ZinKuties@2: Bigger, faster and badder than ever

Two years ago today, I was coming back from the veterinarian’s with Faith, the puppy whose late arrival  did not in any way suggest the last born was shy about embracing her new world. She may have needed a little help to get out from behind a stillborn sibling, but she hasn’t needed any help since. That has been true of all six of the surviving  ZinKuties,  who have amazed and appalled their owners (including me, for Faith was always meant to be mine) in near-equal measure. (The nickname of the litter came from the sire, Zin, and the mother’s nickname, McKutie.)

McKenzie’s litter was the first I’d ever planned, and I did it with the help of her co-owner (my friend Mary, in Texas) and the owner of sire, Zin (my friend Katie, in Minnesota). For both dogs, the preparations were extensive, with screenings and certifications for every possible health problem for which screenings and certifications exist. Both dogs are champions, and both had been trained and given enough challenge as hunting dogs to prove they could function as hard-working companion retrievers. We were also satisfied with their intelligence, their hunting drive and and cooperative instincts,  their gentle loving behavior towards people (McKenzie is so easy to get along with that she’s going on book tour with me), and good-natured tolerance of dogs and cats.

My veterinarian was involved early, helping to coordinate the prebreeding testing before and handling the prenatal care during the pregnancy. And of course, he was on hand to deliver the last puppy, check over the other healthy ones and help me decide to end the life of the one with a birth defect he could not survive. (The last puppy to die, a tiny little boy, lasted only a few hours after I took them all back home.)

After such a rough start I was a mess, convinced that the other six would also all die. Fortunately, my friends helped me — Mary and Katie from afar, and Judy from across the street. (And yes, it’s very “circle of life” that I helped Judy to say good-bye to her Lizzie two years to the hour when she helped me say hello to the first of the ZinKuties.) I’ll never forget the kindness of the people here as well, and especially the help of Pat, a/k/a “The Other Pat,” who fed the daily weights of the puppies into a spreadsheet and helped reassure me that they were all gaining well, as well as helping me see which two needed more time at the “milk bar.” Pat … these are your puppies as much as anyone’s, and I’ll be forever grateful.

Mary and Katie flew here when the puppies were eight weeks old, and we put them through two days of evaluations. They were all far bolder than Mary had expected, and all went to working homes except Faith, who stayed here with my promise to provide her with enough meaningful work to do (which is part of why she’s in Texas with Mary now, learning to be a hunting dog while I am traveling the country on book tour).

Today, two years later, they are all companion hunters and family dogs, and a two of them are also heading for high-level field competitions as well. They are all strong, smart, athletic and challenging dogs who are all with people who can handle them, people who love them when they’re not cussing at them under their breath. They are just beginning their lives as working dogs, but they are already long-established in their lives as family.

Happy Birthday to the ZinKuties! In birth order, they are: Jack, Parker, Dooley, Keen, Maya and Faith. Raising them was an experience I’ll never forget — and one I’m not tempted to try again, any time soon. Raising healthy, happy and well-socialized puppies is a full-time job, and the work truly kicked my butt.

In the months to come they’ll all have their own screening tests, and we’ll start to consider which, if any, of the dogs have something to offer future generations.

Top: The boys, left to right: Jack, Dooley and Parker. Above: The girls, left to right: Keen, Faith and Maya.

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