Maybe I mentioned this before, but I probably didn't. I have a mascot at home in the guise of my four legged furry daughter, Coco. She's a purebred shih tzu that we took in last October after my in-laws had their house fire. She wasn't potty trained, leash trained, or crate trained when I got her. Coco was a wild girl. She isn't anymore. She's my baby, the only child I have right now.

At the end of July, my husband and his parents had the brilliant idea to breed Coco. She has AKC papers and she's gorgeous, both inside and out. I'm opposed to the idea because I believe in spaying and neutering, but I was overruled in this instance and reluctantly agreed to it. So for the last few weeks, Coco has been pregnant.

This morning at around 3:30, Coco went into labor. She had three pups, two of which survived. At around 12:15 this afternoon, she had the last one. For the first time ever in my life, I'm a doggie grandma. Isn't that something?

The title of this post is mascots because Coco is the Fang Marked Dog. She's my companion, my familiar, and she's my motivation to do better. If I do the best I can, then she gets to keep me at home to take care of her. If you knew Coco's story, you'd be motivated too.

I'm going to post more on my personal blog about my little girl, but I wanted to share the excitement. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have pictures. What a great time for a sabbatical right?