After waiting for a while, the second pup’s head finally began to emerge.
Judging by its size, it seemed a bit smaller than the first one born earlier.
「Do you think it’ll be okay without help this time?」
「you kay?」
「It’s best if they can come out on their own.」
Together with Dori, I waited for the next pup to be born.
Meanwhile, Potato and Grandma were carefully wrapping the first pup in a towel, keeping an eye on its condition.
『Gyawo, gyawo!』
It was breathing properly and crying out, so there didn’t seem to be any problems.
Still, its cry was quite unique.
Just then, a commotion could be heard from downstairs.
――Clatter!
「Naoki, we have a problem! The field was—wait, is a pup being born!?」
Grandpa, who had been out, rushed back in.
The moment he spotted Grandma, he hurried over and broke into a joyful smile as he looked at the newborn puppy.
I bet he had the same expression when I was born.
Since Grandpa and Potato were close, he must have been thrilled.
As proof, the two of them clasped hands and started some sort of celebratory dance.
Potato really was like Grandpa’s partner.
Dori kept glancing at us, as if wanting to join in, but I held his hand to stop him.
『Grrr!』
「Hey, you two, quiet down! Chips-chan is working hard right now!」
Scolded by Grandma, Grandpa and Potato instantly deflated.
Considering how hard Chips was struggling, it wasn’t surprising that she’d be irritated by her mate dancing around at a time like this.
This clearly wasn’t the moment for that.
As Chips bore down once more, more of the pup’s body slowly became visible.
But then, another issue arose.
「Huh? Why does its body look so long…?」
Its front legs had come out, but the hind legs were nowhere to be seen.
For a second, I wondered if it was a dachshund-like breed, but there was no way it could be stretched out this much.
Just like with the first pup, it seemed to have grown quite large overall.
『It hurts…』
With the pup taking so long to come out, Chips was clearly in pain.
She stopped straining for a moment, shifting restlessly.
Worried that the pup’s head might scrape against the floor, I quickly lifted it up.
「Calm down, Chips! I’ll pull, so hang in there a little longer!」
『Gau!』
Chips gave a small nod and resumed pushing.
I gripped the pup’s body firmly and called out to her.
「Here we go!」
The moment Chips put all her strength into it, I carefully began pulling.
「Ohhh… Whoa—!」
I expected it to come out quickly, but as the pup’s body kept stretching longer and longer, I was completely stunned.
As I fell backward, the pup slid out with a slick motion.
Its torso was clearly as long as my own height.
「Grandma, get me the scissors!」
I hurriedly took the scissors from her and cut the umbilical cord.
There was no way a single towel would be enough to cover a body this long.
「Grandpa, bring some more towels!」
「Got it!」
While Grandpa rushed to get them, I checked on the pup.
「It’s breathing, right?」
Bringing my ear close to its mouth, I could hear faint breaths.
However, its face looked somewhat pained.
Maybe its unusually stretched-out body was a sign of some kind of birth defect.
「Looonnnggggg…」
Dori seemed worried about the newborn as well.
But no matter what, it was part of our family now.
「Hey, you okay?」
As soon as Grandpa returned with the towels, I wrapped them around the pup’s body.
「Still, this dog sure has a long body.」
「Could it be a breed like a miniature dachshund?」
Even after wrapping it up, its torso was so long that the towel barely covered it.
On top of that, its body was incredibly flexible, almost snake-like.
When I lifted it, its body dangled loosely.
『Myaa—』
「Whoa, what the—!?」
The moment it let out a cry, its body started shrinking before my eyes.
Do modern dogs come with an adjustable body length feature or something?
By the time I realized it, its body had returned to just slightly longer than normal.
「Is it okay…?」
『Myaa—』
It no longer looked like it was in pain and cried out in a loud, strong voice.
「Papa… kitty?」
「No, Papa isn’t a cat.」
「No, dat!」
Dori pointed at the pup.
Its cry did sound like a cat’s, but it still looked exactly like a dog.
『Mya… Myaa—』
See? Even now, it’s clearly denying being a cat.
That was a denial cry, right?
『Ugh…』
As I was pondering that, Chips began pushing again.
「Chips, are you alri—」
――Pop!
With a small sound, something fluffy rolled away.
I followed its path with my eyes and saw a furry little creature.
「A third one…?」
Looking closely, the umbilical cord was still attached.
As Chips approached, she instinctively bit through the cord herself.
It was definitely her third pup.
She started licking it frantically, but the thick fur made it look a bit difficult.
「Chips, are you okay?」
『Gau!』
It seemed like there wouldn’t be any more.
Her belly, once swollen, had flattened as if it belonged to a different dog altogether.
With the successful birth of three pups, the Morita family had just grown a little bigger.
Leave a Reply