This week, data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) reported that 16 per cent of people got a pet during the Covid-19 period. It has been called the “pandemic puppy” phenomenon.
I was interviewing a hemp farmer near Kiltegan, Co Wicklow, for a magazine story on more unusual farming practices when then taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that all schools, colleges and crèches would close to prevent spread of infection of the novel coronavirus, SARS-COV-2. The previous day, March 11th, 2020, the World Health Organisation had declared the Covid-19 outbreak a global pandemic.
This spine-chilling reality was tempered somewhat by the presence of two incredibly clever collie sheep dogs who were entertaining visitors to Ed Hanbidge’s farm by rounding up sheep in a field next to the hemp crop. I realised one of these collies could have another important job to do – we could mate him with our collie, Lola, who we had bought from a farmer near Ramelton in Co Donegal three years earlier.
The Hanbidges were willing – pandemic or not – for us to bring Lola to the farm when she was next in heat. I returned home across the mountains to east Wicklow, excited to share the news with the family. If nothing else, it was a distraction from the impending gloom of lockdowns.
And so, when Lola next came into heat, we contacted the farmers and agreed to bring her for a visit. It took quite a few visits, and one sleepover, before we were happy that the west Wicklow farm dog Rob and Lola had spent enough time together.
Then, it was a waiting game. Our vet told us that Lola was young and healthy and wouldn’t need any assistance to give birth to her puppies. Nine weeks later, Lola gave birth to eight puppies in a secluded corner of our livingroom on our youngest daughter’s 18th birthday.
There is something magical about seeing eight tiny canine creatures seeking sustenance from their mother in the first fragile days after their birth. Newborn puppies are born blind, deaf and toothless. Their eyes and inner ear structure develops in the first few weeks. Their first senses to develop, however, are touch, taste and smell.
Initially, we watched in wonder, keeping a little distance, as Lola fed her eight puppies. Just as well she didn’t have any more, my husband said as, with only eight teat, feeding would have been more complex. And as she fed her puppies, we fed her with warm bowls of home-made stews to keep her nourished.
Slowly, we began to handle them, never moving far from their mother’s sharp eye. My husband and daughter weighed them each week, dutifully recording their weight gain. Each puppy was given a name to suit their emerging character as they commandeered a section of the livingroom space. Thankfully, it was not my job to do cleaning duties as Lola ceded control of managing their excrements a few weeks into the job.
This perfect pandemic distraction drew interest from neighbours and friends and, although we were careful not to breach lockdown rules with only close family members allowed into the house at first, over time, the neighbours were invited on to the deck to be charmed by the new arrivals.
And then the requests started to come in.
The well documented desire for people working from home – often with children off school as well – to have a puppy for company meant that our puppies would be much in demand. And, to be honest, with eight puppies now bounding around the livingroom and in a cordoned off section of the deck, life was getting rather busy.
My husband had decided early on that we would keep one. So, the long haired black and white male collie who was aptly named Prince was chosen. Two friends of our daughter’s requested each of the other two males in the litter and came to collect them at eight weeks old.
Three other friends in the Greystones area were quick to seek out three of the female puppies. Another family member choose the last of the first six puppies to go. And then, we stalled. We couldn’t let go of Prince’s soul mate, Millie, just before our daughter sat the Leaving Certificate exams in 2021.
And so, we waited until Millie’s first birthday to give her a new loving home. We still meet her for frequent walks and, occasionally, almost all of the puppies regroup for birthday celebrations. We share the story and photographs (for those who will indulge us) of our pandemic puppies with anyone who visits.
And, yes, Lola is still the top dog – although two kittens have recently arrived to add to the fun.
But that story is for another day.
