“What do you mean?” Dad looked at her carefully.
“I just thought you seemed a bit worried – after you told us there were so many puppies. Is Bella all right?”
Dad gave her a hug. “Bella’s fine. I mean, she’s exhausted, but she did really well. It’s not Bella…” He hesitated. “Lauren, one of the puppies is a lot smaller than the others. Mum and I – we’re not sure this one will make it. It’s such a tiny scrap of a thing, and when it was first born, we weren’t even sure if it was breathing. Bella had another puppy straight after, and she didn’t have time to lick the little puppy like she did with the others, or bite through its cord. I had to cut the cord myself, and I rubbed the little pup with a flannel to bring it round.” He shook his head. “It did start to breathe, but it’s not as strong as the other puppies, not by a long way.”
“Do you think it might die, Dad?” Lauren whispered.
Dad sighed. “I hope not – but we have to face the fact that it might.”
“That’s so sad.” Lauren felt tears stinging her eyes. The poor little puppy.
“Nine healthy puppies is a great litter,” Dad reminded her.
Lauren nodded. “I guess so. But I can’t help worrying about the little one.”
“I know, me too. Still, it might perk up. You never know.”
Lauren crossed her fingers behind her back. She wanted Bella to have all ten of her wonderful puppies safe and well.
Lauren crept in the kitchen door. She was trying very hard not to upset Bella.
But Bella looked like she’d be impossible to disturb. She was stretched flat out on her side, fast asleep on the pile of old towels that Mum had put aside for her and the puppies to sleep on, in the special low wooden pen Dad had made for them. They’d been worried that the puppies might fall off Bella’s big cushion.
The puppies were all snuggled up next to their mum, fast asleep in a pile of heads and paws. Lauren knelt down beside the pen and tried to count them, but she couldn’t work out where one pup ended and the next began. She couldn’t see which was the one that Dad was worried about, either.
“They’re so tiny!” she whispered to Mum.
“I know, aren’t they beautiful?” Mum beamed.
Lauren frowned. “They’re all black and white! I can hardly see any brown on them at all. That’s really weird, when Bella’s brown and white.”
Mum shook her head. “I thought that, but then I looked it up in our beagle book, and it says they’re usually born mostly black and white. The black might change to brown over the next few weeks, or stay as it is. Most beagles are black and white with brown patches – tricolour, it’s called. Bella’s quite rare, being all brown and white.”
“Look how pink their noses are,” Lauren breathed. “And I can hear them snuffling! They’re so gorgeous.”
“Aren’t they?” Dad agreed. “Oh, look, Bella’s waking up.”
Lauren watched Bella yawn and blink sleepily, and crouched closer to the pen, expecting Bella to want to lick her hand. She was such a friendly dog, and she loved to cuddle up with Lauren – preferably on the sofa watching cartoons.
But today Bella seemed not to see her. She was only interested in her puppies. She nudged them awake, pushing them gently towards her tummy so they could start feeding.
“She was like that with me too,” Mum murmured. “Not interested. It’s as if she’s only got eyes for her puppies now.” She put her arm round Lauren’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. She’ll only be like this for the first couple of weeks, until they open their eyes and start to move around. Then they won’t need her so much, and she’ll be our sweet Bella again.”
Lauren nodded. “Can I pick up one of the puppies?” she asked. “Will Bella let us?”
“We haven’t touched them yet,” Dad said. “We didn’t want to upset Bella.”
Lauren peered at the pile of puppies, as Bella woke them up. “Which is the little one – the one that was having trouble breathing properly?” she asked anxiously. “Oh! I think I can see – is it the one Bella’s licking?”
Mum nodded. “Yes, that one’s definitely a lot smaller than the others.”
“Oh, look, you can see its little brown eyebrows!” Lauren said admiringly.
She edged closer to the pen, and Bella glanced up, as if to check that she wasn’t going to harm the puppies. Lauren shuffled back a little, and Bella quickly went back to licking and nudging at the tiny puppy. The others were all feeding already – Lauren could hear the strange, wheezy squeak as they sucked. She giggled. “Look, Mum, that puppy’s sitting on the other one’s head!”
Mum smiled. “I don’t think they mind as long as they’re getting their mum’s milk.”
Dad was looking at one of the others. “Hey, pup. I don’t think that’s going to do you much good,” he chuckled. “Look, that big puppy’s trying to suck Bella’s paw.”
Bella looked round at the sound of Dad’s voice, and spotted the confused puppy. She wrinkled her nose, and then gently pushed the puppy over to her tummy to feed with its brothers and sisters. Then she went back to trying to rouse the tiny pup.
“That one really is loads smaller than the others,” Lauren said worriedly.
“And it’s going to stay that way if it doesn’t feed,” Dad put in. “Oh, hang on though, look. Bella’s got it moving.”
The littlest puppy scrabbled wearily, its paws waving. It was making sad squeaking sounds, as though it wished Bella had left it to sleep, but at last it managed to burrow in among the rest of the litter.
“Is it feeding?” Mum asked hopefully.
“I think so.” Lauren tried to listen for sucking sounds, but it was hard to tell with nine other puppies feeding at the same time. “Its head’s moving backwards and forwards, like the others.”
Dad nodded. “That’s good, I was getting worried.”
Then Lauren winced as one of the other puppies kicked the tiny one in the stomach – not on purpose, the bigger puppy was just scrambling to get back to Bella’s milk. The tiny puppy lay there, kicking feebly, and then it seemed to go back to sleep. Lauren watched anxiously, willing it to wake up and feed again. But the littlest puppy just lay where it was, while its brothers and sisters wriggled and kicked for the best spot.
Chapter Three
Hi Millie,
Here’s a photo of the newborn puppies! I bet you can’t count all ten in this picture, though, they’re all squeezed up together. They’re really gorgeous, but there’s one tiny one that won’t feed properly from Bella. I just hope it’s going to get better. Please come and see the puppies soon.
Love Lauren x
Lauren sent her email to Millie, and went downstairs to find Dad making the dinner and Mum cuddling one of the puppies, while Bella sat at the edge of the pen and kept a close eye on her.
“Oh, wow, she let you pick one up!”
Mum nodded. “But I was very careful. I washed my hands, and then I stroked Bella first, so that I didn’t make the puppy smell like me. The book I was reading said that it was good to start handling puppies early, to get them used to people, but I don’t want to worry Bella. She doesn’t seem too bothered, though – we thought she would be OK, as she’s such a friendly dog.” Mum ran her finger very gently down the snoozing puppy’s back. “If you wash your hands, you can stroke the puppy, too.”
Lauren carefully washed her hands, and made a fuss of Bella first, stroking her with both hands to get Bella’s scent on her fingers. Then she stroked the puppy with one finger, like her mum had done. It felt like slightly damp velvet – and it was no bigger than one of the Beanie toy dogs she had on her windowsill upstairs. “It’s so soft…” she breathed.