Things are looking good. Darkness, frost, and cold night air prevailed, still we ventured on. The time 6:30 AM. We drove for and hour and fifteen minutes, our arrival was thirty minutes before appointment time. Either I am thirty minutes late or early for appointments at this vet in Claremont, NH, the reproduction vet. I like this vet, soft spoken, gentle, with an abundance of experience.
Light seeped into the day, and a lazy sun waned to the east behind mountains, as a heavy fog floundered over the Connecticut river valley. I drove with my little labrador family of Nash, Pearl and Willow Sunshine, North on I 91. All is not quiet in the car. Anticipation, and desire oozed from Nash, evident by restless maneuvers in the back seat. Tired, stressed, vocal cords squeaked and squawked as he tried to bark. Eventually he settled. Pearl and Willow Sunshine, rest in contemplation. Pearl must certainly know where she is headed. As usual, she accepts life as it comes.
The receptionist greets me by name. I've been there so often the last few weeks for this breeding, it's all routine. We are given an exam room. I leave Perl with the receptionist, and get Nash out of the car. He squawks"deck the halls" and "angels sing" behind a tinted car window, smeared with dog slobber. Don't tell him he's thirteen, as he leaps from the car. On a taunt leash he drags me into the vet. He pants, "Where is she, Where is she, Where is she?" I open the exam room door a crack, "you ready" I said to the vet and technician. before I could finish my sentence, Nash barged through the door to greet his beautiful sweetheart, Pearl.
In one fluid motion, the vet moves with adeptness for the collection. "He certainly is more enthusiastic this time, isn't he." Unfazed, unrattled, it's all in a days work. He left to look at Nash's abundant "sample", returns equipped for task at hand. "It looks good." The vet said. "Each sample keeps getting better. you would think he was five years old." He said and proceeds with the artificial insemination.
Casual conversation ensues between humans, as Pearl's hind end is held in the air for two - three - four minutes. Her expression; here we go again. "Good girl Pearly, your such a good girl." I said to her. Her big brown eyes look into me.
That done, and Pearl back in the car. Nash, a bit too well endowed to be let out in public, is escorted out the back door. Nothing a short walk in cold morning air couldn't solve. The vet suggested a third and last AI.
Once more, and for the last time, on Wednesday evening at 6:00 PM, I will load the car with my labrador family, and head north on I 91 toward Nash and Pearl's final reunion. Nash has only been bred once before in his long life, to Pearl. At thirteen this will be his last. I knew there was something amazing about his boy when he was born, hence, his registered name, Caccha's Willow Amazing Nyne. Now we wait to see if it the breeding takes. May it, there are people waiting for that special dog soul with whom to be reunited or united for the first time.
Willow n Nash 2000
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