The Art of Raising a Puppy (Revised Edition) by Monks of New Skete

Author:Monks of New Skete
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: PET004020
ISBN: 9780316182683
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Published: 2011-06-29T00:00:00+00:00

INTERLUDE

From a Monk’s Journal

Looks Like a Puppy Is in the Cards

I have always loved the name Zoe. It comes from a Greek word meaning life and has a thoroughly biblical pedigree in both the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament. Life is the gift that has been given by the Creator, who has freely chosen to share this with his creatures and with creation. Whatever lives, whatever has life, points by its very existence to the mystery that ultimately brought it into being, and that mystery is fundamentally good.

All of this is relevant to me today because Brother John told me this morning that I will be raising a female puppy from the “Z” litter, a breeding between one of our top studs, Dux, and a beautiful brood bitch named Xenia. Throughout the years that we have been breeding, we have assigned letters to each litter in order to keep track of it in an orderly fashion. Every time we go through the alphabet, we add a number after the letter to indicate the next cycle. For example, “B19” would indicate the nineteenth “B” litter in the history of our breeding program, the four hundred seventieth litter, to be precise. To further keep track of puppies, we usually suggest that our clients pick a registered name starting with the letter of the alphabet of the litter their pup belongs to. Granted, this makes for some interesting registered names (e.g., “New Skete’s Xcellent Cherry Pie”), but it helps keep records straight while allowing our clients freedom in naming their pups. In the above example, the dog’s call name is Cherry, but her registered name lets us know that she is from an “X” litter.

The puppy I am to raise is from the “Z19” litter, so we have decided to call her Zoe. The name definitely seems to fit her. When I’ve taken her out to play over the past couple of days, she has been spunky and full of fun, and without an inordinate amount of mouthiness. I’ve been able to redirect her attention to appropriate objects for her mouth and haven’t noticed any sort of reticence or fear of people. She seems eager to investigate new objects and environments, and her curiosity amuses me when she gently ruffs at something unusual, like the oil truck making a delivery, as it did today. I am excited about the prospect of raising this pup, and the fact that her name is one of my favorites makes me all the more eager to get started with her. But, more than anything, I am aware of the possibility of the gift she can become and how her success or failure depends largely on me.

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