It was five weeks since the mating, and as expected she started to put on weight, the waist line expanded, the rib cage pushing out, the appetite out of control, the boobs enlarged. Things were looking good.

It was a well planned pregnancy, hopes were high, the intention being to keep the pick bitch for showing and possible future breeding. Wouldn't it be great to have a puppy again - Ridgeback puppies are so irresistible - but hang on a minute, let's not get too carried away. The waist line stopped expanding, the rib cage stopped pushing out.

She was still well above normal weight with a bad case of the munchies, and bigger boobs, BUT at seven weeks, the vet confirmed it. He was 99% certain that she was not pregnant. I had already come to this conclusion myself. Having been through two previous pregnancies with her, I already had a good idea of what to expect, and things were definitely different.

I rang the owners of the stud dog she had been mated with to let them know. Friends rang to ask - the word spread. The vet knew she was not pregnant, so did I, so did lots of Ridgeback people in South Australia - BUT SHE DIDN'T KNOW.

The boobs kept on growing, the increased appetite was maintained, the preparations for the non-existant litter continued.

At seven and a half weeks, something happened inside her body. A switch turned off, a button released, her body knew physically that she was not pregnant. Hormone levels started to change as they went back to the non-pregnant normal, The waist line began to decrease, the rig cage contracted, the boobs lost their fullness and hung loose and wrinkled. Physically things were returning to normal.

The emotional performance which accompanied these changes had to be seen to be believed, and lasted for the following two weeks. Now she too knew that she was not pregnant. She became very quiet, passive and withdrawn, seeking out dark , secluded quiet corners to curl up in very tightly, the corner sections of the lounge suit and under the quilt being the most favoured. As the days passed she became more and more determined in her nest biulding activities. The blanket protecting the lounge suit became more tangled and disarrayed more and more often. The bed was made each morning, but when I arrived home from work each afternoon I had to start from scratch and remake it completely after collecting a tangled array of quilt, blanket and pillows from the bedroom floor.

Fearing that worse was to come, the bedroom door remained shut. Bar stools were laid on their sides along the lounge each day. My arrival home each afternoon was greeted with subdued wagging of the tail. As I changed my clothes, sat down to read my mail, or made a phone call, she sat in the centre of the room whining, moaning, making pleading, questioning sounds, declaring her depression, asking where the puppes were, demanding to know why she was not pregnant.

It did not matter what I said or how many times I said it, she did not understand. The whining continued. I tried to keep her busy, out for a walk as often as possible, in the car wherever I went. Anything to try and keep her mind off her predicament. Even a change of scenery helped to a limited extent. She refused to eat, turning her nose up at all her favourites. For five days she ate only a few bits and pieces which I was able to tempt her with. She was distraught.

Then gradually her appetite returned. As the days passed she became the happy, contented affectionate companion of old. The tail wagged freely, she demanded food treats in her usual manner, sought attention, pats, cuddles, and play fights. That sparkle was back in her eyes, they were once again expressive and alert. Those two weeks seemed to take forever to pass. For the other fifty weeks of the year she would be her normal self.

Farewell to "the Phantom"

.... she is Australian Champion Maleema Laci Kuluma 'Khian'

YEELANNA KENNELS phone or fax : 08 83 222 550 mobile : 0412 320 512 all hours email : geoff@internode.on.net

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