WARNING: might not be suitable for younger viewers

Today started early for us. In fact, at this point it seems like yesterday never ended.

I know a few of my readers have been known to be up at odd times. I found myself joining that group last night. It was time for bed when I noticed our dog, Butter acting strangely. She was due to give birth in the next few days, but it seemed she was starting then. I had read a few books on what to expect when expecting, and felt like I needed to be there with her if possible. I know there is controversy over just about everything these days, and I seem to fuel the fire at times. Making the decision to breed our dog, and then wanting to be there and document the birth is only one.

So, you see I was a bit excited! I was also tired from spending a fun, busy weekend with my brother and his family. But it was the excitement that took over and I was ready. We introduced her to her birthing spot a couple of weeks ago and she was set to have them.

She had been laying around more than normal yesterday, but I figured with all the extra people around she needed her time. Then I noticed the big balls on either side of her body. She looked liked like she had swallowed a couple of big balls and they got stuck on either side...... Then the heavy panting started. I knew the birth was going to happen soon, so I kissed Joe goodnight and told him I would see him shortly. The shortly came at 4am but it was worth it. I have been through 3 births of my own, seen a chicken lay an egg, and now I was going to experience my baby dog giving birth. She seemed to be a natural, but ended up needing a little help. After several minutes (one's that seemed like an hour) her water broke and she was showing signs that a pup was ready to come out. Then I saw it, a foot. From all the information I had, this was not a good sign. I ran for Joe's help, feeling bad to wake him up, but this was an emergency. We were going to have to help Butter have this baby. I was the one to help pull the pup out, with Joe's encouragement. I thought for sure that he had been in the birth canal for too long and wasn't going to make it. Butter took to him right away and started cleaning him up. He seemed really big, and he has turned out to be the biggest one she had. The second one came out with ease, just as the books had described.

After this video was made, we stayed with them for a while longer wanting to make sure everything was OK. Joe, feeling confident that Butter was doing well, and the babies were nursing, went back to bed. I wasn't ready, I wanted to stay with them a little longer and make sure Butter got all the attention and praise from me that she loves. She is such a people dog, and loves everyone and lots of attention. That is why I thought her puppies would bring as much joy to some one elses life, as she has ours.

So, in the course of rubbing on her and talking to her, I noticed she was acting funny again. Then I noticed the contractions. I wasn't sure what to expect since it had been quite a while since she gave birth, but I was ready. The last baby was born almost an hour later with no complications. She took to it as well as she did the other two, and maybe a little better since she only had the one to deal with. In the video, you see her trying her best to cut the umbilical cord. Most of the chewing that she is doing, is on the cords. We thought about cutting them ourselves, but after the delivery, I wanted her to do as much as she could. (I know it really looks like it by the way you keep seeing my hand in the video!)

The kids were happy to see the new additions, with Butter doing well this morning. I'm sure the whole school will know about it soon! I feel blessed and thankful to witness such a miracle as a new life coming into this world. I hope you enjoy the video, I'm sure you will hear more about Butter and her babies in the future!

Trivia: I named them Prince, Charming and Shrek. I named the first two before I knew there was to be a third, so when we were calling them, we would say, "Come on Prince Charming". OK, it sounded better at 3am!

Update: The names have been officially changed to Comet, Blurr, and Rocket. I guess those do sound a little better, don't they?