Meet the Taco Truck Pups! August 8, 2026
This is Miss Mandy's first litter, and as usual, we've been babying her throughout her pregnancy. We had set up the whelping box so she could sniff it out, but with her due date still a week away, we had not started having her sleep in there, and she hadn't shown any inclination towards nesting.
As we were shutting down the house and getting ready to head to bed on Saturday night, our Lab Willow was standing in the kitchen, STARING at the dog nursery. This was highly unusual, since Willow usually accompanies our kids upstairs at their bedtime and doesn't come back down until breakfast time. Joe told Willow to go ahead upstairs with the kids. But she didn't move; just stared at him, then at the nursery, then back at him. He walked a couple of steps towards her and then he heard it - a tiny little squeak. He turned all the lights back on and discovered Mandy cozied up with a fresh, wet puppy in her bed!
It took a little convincing to move Mandy into the whelping box, but after gently transplanting her puppy she was quick to follow, and the remainder of her pups were born in the safe and sanitary setting of our choosing! After the initial excitement died down, we looked around for Willow, and found her comfortably slumbering upstairs with the kids - once she'd done her duty of alerting us to the new arrival, she had signed off for the night.
As a first-time mom, Mandy was a little surprised by the pups and how NEEDY they are, but she has great instincts and they have kicked right in! She is keeping the puppies warm, clean, and happy.
Partially inspired by Mandy's bright and cheerful personality, we have decided to go with a Taco Truck name theme!
The girls were all born first!
Firstborn, dark apricot female - Churro! On the green taco holder: 0.39 pounds
Second, apricot/white parti female - Burrito! On the purple taco holder: 0.47 pounds
Third, light apricot female - Taquito! On the yellow taco holder: 0.40 pounds
Then the boys!
Fourth, medium apricot male - Taco! On the orange taco holder: 0.47 pounds
Fifth & last, apricot/white parti male - Nacho! On the blue taco holder: 0.48 pounds
As we were shutting down the house and getting ready to head to bed on Saturday night, our Lab Willow was standing in the kitchen, STARING at the dog nursery. This was highly unusual, since Willow usually accompanies our kids upstairs at their bedtime and doesn't come back down until breakfast time. Joe told Willow to go ahead upstairs with the kids. But she didn't move; just stared at him, then at the nursery, then back at him. He walked a couple of steps towards her and then he heard it - a tiny little squeak. He turned all the lights back on and discovered Mandy cozied up with a fresh, wet puppy in her bed!
It took a little convincing to move Mandy into the whelping box, but after gently transplanting her puppy she was quick to follow, and the remainder of her pups were born in the safe and sanitary setting of our choosing! After the initial excitement died down, we looked around for Willow, and found her comfortably slumbering upstairs with the kids - once she'd done her duty of alerting us to the new arrival, she had signed off for the night.
As a first-time mom, Mandy was a little surprised by the pups and how NEEDY they are, but she has great instincts and they have kicked right in! She is keeping the puppies warm, clean, and happy.
Partially inspired by Mandy's bright and cheerful personality, we have decided to go with a Taco Truck name theme!
The girls were all born first!
Firstborn, dark apricot female - Churro! On the green taco holder: 0.39 pounds
Second, apricot/white parti female - Burrito! On the purple taco holder: 0.47 pounds
Third, light apricot female - Taquito! On the yellow taco holder: 0.40 pounds
Then the boys!
Fourth, medium apricot male - Taco! On the orange taco holder: 0.47 pounds
Fifth & last, apricot/white parti male - Nacho! On the blue taco holder: 0.48 pounds
Burrito! (girl)
Churro! (girl)
Nacho! (boy)
Taco! (boy)
Taquito! (girl)