Puppies!

Four strapping boys born to Molly Molly Black and Cavall Dan Pepper on August 31st, 2007 would like to show you how handsome they are!

Puppy #1 is completely black, but will probably turn a mocha brown like his beautiful mother... he weighed 8.25 oz at birth, 5:03 p.m.

Puppy #2 is salt and pepper with bands of sandy blonde around his forelegs and weighed 6 1/2 oz at birth, 6:30 p.m.

Puppy #3 is also salt and pepper, but with large spots on his forelegs. He caused his mother much distress at birth, taking nearly two and a half hours to whelp after his brother. He is the largest of the puppies, weighing 9 1/4 oz at birth at 9:05 p.m.

Puppy #4 is pitch black with a splash of white on his chest. He weighed 7 1/2 oz at birth (9:55 p.m.) and is a very hungry little man, gaining more weight than any of his brothers in the first 36 hours.

We think they are darling, but they do stink a little, and Giada goes around the house chanting "Puppy Poop!!!" This may be a mantra over the next several months. They are cuddle bugs, and love to be nuzzled and cuddled a lot. Molly is a super mother and feeds them practically around the clock. I think she likes the extra cottage cheese and eggs she has been getting with her breakfast and will miss it when she isn't nursing anymore and has to go back to plain old dog food. Cavall paced like a nervous father-to-be throughout the whelping, and now is completely curious about what little squeakers are behind the gate, forbidden to him by their mother.

Welcome to the Family, Puppies!