Breeding more of what you love
My phone buzzed in my pocket with an incoming WhatsApp from my wife, Clare. Her message simply read “Deed is done”. The short missive was accompanied by two photos. In both, the low mist-shrouded fields of a Lincolnshire landscape filled the background. In the foreground my beloved cocker spaniel bitch, Mabel, panted, sporting a less-than-impressed expression. She was mid-tie with a smart blue roan dog of the same ilk.
Sending me images of mating dogs isn’t Clare’s standard text, I hasten to add. They are more usually “Would you pick up some milk on your way home please?” or similar. These pictures of dogs doing what dogs do was a precursor to mayhem.
Breeding a litter of puppies is not a decision to be taken lightly. Months before Clare found herself chaperoning Mabel to be covered by (Jay), we had earnestly asked ourselves a series of questions.
