Kit's post-dinner snooze.

Eating is hard business and it helps to take a nap immediately after feeling full. Kit's food bowl is just out of frame to the upper right. She is lying right behind me as I sit at the computer. Kit feels that we both need to guard her uneaten food from the "unruly hordes"--Kit's description of the rest of the pack--who slaver and pace hoping that she will abandon her meal. Kit has decided that chicken stew, no matter how delicious and lovingly made, is not a good thing right now. Kit drank all her stock, took a couple of nibbles and then said, enough. This morning, the only thing she would eat was the chicken meat from the stew.

As I write, David is making ground turkey with Middle Eastern seasonings for us and I am hoping that the novel flavors will tempt her to eat some later. She also loves cooked broccoli, so that is what we are having and hopefully she will want a bit as well. Finally, I think that a pumpkin and peanut soup (for us, but of course, she can have some) might tempt her if nothing else will. Who doesn't love peanut butter???? And pumpkin or sweet potato is fantastic for dogs when they are not feeling well. Super nutrious and delicious and vets often recommended this along with rice and white, skinless chicken meat for dogs with stomach upsets. The combo of protein, carbs and vegetable makes a solid, balanced, and easy-on-the-stomach meal. Bananas and peeled apples make a great snack for dogs with upset stomachs as well. My banans should be ripe tomorrow, so I will see if they meet Kit's high banana-quality standards in the morning ...

Enough about food, I'm sure!

Kit seems comfortable and normal today, so we can probably look forward to another uneventful night and day tomorrow. David will be home with Kit tomorrow in case her labor begins, but I expect she is not ready yet. Thursday she goes to the vet for progesterone testing and to my office with me after the vet to hang out and socialize with her office friends. Although Kit would probably be fine if I just took her home, I like to be sure and keep her with me if I can. Luckily, now that she knows everyone I work with and has a sense of the rhythms of the day, she is very well-behaved at the office, so she is welcome.

A final, hopeful thought: I talked with Lori, Kit's breeder, and she said that some girls she has bred have ended up having more pups than the number that appeared on xrays. So, fingers crossed, and if we are very lucky, Kit might surprise us with a pup or two more than the 6 seen yesterday. This would be wonderful because there are so many great families and people hoping for a KitXJohnny Cash pup and I hate to disappoint anyone. Only time will tell, though.

Fingers crossed. As I close, Kit is playing with Mira and acting like a pup. Funny. Even weighed down with pups and almost due, the schnauzer playfulness will not be denied ...