Contributed by Carolina's foster mom
A Continuation of the Tar Heels Group
With the adults of this group being named for things in the Tar Heel State of North Carolina, I felt it only fitting that Carolina’s little Tar Heels be given names reflecting that state also. Kind of giving them a family history.
If I visited North Carolina, the first thing on my list of things to see would have to be Hatteras Lighthouse. I think lighthouses are such a symbol of so many positive things – safety, strength, and hope immediately pop into my head. I love them and find them almost magical. So Carolina’s first little girl – the first puppy I’ve ever whelped – is now named Hatteras. It was a magical moment when she came into this world. I see her future full of hope and bright sunny days.
A village full of nautical fun, close to another lighthouse, Cape Lookout, and filled with the folklore of pirates like Blackbeard, is Beaufort. What little boy wouldn’t dream of the adventures of being a pirate? So little boy puppy #2 is now Beaufort.
Another lighthouse along the Outer Banks of North Carolina is Bodie Island Light. I’m sure I could spend weeks in that area and never get tired of walking the shoreline, collecting shells and enjoying beautiful sunrises. Little girl puppy#3 is Bodie.
With all of this talk of lighthouses and pirates and nautical fun , and North Carolina flanked by the Outer Banks along most of its shoreline, one of these puppies should be named Banks! The Banks must be strong and protect the coastal area, so little boy puppy #4 has been given that name.
But there’s more to North Carolina to explore. On its western side are mountain ranges and valleys that comprise the Appalachian Mountains. The beautiful mountain ranges reaching for the sky need the valleys to really be something spectacular. In art, the beauty in a painting or photo is what the eye sees in the extremes - peaks and valleys of colors – or lack thereof, in the lights and darks. So much beauty is seen in the mountains throughout the four seasons. Little girl puppy #6 is named Appalachia for that beauty.
And what of little girl puppy #5? Well, she’s been given a whimsical name because of her fast arrival. Her birth into her family will always be remembered, as she was born a SHORT and comical eight minutes after her brother Banks. Barney had just helped me chart and take the photo of him, and he decided to start a load of the dirty laundry that had accrued with the first 4 puppies’ births. So off he went to the basement with the basket while I was toweling off this newest little boy. Carolina was restless, as if she was going to whelp again, but I thought it would just be the delivery of the afterbirth of the last puppy. To my surprise I watch her give a quick grunt, and out pops another puppy!
My mind was racing as I wasn’t finished cleaning up the boy, but I quickly hopped out of the ex pen and put him in the warmer drawer with his siblings wrapped in his washcloth while I grabbed another washcloth and went to helping Carolina with her latest birth. I gave a call to Barney a couple of times, but he couldn’t hear me over the washing machine noise with the basement door closed. So when he emerged, I shouted “record 2:58 before I forget it, and hand me a mineral oil pad for this one”. He looked at me like the sleep deprivation had finally pushed me over the edge. He calmly told me he’d recorded the puppy, and it was 2:50, not 2:58, and I’d already cleaned it’s little bum, weighed it, and taken it’s picture. I said no Barney, this is another one, and he still didn’t believe she’d given birth to another puppy, so I made him COUNT the ones in the warmer!
That’s when he finally jumped back into action. It was kind of an Andy Griffith and Barney Fife moment, and we all know they lived in Mayberry, North Carolina. As in a lot of television, things are made up, and so is Mayberry. But because of the simple comedy of her quick birth, little girl puppy #5 is named Mayberry. I can imagine her antics in the future and the smiles she will bring, as will all these sweet little babies. I’m already in love with all of them and their sweet mother who worked so hard to bring them into this world this morning - it's an honor to have been entrusted with this miracle.
Thank you to Col. Potter for giving them the chance to be born in Freedom and know love.
