Puppies!!!

John, my co-worker, barged into the office with concern written on his face. He stopped in the doorway and said, “We have a problem.” My mind was racing. Is the engine on fire again? Is Kathy covered in more fleas? Is anyone hurt? He quickly led me to the abandoned shack on our compound and flung open the door. And there they were, eight furry little “problems”. We had puppies.

             

Stray dogs are fairly common in the neighborhood, and when it rains, they don’t have many places to go. More than a few times we have had dogs roaming around the compound, so when we saw another hanging around for a couple of days, we didn’t think much of it. Little did we know that this one was pregnant. There she was in the corner, looking feeble, hungry, and covered in fresh pups. How could we not let them stay a while?

So the puppies are pretty awesome. Whenever possible, they prefer to be piled up on top of each other. I mean who doesn’t appreciate a good snuggle? These little guys just have their priorities straight. 

When they aren’t in a giant heap of cuteness, they are either fighting for the best feeding spot (there’s stiff competition for that), gnawing on each other’s ears, or exploring the new world around them.

We've starting calling the mama dog Mom. Hey Mom, how ya doing? How are the pups, Mom? Not quite a replacement for our own mothers but she does the job alright. She spends most days scouting out food for her family, but we feed her a little extra when we get the chance. I don’t know what the future holds for Mom and the pups. We can only handle a couple new SPOUTS mascots, unfortunately. We’re on full alert for potential puppy owners, however, and are hoping for the best.

Who could resist those eyes?

Between long hours spent gawking at the fuzzballs, we also make filters on the side (just kidding). In all seriousness, filter production has been fantastic at the new factory! We have a great crop of new employees and we are really hitting our stride in production. Right now, we’re still in the experimental phase of our work—we have to determine the right ratio of ingredients to get the filters just how we want them—but we can’t wait to start churning out filters for sale!

To Shave or Not to Shave…

It’s not even a question—I’ve gotta keep this beard going strong! I can’t say that there have been many positive reviews of my appearance, but when is the next time I will be able to get away with this? I figure I’ve got to take the chance while I’ve got it.