Kenya is Doing Wonderfully

Our sweet Kenya bean is turning out to be Mom-Extraordinaire. She has a quiet attentiveness and confidence with her puppies I didn't expect from a first-time dam.

She's even calmer, and more careful, than Elsie ever was. 

The interesting thing about Kenya is this:  when she's in the whelping box with the pups, she's nothing but Momma Kenya (doesn't wag her tail because she's so careful of the pups... no wiggle butts around her offspring!).  But the moment she's away from the pups (as in, out of the whelping box), she's 100% our Kenya bean again:  wiggly, people-focused, the always-with-a-bone-in-her-mouth retriever acting almost as if the pups didn't exist. 

It's amazing how she morphs between two Kenyas. But it's wonderful, too (makes it far less crazy for us... we're not as concerned about her squishing or inadvertently stepping on a pup).

Here are a few Kenya pics.  Doesn't she look great?!

She's very careful when she's around her pups, and when she finally settles in, she barely moves.  The risk of her laying on (and accidentally smothering) a pup at this point is pretty slim, and gets smaller each day. 

But we'll still do 24/7 puppy watch until the middle of next week.  Just in case. :)

So all is well.  Kenya is a great mom; the pups are thriving (more on them shortly).

And life is good today.

'til then,
Joan