It was dark in the house Friday night around 11 PM. It was time for bed, but Everest was feeling restless. We'd been checking her temperature and seen the drop that indicated labor was going to happen in the next 24 hours, so we knew tonight was the night! We got all our supplies and set up the room, keeping it dark and calm and quiet with only a few nightlights lit so we could keep track of her progress.

Everest had her nice clean whelping box, and her crate that she thinks of as her little den- either of which we were okay with her giving birth in. (She ended up using both!) Us humans camped out with pillows and blankets on the living room floor, taking turns keeping watch over her through the early parts of her labor and giving her massages to help her relax. Long, quiet minutes passed, until finally at 12:30 AM her water broke! Another hour passed and then...

Out came Peanut, a little blenheim male. He was the first puppy, so Everest didn't know what was happening to her! She dropped him and ran out of the whelping box to hide in the closet. Us humans took over, one of us cleaning up Peanut and making sure he could breathe and was warm, and one of us going to comfort Everest.

With a few pats and ear scratches, and lots of murmurs of "You are my baby. You have always been my baby and you will always be my baby and you are the best baby in the world." Everest started feeling better, and came out of the closet to meet her firstborn. She sniffed him, licked him, and curled around him to keep him warm. He started nursing immediately!

Four sisters later, the whelping was all done and the whole family bedded down for a much needed rest. And so little Peanut’s life began- in the warm house with a mama and humans who loved him. The first few weeks he was just a little lump, a little peanut, if you will. He nursed and pooped and slept and wiggled and cried if he felt cold or lonely. Anytime he cried Everest would lick him to show that she was still there and curl even tighter around him so he’d be extra warm.

Peanut learned how to climb stairs, how to wrestle, how to nap in the sun, and how to snuggle. When he wasn’t snoozing he was frolicking in the Garden with his sisters and cousins. It was a happy time at Castle Grogan!