5 New Puppies

Pantoufle, our French Poodle (born in France) is the proud mother of 5 little chiots (puppies). They were born on Saturday evening as Zoe-Pascale was performing Anne d'Autriche, The Queen of France in the play Le Roi Soleil. The last puppy was born as we arrived home and instinct kicked in with Pantoufle chewing the umbilical cord, eating the placenta and licking the puppies clean. It is amazing watching her and how instinctually she knows what to do without any training, knowledge or modeling. She takes short breaks to go the bathroom, eat, and get a little loving from us, but immediately runs back to be with her babies. I wonder if we were once so instinctual and why we seemed to have lost it with the advent of medical science, hospitals, and modern life. Okay, maybe we won't eat the placenta, but still it is quite amazing how instinct is so built into our genetics and DNA.