The cellphone connection was poor, so Ann Silberman couldn't hear exactly what the veterinarian, Dr. Alastair Westcott, was saying, only that she should come and pick up Sasha, her 11-month-old Labrador retriever, who was at the clinic to be spayed. Since Sasha hadn't been there long, Ann was puzzled, but when she arrived, it all became clear. "I can't spay Sasha today," said Westcott. "She's pregnant." He had been able to feel three fetuses in Sasha's tight abdomen and said there might be more.
The Silbermans -- Ann, her husband, Jack, and their 22-year-old son, Ben -- who live on Bowen Island, B.C., had meant to have Sasha spayed sooner but, as often happens, hadn't quite got around to it. Sasha was their first dog, and while there had been some early discussion of puppies, it had never been more than the vaguest of notions. Now their young dog was going to bring forth a litter -- in less than a month.
Adjusting to the news
As the initial shock wore off, the reality sunk in: they knew nothing about whelping (the term for a dog giving birth) or raising puppies. Ann turned to a local expert, Pamela Cleary, a dog trainer and breeder, who offered books and advice. With Sasha more than halfway through her two-month gestation, the Silbermans started learning and readying their home.
If puppies were a sure thing, the identity of their father was not. The suspects included a geriatric boxer, a prolific wolf/Doberman mix, a lively fox terrier cross and a black Labrador retriever, plus any other of the island's motley assortment of roaming canine lotharios. Clearly, the Lab would be the preferred choice; his puppies would likely be easier to find homes for than ones that were odd-looking or had less desirable personality potential.
How Sasha got knocked up
When Sasha had come into heat, Jack had inspected the high fence that enclosed their yard and was convinced that as long as Sasha was either in the house or yard or on-leash during her walks, she'd be safe from male overtures. Then, on a walk to the store for milk one evening, he and Sasha met the black Lab. "It was love at first sight," says Jack. "They were ready to do the deed right there." Jack managed to drag the seductive Sasha home, all the while fending off the male's amorous advances; but now the suitor had Sasha's address.
Late that night Sasha woke up Jack, wanting to be let out. Half asleep, Jack complied. Soon afterward he heard her at the door and went to let her in. "There she was with this big guilty grin on her face and right behind her was the black Lab, smiling." To this day, Jack has no idea how the Lab got into their yard. "I guess where there's a will, there's a way," he says. Somehow Jack persuaded himself that maybe nothing had happened. Not wanting to worry Ann needlessly, he never mentioned the incident to her, so when Westcott delivered the news of the impending puppies, she was stunned. And then the paternity was still a question; if the Lab had managed to breach the perimeter, another dog might have done so, too. They'd have to wait for the puppies' arrival before they could identify the father.
Page 1 of 3 — on page 2, find out how to prep for puppies.
