Lil'Bit Lead Dog and Friend

Sandy just had her first liter of puppies. She had them in dog house located in the puppy kennel we erected just outside the front door. It was easy to step out at night and check on the brood. Coming home from work one especially cold night, I could hear the faintest, pathetic puppy cry. I looked in the dog house but could see which of the puppies was crying. I followed the sound and found a nearly frozen Lil’Bit where she had crawled out of the dog house and wedged herself in a space under the dog house.

Lil’Bit spent the rest of the night cuddled up in my shirt as she warmed up after her ordeal. She was still a very small puppy. The next day, after she had warmed and seemed no worse for the ware, we put her back with her mother. Sandie seemed to reject her. It was hand feed and nurture Lil’Bit until she was big enough to fend for her self. In the mean time she bonded with me instead of her mother and that was the beginning of our long friendship.

	Lil'Bit as a puppy. All the dogs in the liter were given free exercise and socialization periods in the dog yard. Left to right: LilBit, Trooper, Amy, and Ranger. The puppies adopted the hollow under the tree as a place to snuggle after a hard days play.