Being a breeding/whelping home connects you to the puppies you have raised for the first 8 weeks in a very special way.  You feel a bond with them even though you don’t great start, puppy raise, foster them or do their final training.  You are a silent partner, rooting them on from the sidelines hoping they become the fabulous dogs you had tried to develop in those beginning weeks. You think about nature vs. nurture and what part you may have had in their development; would they have been the dogs they are regardless of the effort you put into it? You wonder if you did the “right” things when they were puppies to help them become great adult dogs; did you give your whole heart to them for the time they were with you, and was that enough? Being a home for newborn assistance dog puppies is not just a job of feeding them and loving them-for me, it’s a mission of magic.

And then as you follow them because you love to see them grow, change and learn! You start to anticipate the day they will either graduate or become part of the breeding program so that their contributions will continue.

And if you’re lucky you get the opportunity to have a brief encounter with them on the journey with the organization when they are in for final training.  I was fortunate enough to have that opportunity this week while I was in at Can Do Canines picking up puppy capes.  I got to see my first litter “all grown up” at 16 months and I got to take some pictures of them to share:)  (Thank you Can Do Staff!)  Here are 3 of the Spice Girls born in 2015 and on their way to great things!!!