Day Six, Morning - In which I am again reminded of the resourcefulness of beagle puppies. Daisy had a terrible night last night. She hacked and coughed - I expected her to spit up a hair ball any second - she did a lot of reverse sneezing. I slept on the floor next to her for part of the night. Which accounts for my sore back. She’s much better this morning. I hear the pups fighting, and go to the kitchen to see Lori on top of the gray plastic crate, trying to get to the counter top. How does she DO that??? The boys are play fighting fiercely. I know WHY Lori climbs. I just don’t know how. I grab her, let the residents outside, remove the baby gates and climb over the barricade to see what kind of a mess I’m dealing with. I herd the pups into their crates, and roll up the newspapers. I put down fresh newspapers, put down food and water, and let them loose. While they eat, I make coffee, because I badly need the caffeine. Except for the climbing incident, it’s a calm morning. The curtains are intact, the drop cloth is in good shape. The puppies are done eating, so I retrieve the empties, and they start grabbing at my sweatpants, which means mostly that they are biting my legs. This is a new development. They have become ankle biters!

Day Six, Evening - In which I decide that puppies are really agents of destruction in disguise, and in which I have to say goodbye. I come home to a mess. The floor is littered with soggy shredded newspaper, some of which has found its way outside the barricade, and the water bowl is missing. Lori is on top of the crate. I still haven't figured out how she does that. I scoop her up, and climb over the barricade. I peek into the crate, and there's Sullivan, chewing on the water bowl. It's not entirely clear whether the bowl was empty BEFORE or AFTER he dragged it in there. What is clear is that new towels are needed. Over the course of the last six days, I have determined that a teething puppy will chew on anything - another puppy, newspaper, cardboard, plastic crate, metal crate, water dish, kitchen appliances, toes, hands, arms, anything, that is, except the toys specifically designed for teething puppies.

And Lori is on top of the crate again. I set her down, determined to find out HOW she does this. The barricade is between the heaviest crate and the kitchen cabinet on one side, and the fridge and the wall on the other side. Lori wedges herself into the space between the crate and the cabinet, and works her way up the space in what Kent called "chimneying" - a rock climbing move. Who knew Lori was a rock climber? Now that I understand HOW she does this, I can better prepare her adoptive family for her athletic escapades. I scoop her up, along with Warren, and take them to the back door to let them outside. Except I have no third hand to open the door. I need to set one of the pups down. So, I set Warren down inside the hanging nylon laundry bag and open the door. I scoop him up, and put both pups outside. Next, Sullivan, then Garrison, and finally, Heath.

Everyone is outside, even the resident four. I roll up the drop cloth and sweep up the stray shreds of newspaper, put down the new one, and cover it with fresh newspaper - the drop cloths help out a LOT. I put out food and water, and put the barricade back. I grab the camera and go outside. Lori has again conquered Dog House Mountain, and today, she's got company. I know Buster is not himself because under normal circumstances, he'd be herding the pups, barking his head off trying to play referee, or just being the "fun police". Instead, he's got two of the pups following him all over the yard. Daisy, having done her duty on puppy patrol a long time ago, is ready to go back inside AWAY from all the activity. But Sullivan catches up to her and kisses her face and licks her ears. She lays down in the grass, and he lays right next to her. Buddy and Potsy are supervising the dog house climbers, and I'm kind of enjoying not having pups jumping all over me. We're outside for about 90 minutes. I bring everyone back inside, and of course they all come in at once. I have to round up the puppies...I put them in their holding cell - they make a beeline for the food and water....and then for their crates. They sleep for MAYBE two minutes before the wrestling, snarling, growling and singing begins. Typical puppy behavior.

The family taking Lori and one of her brothers will be here any minute...They are completely set on Lori. I show them some of the pictures of her climbing achievements. They now must decide between Heath and Sullivan. And Heath sells himself, by sitting in Gail's lap and making himself at home. Sullivan is busy exploring. I am amazed, because I thought that Lori and Sullivan were more bonded...They choose Heath. And within 45 minutes, the contracts are signed, and Heath and Lori are gone. This is the hard part, watching them go. But, the new family is ready, and the pups are going to be very happy, and very loved. Warren and Garrison are wrestling, and Sullivan is whining. I pick him up and snuggle him. He pushes into me and gives me a hug. I tell him he's been adopted, he just doesn't know it yet. We snuggle for a bit longer, and then I put him in the crate with Warren and Garrison, who by now have snuggled together and fallen asleep. Sullivan lays down on top of them, and with a collective sigh, they all settle down - all ears, legs and tails. Lights off, sheet over the crate, and we all go to bed.