Lasya's fourth pup Diki a true middle child

Lasya's fourth pup Dechen Diki was a true middle child - lost in the big litter of six Lhasa Apso pups. This female pup with birth weight 160gms was born at 1.55pm on Monday 2nd August 2010, exactly 15 minutes after the third pup Yeshe. After having whelped 3 pups within 10 minutes Lasya got a short breather and so did I.

My helper Sarita played a big role by generally running around, fetching hot water, clean napkins, kitchen weighing scale, the hygiene kit I had earlier prepared. She even took the sire Simba out of the room when he began barking in distress when Lasya screamed in pain during the first three breach whelps. Thankfully Diki's was an easy whelp and having had a 15 minute break both the dam and I were better prepared since we were taken completely by surprise, not to mention the first three assembly line whelps! LOL!

Lasya had completed her 63-day cycle so the whelping was expected over the weekend and I was on leave as of Monday. However, since she showed no signs of labor yet and I had even taken her outside for relieving herself at 12.45pm. I was chatting online with a colleague at 1pm who asked for news and turned to look at my Lhasa girl who lay in her whelping bed. That's when I saw her already in labor and with Misa whelped at 1.30pm you can imagine how quick my responses had to be and for a first-timer I'm glad I kept myself together!

I still had to pull out the fourth pup as it came through but this time instead of wiping it clean and snipping the umbilical chord I held it in front of Lasya and she instinctively knew what she had to do - although I had to hold the chord for her to snip off. Her color coded tag was in green wool.

Little Diki didn't begin as a very healthy puppy - she suffered from colic and had trouble taking her feed in the first couple of weeks. With Diarhea adding to this confusion when all pups kept jostling around Lasya at feed-time keeping her well-fed was a challenge.

Lasya paying attention to Diki while the other pups sleep after a feed. She would lave their face and groom them after every feed and in the initial weeks the dam even licked cleaned their urine and feces.

Diki after being laved by her mother Lasya

Diki on the right with her chubby baby sister Tashi Skamar on the left. Diki left our home at the beginning of December when she was 4 months-old and while her new mom Pooja was a first-time pet owner she had already brought home a Pug puppy born a day after Diki. She renamed Dechen Diki as Lucy and very soon added a Labrador pup to this menagerie!

Dechen Diki in Tibetan language means Health, Wealth and Happiness and I'm proud to say that this little girl has brought all these and more joys to her human mother Pooja who told me later that she keeps getting compliments on Diki's looks and temperament.

Happy 1st Birthday little bundle of Happiness!