JASMINE

It all started one dreary Saturday in early November, 2008. My husband and I saw a segment on the local news about a dog up for adoption. We (well, mainly ME) decided to go visit the local county SPCA...just to look. We thought a dog would be good company for both of us, but especially for me since my mom recently passed away (not that a dog replaces my mom).

We walked up & down the kennel looking in each one. I spotted this girl first, and kept going back to her. I pointed her out to my husband, and together we decided to "meet" her. The meeting lasted about 15 minutes, and we both liked her.

We put her on "hold" while we went to lunch to discuss. Really, the only thing we were discussing was what her name would be! Guess that shows we had really already decided she was OURS!

About an hour later, the precious girl became known to us as JASMINE...she was ours, and in our car headed for home!

She settled in fairly quickly, starting to learn about us, and us about her. We read a lot online and discussed crate training with the vet. We played with her, cuddled with her, walked with her, loved her....Being responsible pet owners (we also have a cat), we did a lot of research online about border collies, how to train them, what to feed them, how much exercise they need, etc. So we decided to buy an "invisible fence" to give her a little more freedom. Hey, the good news is that there is a discount when you've rescued the dog--we saved $500 on the fence!

FAST FORWARD TO THE WEEK OF CHRISTMAS:
We had to board her over the Christmas holiday because we were going out of town for 5 days. We left her at the vet's office the Saturday before Christmas. We picked her up the following Saturday morning. The vet's office said she was really good, gained 5 pounds during the week, and that her nipples were enlarged.

Really? Enlarged nipples? Are you kidding me?! She had boobs!! Could she possibly be pregnant, I asked. Hmm?? I immediately called the vet. She said the only way to know for sure is to X-Ray. So, on the Monday following Christmas she had an X-Ray -- showing at least 6 pups!
We got home and immediately starting "googling" everything we could about pregnant dogs and what to do! Boy, did we get more than we bargained for!! My husband built a whelping box THAT NIGHT...the garage has been turned in to a BIRTHING SUITE...my new car is now in the driveway! We also found out that a dog's gestation is approximately 63 days. So I counted how many days we had had her....well....turns out she gave birth on day #59 with us.