Princess Daphne, Super Mom

Daphne at 3 months.

The last of the dogs I have to introduce on this blog (and create a category for) is Daphne. She came from pedigree, unlike Eddie who is partly jologs. We'd like to think Daphne lived in this hacienda in Batangas, before she was transported to Manila to join our family.

Her pedigree showed in every way.
...In her manner of walking. Like a beauty queen who is used to wearing high heels, she would tip toe and move gracefully. Her body poised and with proper bearing.
...In her manner of eating. Daphne will never gobble her food, never beg for it, never take food from another dog. She would wait her turn, and if given food, would take only small bites from it.
...In her manner of jumping. She moved like a ballerina.

To us, she's like a princess. The contrast between her and Eddie is so striking.

And then she became a mother. And her mother instincts kicked in.

Daphne, watching over her pups. This was Day 2 or 3, after giving birth.

She is a very devoted young mother. She'd place her pups first. Really. When the puppies were much younger, there where days when she would let the pups eat ahead of her.

She would groom them, too. Very often. She would clean up after their pee. To this day, even as the pups are already bigger than her, she would groom them still. I sometimes still catch her drinking their pee (which is gross, but that to them it's instinct).

The vet is quite amazed because we learned that not all bitches are this way with their puppies. Some mothers quickly forget they have kids. But Daphne? The vet says she is special. And the bond she holds with her kids is remarkable. It's something you will see from the dogs instantly. Daphne adores her children. Even the bond she has with Eddie (her husband) is quite amazing, too.

I love what the vet said the last time he was here to check on our dog-kids. A family who loves each other, he said.

And he was just talking about all seven of our Jack Russells. It didn't include us.

Which is why, as much as it is a burden to handle seven dogs? We could not imagine parting with any of them.

Daphne would be heartbroken.