Katoba Dobermans ~ "The Joy of Emeralds"

After the developments of the first Katoba litter, I considered breeding Echo one more time. I had a strong and sincere desire for a bitch to carry on Echo's
foundation, and was not sure I would be able to breed Piper. After evaluating the logistics, I considered a few different possible stud dogs. My thoughts kept
returning to a 4 year old unproven male who finished quickly and had not been in the ring locally for a while ... CH Tijac's Classic Topp Model, "Gunther". I had
hopes of retaining Echo's drive, balance, and solid movement ... while improving on her front assembly, under-jaw, and bone. I have been told by a few wonderful
mentors that the "fronts"are one of the hardest things to "fix", and since Gunther was line-bred with strength in those qualities, I felt the breeding of these to
Dobermans could hold strong possibilities of success. At the very least, I believed this would be a good step in the direction of my goals for developing my line. I
contacted Cathy Ceely, Gunther's co-breeder/co-owner/handler, who agreed with my thoughts on the breeding potential. After some discussion, it was decided.
After some updated health testing, Echo presented to Gunther with her "known enthusiasm". Progesterone testing showed it was time ... but, "The Goon" was not
convinced ... for six nights in a row, we tried - daily - to obtain a tie. While Cathy & I were both silently frustrated, we both believed in our dogs. The two continued to
simply flirt and play - and while Gunther was being a GREAT "boyfriend", the foreplay was not going to bring about puppies. I tried one more progesterone test
which showed we had probably 'missed' ... but we refused to give up without one last attempt. It was New Years Eve, and Echo was now on day 22, with a
progesterone level of 18, (plus 2 days). Nevertheless, we were going to try one more time, and if unsuccessful, would collect and A-I that day ... as a last resort.
When I got to Cathy's house, I "told" Gunther of his "options". Since Gunther is a "nature boy", we put Gunther & Echo outside ~ under our watchful eyes ~ and
almost instantly, we had success ... a 20-minute tie. FINALLY! Even though Echo was willing and Gunther finally "got his girl", I had privately resigned myself to the
fact that it was likely too late and chose not to A-I following the successful tie. So, we waited ... and watched. Cathy - convinced there would be pups, began joking
that there would be a "dozen". Echo seemed to begin gaining a liitle bit of weight ... so I "hoped", while Cathy now began the mantra of "there's 12 in there".

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The Condensed Story ~ Excerpts from "Katoba's Emerald Litter" journals by Kathy A. Babbitt

Day 63 arrived, "Whelp Day". Both the vet AND Cathy were at an Agility Trial in Auburn (about an hour away), all day. Todd had to leave for work at 7:30am and
would not be home for at least the next 26 hours. They all checked in with me throughout the morning. Echo had begun true labor, nesting, and pacing just after
Todd left - of course. By 9:30am ~ no puppies. By 11:00am ~ still no puppies. I was a bit anxious and Echo already looked a bit tired ... something just did not feel
'right' to me. No puppies by noon and Echo was now starting to push. Maybe that would help things move along. I had now gone from feeling not quite right to
feeling as if something was 'wrong'. I shared that with my vet who was receptive enough to hear my thoughts that a C-Section should be considered. We agreed to
meet at the hospital at 1pm. This was to be Echo's second/last litter, she had a LOT of pups in there, and I saw no need for her to go through what could be a very
long process ... probably ending in a C-Section anyway - and I was NOT willing to risk the loss of Echo OR any of the pups. Echo was panting, fatigued and a bit
weary from the hours of non-productive laboring - not to mention weeks of carrying around a 50% additional body weight, but, I got Echo to the car and we headed
to the hospital. Moving her did not change the laboring, other than to make her more uncomfortable. She was still pushing, but I couldn't even palpate a puppy.
Now, I was worried. We got to the office after the 25 minute drive ... it was slow since it was a Sunday & opened only for emergencies. In true Echo fashion, she
heaved her front feet up onto the counter to steal a cookie. While i was slightly relieved, that one single activity exhausted & halted her. I knew at that moment we
were right to get her in for a C-section. She weighed in at 98.2 lbs. Good LORD! The lobby became my personal sanctuary for prayer! They took Echo back and
prepped her. She was doing well when they called me back to watch and prepare & assist resuscitation of the many puppies ready to present momentarily. A
second vet and team of techs were all anxiously awaiting the "Eleven from Heaven", as they were also now calling them. It was, after all, a bit of a miracle that we
got ANY puppies from such a late breeding. I peeked in to see Echo's GIGANTIC belly being opened by the surgeon - sounds 'yucky' but was, in fact, amazing.
Then, with little notice, the surgical tech spun around & through the doors with a tiny bundle in his hands ... the first babe was ready for revival. THIS puppy was the
"hold-up". He weighed 17.4 ounces and was laying sideways at the base of uterine horn - blocking the way for the rest. Then there was number two - another boy...
then, three & four ~ a virtual SEA of black BOYS was before me. FINALLY, number 5 ~ IT'S A GIRL, Thank God. Six ... seven ... eight ... nine ~ boy-boy-boy-boy.
Then, number TEN ... YAY, another girl. Lastly, number 11, ANOTHER BOY!

Wait a minute ... did I say "lastly"? Oops, I should not be so quick to end the whelp-tale. You see, about a minute into our monitoring of the now breathing, warmed,
"Eleven from Heaven" litter, the surgical tech burst through the doors with a surprise ~ Pup #12 had been hiding in the tip of the left horn, way up in the rib cage ...
closest to HER mothers heart. Yes, HER ... it was another girl. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Lord. But she was tiny - VERY tiny - not moving, no sign of life at all
... a teeny, silent, raisin-baby. My heart ached for her .... she HAD to make it ... SHE was "the one". After a bit of work, she sputtered and coughed ... then, much to
my satisfaction, did not stop squacking until she was completely dried & huddled amidst the pile of the warming puppies. That precious 12th puppy weighed less than
10 ounces - about half the size of her first-born brother. Cathy arrived about the time we were ready to weigh the pups, "officially", and dawn their ribbons. She came
through the doors, looked at me & said, "well, what's the count"? With my eyes full of tears I replied, "TWELVE". Cathy smiled a very big smile and said with a
chuckle, " I knew it ... I TOLD you." Saying the number aloud found me completely overwhelmed, in shock, and ... "giddy". We got them all weighed and ribboned.
Echo woke up enough to get her warmed and ready to go home. I packed her into the well-heated car, where the back seat was prepped for comfort. In the front
seat, I had the pups in a blanketed moses basket, padded with heated saline bags. When we got home, Echo's wonderful mothering instincts took over and the real
celebration of life began. The pups refused supplementation, and I do not appreciate even the 'idea' of tube feeding an otherwise healthy puppy. So, Echo ate
TWELVE meals each day - one every two hours - to keep up with the demand, and the puppies nursed nearly round the clock ... six on/six off every twenty minutes,
with a 20 minute full-litter-together time in between feedings. Echo didn't want to leave her roost and had to be forced to go outside and or to get up and eat ...
sometimes wanting her food brought TO HER in the whelping box so as not to have to leave the babies. Echo was an AMAZING dam - we could not be more proud of
her success in the whelping box.

By 28 days post-breeding, Echo had lost all tuck-up but had only gained 2 pounds, so we went in for an ultrasound to confirm presence of pups with heartbeats.
We were ecstatic with the news: at least 8 puppies with visible cardiac function. WAHOO! By day 54, I was a bit concerned ... Echo had gone from 65 lbs,
(pre-breed), to a whopping 88 lbs. She was still active but tired quickly, was ALWAYS hungry, and simply could not get comfortable ~ I was following the prenatal
nutrition plan, kept Echo conditioned, and took her in for regular pre-whelp vet visits. Shocked by SUCH a rapid weight gain, the vet called her in for an X-ray we
scheduled. By day 56, Echo had ballooned up to 92 pounds. I knew "something" was up when the vet came in and asked me to sit down. "Oh God", I prayed,
"please let Echo & her babes be okay." I took a deep breath as Echo & the tech then bounded in with gigantic smiles. Holding back any emotions initially, they now
pulled up the digital x-rays on the screen ... circling ELEVEN skulls & spines ... and then smiling at me. I was in shock, The tech pointed out one more puppy he
called #12, but the vet did not feel it was a puppy. All I could hear was "ELEVEN" ~ everything after that sounded like a Charlie Brown's mother "wha wha wha".
ELEVEN - holy cow! Then the vet tech winked at me and in the voice of Cathy Ceely I heard him say "there is 12 in there". The adrenaline flowed through me, I was
thrilled that Echo was okay, shocked that Gunther had gotten her THAT pregnant. It was like something was hitting the back of my head - it was Cathy's voice over
and again "12". But, trusting the vets assessment, I would now call them "The Eleven from Heaven". Suddenly, I was HORRIFIED. I called my husband, Todd, and
when I told him the news, there was utter silence on the other end of the phone. Then ... "THAT call" ... to Cathy Ceely. She knew I was taking Echo in and when
she answered the phone, she said, "Greetings WHAT is the count?". I couldn't speak at first ... then I was finally able to choke out, "[vet] says eleven ... tech says
twelve". Without much hesitation, Cathy burst into laughter ~ giving herself kudos for 'knowing from the start', and kept saying, "WOW!".
The whelping area at our house was ready ~ it looked more like a Labor & Delivery Suite than the 'dogs family room'. So, again we were at that point ... "waiting".

The first giant puppy whelped became light blue collar boy, "Cahill"; the surprise 'raisin-girl' last-whelped puppy became lavender-collar girl, "Logan". The first pup to
go to his new home was white/camo collar boy, "Simon"; the first to earn a performance title was gray-collar boy, "Tyler"; the first pup to win a Best of Breed was
navy-collar boy, "Vedder"; Katoba's first AKC championship is yellow-collar boy, "Oz"; the first pup to move out of the country was orange collar boy, "Guinness"; the
first pup to move into an already established Katoba home was pink collar girl "Sonya"; the first of the litter to win a Major was green-collar boy, "Ledger"; the first
pup to achieve an AKC Certified Canine Good Citizenship was red-collar boy, "Ronin"; and the first to produce puppies of their own will be ... ?
There were weeks and months of rearing, socializing, teaching, feeding, spoiling, cleaning ... it was a LOT of work ... and a lot of FUN. The journaling, training, and
proper stimulation of all 12 pups was an all-consuming but beneficial duty ~ all day, every day. Echo was aw-inspiring ~ such a focused dam; Rock & Piper were very
involved and were great mentors for each puppy; and Cathy Ceely, (owner of the stud dog), made her very regular stops to check in on the progress, evaluate the
pups, stack for photos, and offer great support. Humbly, was exhausted ... but, NOTHING could compare to the great work of Echo, she was unbelievable in every
way. I owe a debt of gratitude to Cathy, for the "curse" of a 'dozen' ... you WERE right, (I know how that pleases you - ha) ... and it turned out to be a "blessing".

One of those "once in my lifetime" experiences ... this adventure has been a complete JOY!
~ Kathy Babbitt

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