Happy New Year!

For those of you who have been with me on this blogging journey from the beginning, you'll  probably be aware that I am one third of Helgen; a Welsh Springer Spaniel breeding kennel. Owned and managed by myself, my sister and my mother, we operate on a very small, family-based level which is reflected by our website, www.helgen.co.uk. Thus, as we only own two and a half welshies, we only tend to have a litter of puppies once a year. Which brings me nicely to my point.........

 I am pleased to announce that on the 1st of January 2013, Megan (Highclare Electra at Helgen) introduced 7 beautiful Welsh Springer Spaniel puppies to the world. And in usual Helgen style, a night of drama ensued.
I was due to return to Exeter at around 7pm on New Years Day so, when we saw what appeared to be contractions on the 30th December, we were thrilled. However, it was not to be. New Years Day arrived and despite my train being delayed by an hour, I completely missed the birth.

Indeed, just as I was about to step onto my train I received the text. Megan's waters had broken. If you have ever experienced bringing another life into this world, you will understand how gutted I felt. I have, previously, delivered our other Welshie's puppies (Amber's) and the experience was incredible. There is no better feeling than knowing you have helped to bring a little one to life. Their tiny little limbs are utterly dependent on you making sure their Mum is okay. And so, I spent the next 5 hours desperately texting and calling everyone at home trying to find out every tiny detail.

Now, bearing in mind, it can take up to an hour for each puppy to be delivered, you always have to expect a long labour. We had had Megan scanned by a vet to confirm her pregnancy so we knew we were expecting at least 3 puppies. So when I called home at about 1am to ask if she'd finished giving birth and I was told she'd whelped 5 puppies, I wasn't surprised. However, the pause at the end of the phone rung alarm bells. "Hang on, I've just counted 6". Half an hour later, I was told that we were the proud owners of 4 dogs and 3 bitches, all healthy and suckling. It truly was a Happy New Year!

It's amazing to think that on Tuesday they will be a week old. How time flies! It won't be long until they are beginning to open their eyes and move around. But that's another story waiting to be written.

So from everyone at Helgen, we hope you have a lovely 2013! Ours has definitely kicked off with a bang.