Gus’s mother Hannah was bred with Knox, his father.

This morning, I got a text from Robin Gibbons saying “positive attempt. Got tied. (the breeders term for sex) .Will try again later to make sure.” Hannah was standoffish for a couple of days with Knox, but decided to breed with him this morning, the old-fashioned way.

No artificial insemination for this crew.

We went over to Robin’s house today to see Hannah and congratulate her. Knox had gone home to rest.

We won’t know for a month if she is pregnant or not, the odds are pretty good. We love Hannah, and we were so impressed with her we decided to get one of her puppies, which led to Gus.

Robin and Maria and I both use the same vet, the Cambridge Valley vet.

I think Robin will try breeding with Knox one more time to make sure, but we feel pretty optimistic. We’ll know sometime if June if the breeding was successful.

If it was, then the puppies will be born sometime in August, and be available to leave the litter in October. Robin agonized about whether to breed Hannah again, but she decided to go forward, and we are glad she did.  There are different theories about the cause of megaesophagus, the disease that killed Gus.

It is very rare among Boston Terriers.

Some researchers think it is genetic, some think it’s a virus, others think it cause by anesthesia, which Gus had just before he got sick. The truth is, we just don’t really know. We know plenty of Boston Terriers living on farms around here, and they lead long and healthy lives.

We will take our chances, as people do every day when they walk outside of their homes or go to work. We do not live in fear or assume the worst. We do not live a life of warnings, now epidemic on social media.

Hopefully, this will permit Robin to leave this painful experience behind her. I think we have already.

So we are excited, for sure. I’m eager to continue the small dog experiment, and Hannah is one of the sweetest and neatest dogs we know, she is also a great mother, just as Robin is a loving and thoughtful breeder.

Five months is a long time to wait, but it will be worth it, and we already have everything we need. It will be fun to spoil another dog.

We will have something to look forward to all summer. Thanks for coming along on this trip.