The Story of Traveler And Bijoux

You may remember that I brought Harrison (Backbone Harrison Ford) up from my friend Michelle's (we co own him) in Oregon at the end of last year to breed him to Pelly (Braebrook's Pellegrino Marsala). He was also bred to Enya (Ch Esquire's Celtic Woman CGN) at that time and from that breeding came these two beautiful puppies who are pictured below at eight weeks of age.

There is a bit of a story on how they got their names and I thought I'd share it here for your enjoyment.

Enya had gone over her due date by several days and I had stayed close to her of course, keeping an eye to see if she might go into labour but no...she stubbornly decided she wasn't ready and keep those big meals coming please. A good sign of impending labour is when a normally excellent eating bitch refuses food. Now, I knew that I had a dog flying in and I'd have to pick him up at the airport but thought I wouldn't have any trouble as this was several days after she was due. Well, the closer it got to  the date and the less laborious she looked the more I just knew that she was going to decide to whelp on the day that I had to go to the airport. Normally when I pick dogs up from a flight I go to Victoria which is about an hour away but this time the only direct flight I could get (and direct is always preferred) went to Comox which is 2+ hours away. I packed Enya up into the van, because of course I wasn't going to leave her behind just in case and headed out. I pulled over and kept checking on her and she was happily snoozing away. I met my sister for a quick bite to eat in Courtenay and then she came along with me to the airport to help with the kiddies while I picked up the dog who was flying in. I did a final check on Enya before driving to the airport (10 min away) and she was sleeping, no nesting, no panting...nothing that would suggest labour. When I got to the airport I went inside to double check that I knew where cargo was before the dog arrived and then walked back out to the van where my sister jumps out and says "I think she had a puppy!". Sure enough when I ran to look there was a big healthy strong black boy nursing away, and Enya was calm as could be. I couldn't believe it. Needless to say I quickly picked up the dog who flew in and headed straight home with many thanks to my sister for accompanying me on this exciting airport trip.

I decided that he must have a name that fit his entrance into the world and on the drive home he was christened Braebrook's On The Road Again "Traveler".

I pulled over several times on the way home to check on Enya and Trav and to see if she was going to whelp another puppy as I was pretty sure there was more than one but the rest of the ride home was quite uneventful (thankfully!).

Not only did nothing happen on the drive home but nothing happened when we got home either. I got Enya and Traveler settled into the whelping box and both were quite happy to snuggle, nurse etc...but no sign of anything more happening. I had a good feel of Enya's stomach and I could feel another puppy in there so I walked her around outside hoping to bring labour on but these things happen at their own pace and she wasn't in any distress ( no contracting, panting etc..) so I didn't feel as though a visit to the vet was in order. Finally, ten hours (yes, 10!) a beautiful strong and healthy black girl arrived.

She was easily christened Braebrook's Fashionably Late as it fit her perfectly but I wasn't sure what I wanted as a call name so went to the Braebrook Kennels Facebook page for help and had many many wonderful suggestions. When Bijoux was suggested I loved it immediately and it has been her name ever since.

So that's the story of Traveler and Bijoux and one of the many reasons Chris and I say to each other....."there's never a dull moment at Braebrook!".