A decision like that sets all sorts of things in motion. I needed to make sure the timing would work for the sire, the handsome Jiffy (BISS CH Bare Cove Back in a Jiffy AX MXJ), and his owner, Diane; I needed to figure out when the timing was just right to breed her; I needed to get the two of them together somehow or other.
To make a long story short, everything was set: I would do progesterone testing to determine when to breed her, and I would take Victory to Cape Cod and meet Diane and Jiffy there for a date with Dr. Mike. But as the days went on, we were in a bit of a race against the clock, as it was looking like she might be ready right around US Thanksgiving, and then Diane and Jiffy and Dr. Mike would be unavailable.
Victory, as I have said, is a sensible, solid girl. She timed it all beautifully, ovulating on the textbook-perfect Day 14 (we knew this because of the SEVEN progesterone tests she had!), ready for breeding just before Thanksgiving. She and I headed down to Cape Cod, stopping overnight in Albany to visit my son and daughter-in-law on the way.
The moment I pulled into the parking lot of the small hotel in Bourne, MA, at which Victory and I would stay for the duration of her "date" with her soon-to-be-beloved, my heart started to pound. It pounded HARD. I'd had a nervous knot in my stomach for days, to be honest. It all felt so darned weird. I mean, to me, Victory, my youngest dog, was my baby girl -- she wasn't ready to be a MOM. And what was I doing, bringing my baby girl to Cape Cod to have "intimate relations" with a stranger? (Okay, she'd met him once . . . but still -- they were almost strangers!)
In short, I was nervous. Very nervous. Victory, on the other hand, was very relaxed.
Victory, the princess of the hotel pillows.
After a short rest, we headed off for a walk along the canal so that we could clear our heads (okay, only mine needed clearing . . . I get that!). It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed a lovely couple of hours by the water. I cannot in all honesty say that my head was clear by the end of it, though.
Diane called to say she was on the way, and after a slight miscalculation on the rotary (which led to her calling me and saying, "Is there a giant GIRAFFE at the vet clinic near your hotel?" Huh?!?), she met me at the hotel. Victory and Jiffy got to get reacquainted in the parking lot, and they were absolutely ADORABLE together. I have to say their "courting" was a delightful part of this adventure. They'd have loved to go for a real tear together (among other things, nudge nudge wink wink). And it turned out that my little girl, my baby, did not intend to play hard to get: she was a true wanton hussy. In fact, she was begging him to take her -- she had her tail straight in the air or cranked to the side, she play-bowed, she pranced, she poked him, she danced . . . Jiffy didn't have a chance if he was hoping to remain aloof (but I don't think that was his intention).
Diane and I planned a nice early dinner together before Victory and Jiffy's date with Dr. Mike, and we made the wise decision to travel in separate cars. We had a fabulous dinner at a favourite Bourne restaurant called Lindsay's -- seafood, of course, and delicious. Then it was off for the date.
More flirting ensued at the vet clinic; clearly Victory and Jiffy were smitten with each other (though I did see her take a good look at the lab in the waiting room . . . as I said, she was a real floozy!). And in case I forgot to mention it, my heart was still pounding -- it all felt a little surreal.
I have to say that watching an A/I procedure is quite the experience. As I explained to my vet here later, there's something weirdly voyeuristic about it, and it's also just a little bit nauseating . . . or at least it is when it's your baby girl being inseminated! But Dr. Mike was wonderful, Jiffy was very . . . efficient (providing "gazillions" of swimmers), and we all laughed together. When it was all over, I loaded Victory in the car and went for an hour-long drive around Cape Cod in the pitch blackness. Not exactly a sight-seeing drive since I couldn't see a thing -- I wouldn't have known if I was driving right along the beach! But I figured I'd give things a chance to settle before I let Victory walk around.
My friends know that I really don't drink. But that night, what I really, really wanted was a great big (read: HUGE) Margarita. To put it mildly, I was pretty rattled by the whole experience!
Next day, it poured rain, but Victory and I squeezed in another walk along the canal, and I marked some essays while we waited for date time. Another successful encounter, another great dinner with Diane and her friend Linda, some great chat about Shelties in general and our dreams of a wonderful Jiffy x Victory litter, another Margarita-less evening, and that part of the adventure was over with.
Now the waiting began . . . a little over three weeks until we would find out if our efforts had led to success.
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