Puppies Day 2

Puppies... eat, sleep, poop, eat, sleep, poop... no rest for Kaly, Hannah and me. However, they look so CUTE!

OMG

So last evening Kaly was acting rather odd. We chalked it up t her usual random spasticities and thought nothing of it. Then, at around 3 a.m. the fire siren went off. Kaly has a super annoying habit of howling along with the siren. But there was something different about her howling last night, something that made my gut say..all is not well. So I awoke and decided to turn on the overhead light to just check and see if she was ok. Imagine my shock when the light revealed a PUPPY at my feet. Kaly was giving birth! 

We believe in allowing our dogs to mature fully before spaying and neutering them as the hormones released during sexual maturation are very important for brain development. Having a boy and a girl dog means we need to be hyper vigilant about Kaly's heat cycles. She had gone through two cycles without incident and we were planning on spaying her. Then Sonny popped the question and I got busy with wedding planning and...well its an excuse, I know. We are pretty sure that this pregnancy occurred while we were in Singapore and the dog-sitter was watching Jet and Kaly. I guess she just didn't understand how vital it was to keep them completely apart and how quickly they can do the deed. Ironically we were planning on spaying Kaly this week and the school break allows me to be home to look after her for a few days after her surgery. Obviously that will not be happening. We have decided to just enjoy the miracle of life and make the most of the five beautiful healthy puppies Kaly birthed and we will just have to give them away to good homes when the time comes.

Puppy - Day 1

Kaly was a great mom and made the birthing look easy. She is taking great care of the pups and seems to be a happy and proud mom. I'll be updating over the next few weeks with growth updates, so look forward to watching the little runts grow!

Proud mom

Mid-semester

Wow!... It's already mid semester! It is Easter this weekend, and from the look of the weather forecast, Hannah and I will probably be staying indoors.

This past week has been busy, busy and busy!... First, we spend one day diving the wreck, Canterbury at the Northland Dive. It is located at the Bay of Islands in the North Island of New Zealand. The place we stayed in is call the Cowshed, and it is about 4 hours drive from Auckland. Unfortunately, my drysuit leaked and I was so cold I had to call off the second dive. However, Hannah managed to get two great dives on the Canterbury.

After the dive, we drove Fawkes (the van!) back to Waiheke Island. After careful consideration, we decided to terminate the monthly car park in Auckland city. It is cheaper to use the car ferry after the monthly car parking fees raise to $250/ month, while the return car ferry trip is $90 for Waiheke residents! So we plan to continue working on the upgrading of Fawkes, starting with finishing the painting, and doing up the interior.

I am getting ready to go to Singapore end of next week. I am going to visit my parents since it is on the way to Taiwan, and the school is paying for it! :P I am really looking forward to visit Taiwan to scout out potential locations for my PhD field work, visiting the lab and learning some metagenomic lab techniques.

Teaching has been hectic! Luckily Hannah is helping me with the sorting of the assignments after they are marked. Cannot imagine how much time is being put in just trying to find some student who forgot to write his/her bench number!

** all photos copyright of Northland Dive