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Again, Phoebe was getting VERY large, 25 days after her last attempt to raise a litter, the two pups named Valentine & Cupid. As with litter 3, she was making a comeback from a very small litter, and come back she did! I woke up at 6:15am on Friday, March 13th, 1998 (the day after she was due) to the usual squeaking in the nest! When I awoke there was only one pup. I went into the bathroom, came back a few minutes later, there were 2! Then I went down and ate breakfast. I came back up, no more. So I watched and waited. Sure enough, within minutes, Phoebe began wriggling uncomfortably, and next thing I knew she was cleaning off a third baby! Then, I had to go to school. So I had to sit through 3 classes wondering how many she'd had, then I left for the science fair. I finally got home around 3:30pm and ran upstairs to count. SIX!
SIX!
Unfortunately, on March 14th one of the pups died, and another died later that day, so, there are four little pups. Circle, Mary, Elsewhere, and Witness. They're named after songs by Sarah McLachlan, just like Phoebe's first litter, but on the CD "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy". Again the fun begins! More mysteries . . . how many boys? How many girls? How many lilacs? How many argentes? What fun!!
Two of the four babies
Now the pups are old enough that I know colors. There are two lilacs, Mary and Witness, and two argentes, Circle and Elsewhere.
If you're interested in adopting one of these cuties, I suggest you vist my adoption page. They're all pretty much reserved, but don't hesitate to contact me anyway, since I never know when someone will pull out.
Where are they now?
 | Circle Lautrera, my little argente baby boy, is going to make a family with his new black pied mate, Rosie! = ) He is now living with Lisa in Maryland. Rosie & Circle will have babies that are agouti, argente, lilac, black, and pieds of those! Their first litter was born June 15th, 1998, and there were 3 babies! Sadly one died = ( The remaining two are both females, Carly and Tara, an agouti and agouti spot. Here are a few pictures. More can be found here.
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 | Witness, the lilac boy, is going to live with Mrs. Gabbert, my science teacher, along with Rosie's brother, a black pied male named "Harvey". Mrs. Gabbert seems to like them a lot. However I gave them to her on the last day of school so I don't know what she named them! |
 | Mary, the lilac girl, was living with Johnny from Eve & Reilly. They were both living with Mia of DE quite happily when a fire tragically killed them both of smoke inhalation = ( |
News for the pups!
4/17/98 - My babies are all grown up! ::sniffle:: This is the last time I'll be adding the "daily pics" to this page, but I'll probably have a few more when Circle meets his mate for the first time, and when Witness meets his new friend, and when Mary is paired up to whatever she's going to go with (she still might need a home, not sure).
4/13/98 - They're so grown up! Phoebe's getting a little rounder, so maybe she'll have another litter. We'll see. If anyone is interested in Mary (the lilac female) please contact me, because her would-be adopter has disappeared. I can pair her up to a male schimmel from Eve's litter if you like.
4/10/98 - The babies are now 4 weeks old! Okay here are the new plans I've worked out. Circle is going to Lisa in Maryland (instead of Elsee, who we buried this morning with lots of flowers = (), Mary is still going to PA with one of Reilly's champs (I **think** there's a male . . .) and Witness is going to live with my science teacher along with one of Lisa's black pied boys.
4/9/98 - Fate seems to have decided that I'm not allowed to go on vacation without a gerbil dying. First, Dana I dies 2 days before Christmas, and now Elsewhere has died just 3 days before Easter = ( I was holding her, and she, being an ever-jumpy critter, just leapt out of my hand and landed on the floor. She seemed all right at first, but I guess the fall was to far because a few minutes later she died in my hands = ( I will NEVER EVER EVER take a baby gerbil anywhere NEAR out of their tank ever again.
4/8/98 - All the babies have homes lined up! Actually they have for a while, since just a few days after they were born, I'd say. Circle and Witness will be going to my science teacher, Elsewhere will be going to Maryland about 2 hours away to be paired to an (I'm sure) utterly adorable black pied, and Mary's gonna hang out for a while until her champagne mate (from Reilly and Eve's litter) is old enough to be paired up with her so she can go off to Pennsylvania!
4/4/98 - I saw 2 pups on the wheel today! One lilac and one argente, at 2 different times. I'll have to take the wheel out soon because dad and mom may decide they want to run, too, and the babies might get hurt! = (
3/31/98 - Witness opened his eyes, blinky-blink!
3/30/98 - Blinky blinky! All but Witness have at least one eye open = ) Elsewhere, "the show off", has both open, and so does Mary-the-ever-so-hyperactive. They're really scurrying around now!
3/25/98 - Definitely 1 male lilac, 1 female lilac, 1 male argente, and 1 female argente. I lucked out! I also think they might all have homes = )
3/21/98 - DEFINITELY 2 lilac and 2 argente, and I think there is an argente female (Elsewhere), an argente male (Circle), a lilac female (Mary), and a lilac male (Witness). Not 100% sure yet though.
Top to bottom: Elsee, Mary, Witness and Circle
3/18/98 - I'm *almost* certain it's 2 lilac and 2 argente.
3/17/98 - The pups have now all turned a grayish color. In 5 more days I'll be able to tell lilacs from argentes, and boys from girls. For now, my guess is 2 lilac, 2 argente.
3/16/98 - A second pup died on 3/14, but they're all looking good now = )
3/14/98 - Today I found one of my precious babies dead in the nest = ( I buried him/her in the small patch of ground where every last one of my gerbils has been buried.
March 13th, 1998 -- April 9th, 1998
"I believe this is heaven to no one else but me, & I'll defend it long as I can be left here to linger in silence, if I choose to would you try to understand?"
- --Sarah McLachlan, "Elsewhere"
| Parents | Grandparents | Great-grandparents |
| TDC's Phoebe Dani argente golden | TDC's Pookie Dani black TDC's Missy argente golden | Mrs. Dekay's Dani Dani Black Mrs. Dekay's Arnold Dani Black not sure not sure |
| TDC's Ciaran Lautrera lilac | lilac at pet store lilac at pet store | ???? ???? ???? ???? |
TDC = The Dani Clan (mine); owned by me, but not necessarily bred by me.
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