Four months ago today, Pearl had her intro into motherhood and let’s just say it has been a journey. Her maternal instincts were a little sluggish, sort of like a heifer who looks at her first calf like it’s a different species from who knows where and how in the world did it get here? That was Pearl. The first pup arrived and the guilty look on Pearl’s face very clearly said: “I’m so sorry, I have no idea what this thing is or where it came from!” I’m pretty sure she never even knew when she was going to have another pup, because she’d stand up and another one would just – plop – hit the floor. For Pete’s sake, she took off before she was done having all her babies (to go bunny hunt, by the way), and couldn’t get back to the house in time so resorted to having her last pup outside under the deck in 20 degree weather requiring us to do some un-carpentry to get the pup out.

Anyway, her maternal instincts did eventually kick in, after a fashion, although she always looked vaguely pained and tormented. But she managed to raise them all without accidentally killing any of them, or intentionally, for that matter, and they have all gone to great families. However, I just wanted to share this sequence of pictures that really is just the perfect visual of Pearl’s relationship to her pups.

Ironically, Pearl and Bess, the pup who got plastered in these pictures, get along swimmingly, but Josie is kind of scared of her. I don’t blame her. Pearl can get a downright possessed look in her eyes, right before gleefully plowing her into the ground. She isn’t exactly maternal.