Shortly before dawn, the front doorbell rang. It was the Splendid Vet, who had been up all night saving the life of a dog that had been run over. By then all the puppies had been born, and Missis was giving breakfast to eight of them all she could manage at one time.

Excellent!€ said the Splendid Vet. A really magnificent family. And how is the father bearing up?

The Dearlys felt guilty. They had not given Pongo a thought since the puppies had begun to arrive. He had been shut up in the kitchen. All night long he had paced backwards and forwards, and only once had he heard any news when Nanny Cook had come down to make coffee and sandwiches. She had told him that Missis was doing well but only as a joke, for she had no idea he would understand.

Poor Pongo, we must have him up, said Mrs. Dearly. But the Splendid Vet said mother dogs did not usually like to have father dogs around when puppies had just been born. At that moment there was a clatter of toenails on the polished floor of the hall and upstairs, four at a time, came Pongo. Nanny Cook had just gone down to make some tea for the Splendid Vet, and the anxious father had streaked past her the minute she opened the kitchen door.

Careful, Pongo!€ said the Splendid Vet. She may not want you.€

But Missis was weakly thumping her tail. Go down and have your breakfast and a good sleep,€ she said€ but nobody except Pongo heard a sound. His eyes and his wildly wagging tail told her all he was feeling, his love for her and those eight fine pups enjoying their first breakfast. And those others, in the basket, waiting their turn how many were there?

It’s a pity dogs cant count,€ said Mrs. Dearly.

But Pongo could count perfectly. He went downstairs with his head high and a new light in his fine dark eyes. For he knew himself to be the proud father of fifteen.

Perdita

AND NOW,€ said the Splendid Vet to the Dearlys, you must get a foster mother,

He explained that though Missis would do her best to feed fifteen puppies, doing so would make her terribly thin and tired. And the strong puppies would get more milk than the weak ones. The puppy Mr. Dearly had brought to life was very small and would need special care.