On March 16th, when making the usual rounds of  weighing Frieda’s puppies, feeding and watering Frieda and all the chores that go along with having a litter of puppies, we noticed that Annora was panting heavily and doing a lot of pacing.  It did seem like she might be starting pre-labour, which can last as long as 24 hours. Her due date wasn’t until the 18th and we knew she was having a small litter, so I was not expecting any puppies to arrive too soon.  Just to be safe, though, I set my alarm to check on her at 2:00 a.m. and went to sleep.

At 11:30, Annora started barking and whining, which woke me up.  Thinking that she might just need to go outside to do her business, I headed downstairs to the puppy room expecting to be able to go back to bed shortly.  I quickly realized, though, that she had transitioned into active labour.  I scrambled into action and got all my essentials nearby and handy.  Shortly after midnight, the first puppy , a female, was born.  It was now March 17th, Saint Patrick’s Day, so naturally she had to have a green collar! 🙂