It was a quiet day, the 26th, I was grateful to just relax by the river with the kids as my tooth was acting up and I couldn’t eat. It was a really restless night also, so I should have known Chiripa would have her babies, maybe if I had been feeling better I would have been more astute. I hadn’t been asleep long when I was awakened by a ruckus outside my window. After several minutes of listening to Chiripa rearrange the kennel I got up to make sure she was alright. It seemed her and Scott were having trouble deciding on the sleeping arrangements. Frustrated, I asked them to quite fooling around and go to sleep. A few hours later I was forced to check on them again. This time when I opened the door, Scott scooted into my room, dashing under the bed, hoping I wouldn’t notice. I guess he lost the right to sleep in the kennel this time. Because of the situation, I allowed him to stay inside this night.
There was a blob on the sidewalk just outside my door and I began to wonder if this was a baby. Chiripa was fussing with the blanket in the kennel which I lifted so I could see if there were any babies inside. She was alone, and I decided it would probably be best if I left her to tend to her business. I didn’t really feel like dealing with the baby on the sidewalk at 3:00 in the morning, sure it would not be going anywhere. I managed to fall into a deep sleep, and missed the action from that point on.
In the morning when I woke up, I went outside immediately to see if she had given birth – I wanted to make sure everything was ok with her and the babies. She was not in the kennel however, my search for her around the building coming up empty. I went to see Maria and Javier in case she had decided to go back to where she had the last litter, but they had not seen her either. We checked around the main buildings, but no Chiripa. So back to my room to do another search a little further out. Maria thought the blob was the placenta, but later upon closer inspection realized it was a baby, still born. She took it away to dispose of it and I was relieved I had not had to do this job.
We found Chiripa by a banana tree, where the rocks and broken branches formed a small cave – a perfect hiding place. She had chosen wisely…..
I was so relieved, but also mad at myself for not being more aware during the night, but grateful, with the exception of one, the babies were all good. We waterproofed the ground with some fallen banana leaves; Javier gently took the babies out and I held them while he arranged the bedding. Chiripa seemed anxious for me to see her babies, and was not at all bothered I was holding them. I felt she was a very proud mama. We put the babies safely back in their nest and I brought mama some food, leaving them to take care of each other. I checked on her often and fed her twice a day, so her milk would be good. She came to say hello while we were having our quiet river time later in the day. She bolted over to the rock where she always sits, where I now was. She twirled around a few times, did a jump or two, then dashed off to the bushes to take a much needed pee. Then she raced back to her new babies making sure all was well, leaving a smile on my face and a giggle in my throat.
When we left the nest that morning, Maria and Javier brought me to the washing station where laundry is done. There is a cement room where they keep tools, out of sight and protected from potential theft. Inside the room was an armadillo, it’s head in the corner, it’s tail facing us. Javier jumped into the room which is really like a giant box and lifted the little guy up so I could see it better.
So another first for me as I have never seen an armadillo in person before. Very unusual creature, and I thought it quite interesting it showed up on delivery day. Pretty cool day all in all, and it had just begun…..
The whole experience, from conception to birth seemed to have an affect on Mali who had never been part of something like this. From the time Chiripa went into heat, Mali took interest in what was happening to her. Scrappy didn’t Ike to share Chiripa while she was in heat and got pretty aggressive when the other dogs got too close, but Mali still found ways to get close. Once she was pregnant, Scrappy took a much needed rest, leaving Chiripa to rest also. Mali would follow her everywhere, like she was her personal guard, something Chiripa seemed content to allow. It seemed Mali had found her pack, her family, and it changed her behaviour in small ways – almost imperceptible. But I felt them.
The day the babies were born, Mali seemed to be filled with joy, there was a lightness to her step, an excitement in her aura. At first she didn’t get to close to the babies, but she seemed determined to keep their mom under surveillance. That night I could hear Scott making noises as if he was fighting and it sounded as if it was Mali with him. I went to the window to see what was happening, and to my great surprise, Mali was playing with Scott, something she has never done, not with a puppy. The only other time I had seen her play was with Bernie when we house sat many months ago. But here she was chasing and being chased, a beautiful spectacle. She was taking care to make gentle big steps around Scott understanding she is so much bigger, not wanting to hurt him. Scott was excited to have a friend to play with, something that was missing in his life since Fuzzbit left. He often tried to engage Mali in his puppy play, but she would always growl at him and move away, as if something like that was beneath her.
I stood there watching quietly, admiring this display of child like behaviour coming from Mali. It was so wonderful for me to see this, believing she had found her child within. She has always been older than her years, mature right from the start. It was as if she missed the puppy stage, and now she was experiencing the joy of playing. She continues to interact with Scott on occasion, and has even allowed the new puppies check her out, but not for too long.
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