Puppies on the Dodd Farm.

I have some friends who live on a farm in Cocoa, Florida. They moved here so Jonathan could work with a local church, but found themselves trying their hand at organic gardening instead. They call the project, Keipos. Keipos Inc. is a non-profit org that seeks to train, educate and disciple people through holistic practices found within the history of the Christian tradition. The Dodds want you to come to their farm and get dirty working the earth, then they invite you into their home to share in the harvest. I have not been able to spend as much time with the Dodds on their land as I would have liked these past few months, but every single time I go there, I feel refreshed. 

Jonathan and Catherine with the chickens. Photo by Rich Sullivan.

Little TJ and Charlotte. Photo by Rich Sullivan.

The Dodds invited a guy named Gary to come live on the farm with them and teach Jon all he knew about organic farming from his experiences with community plots in Gainesville, FL. Gary has a dog named Bella. The Dodds have a black lab named Taxi. The two got together, and before we knew it, Bella was pregnant.

Yesterday I got the text from Catherine. "Looks like we're having puppies today!" To which I responded, " WHAT!!! I wanna be there!"

I continued to demand "puppy updates" throughout the day. Sure enough, around 11pm last night, the first puppy entered the world... followed by 8 of his brothers and sisters. I knew I had to go visit them first thing this morning, because I had never seen just-born puppies.

There are nine all together. Catherine counted eight last night, but woke up and found an extra little puppy surprise in the morning. When I arrived, I found the runt lost in a blanket pile, so we pulled him out of there and put him by his mom for some food.

I can't help but think back to the days of Puppy Surprise, and my eight-year-old self wishing so hard for the pink dog with five little dogs inside. Mine only had three dogs, so I felt like I got the bad end of that deal. Now that I'm older and watching that commercial again, I realize that I didn't know anything about statistics back then, and the odds weren't exactly in my favor.

I think seeing nine squirmy little puppies this morning made up for my 90s childhood sorrow of only receiving three dogs in my Puppy Surprise doll.

For as much as I love kitties, I'd say my morning was pretty cute. I'd cuddle baby animals any day of the week. I can't wait to go back to the farm when they're a few weeks older and can walk. I'll be sure to take a video the next time I go.

 What about you? Have you ever met a puppy who was just born?
K