dogs are “low key when it comes to birth in comparison to humans.”
The vet visited Pasley the day following the birth, and said the pups are in great shape but Ogden and Erfani are working hard to ensure that they stay that way.
“They’re not out of the woods,” says Ogden. “They are very vulnerable to disease at this point, so the only one who gets to touch them is their mum. And Pasley is such a good little mother, she will go outside to pee but come right back and keep them warm. She never lets one wander off.”
They’ll be keeping the pups with their mom for the first eight weeks of their life and then, hopefully, sending them off to new homes.
If anyone is interested in adopting one of Pasley’s pups contact Ogden or Erfani at: [email protected] or [email protected].
