Puppies!

I read an article years ago about what it is that makes baby animals so cute and endearing to us humans. Clearly a baby rat or a baby alligator does not have any of these qualities, but I can no longer remember what they actually were other than a short nose and rounded ears. I think, however, that an armful of four week old Labrador puppies offer the ultimate example.

Dana and Peter are going to be puppy raisers for PALS--Paws as Loving Support, an organization that raises and trains dogs as companion dogs for children with special needs. This morning the three of us went to a "puppy petting" session along with several other volunteers and four young people. There are eight black puppies in the current litter, all named for country singers…Reba, Garth, Faith, etc. Each one has it's own designated dot of color on its back in order to tell them apart, but I never tried very hard!

We handled the puppies, cuddled them (how could you not?), passed them around and took them outside to the lawn to play and climb over some boxes or a small flight of stairs. They were weighed, photographed, tussled with each other and fell asleep in our laps, or under a chair. Last week they could barely walk. This week they are starting to wag their tails, and waddle around on the floor. They will be ready to go to their puppy raisers by Christmas.

One little girl was quite shy and hid behind her grandmother when asked a question, but by the end of the two hour session she was quite animated. Puppies have that effect on people….