J-CO
Litter J - Journey Through Israel: Pembroke Welsh Corgi puppies, 2024
Parents
Mistycor Reve Royal de Kaileen
Dam
Kaya
×
Dorogoe Udovolstvie Uncle Sam (Yankel)
Sire
Dorogoe Udovolstvie Uncle Sam (Yankel)
Our second litter was born to Kaya on May 13, 2024, on the evening of Israel’s Independence Day. There were seven puppies in the litter — and all seven were tricolors.
This presented us with one very practical problem: during their first days, seven tiny black-and-white puppies looked so much alike that telling them apart without some additional means of identification was nearly impossible. So we put colored collars on them. And since there were seven puppies, we used all seven colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, blue, and violet.
We quickly discovered that constantly saying “the red puppy,” “the green girl,” or “the violet boy” wasn’t particularly convenient. And that is how our first naming system was born: each puppy’s home name began with the same letter as the color of their collar — in Russian.
Красный (red) became Куджо — Cujo.
Оранжевый (orange) became Ойка — Oika.
Жёлтый (yellow) became Жузеппе — Giuseppe.
Зелёный (green) became Зойка — Zoika.
Голубой (light blue) became Голанчик — Golanchik.
Синий (blue) became Сонька — Sonka.
And Фиолетовый (violet) received perhaps the most remarkable home name of the entire litter — Финист Ясный Коржик — Finist Yasny Korzhik.
The story behind their official names was quite different.
The litter was registered under the letter J, and because the puppies were born on Independence Day, we decided that all seven names would be connected to Israel. And so Jerusalem and Jaffa, the Jordan and Jezreel Valleys, Judea, the Judean Desert, and Jish all found their way into a single litter:
Sababa Shire Judean Desert in Shadow of Rain — Cujo
Sababa Shire Jordan Valley River Song — Oika
Sababa Shire Jezreel Spring Meadow — Giuseppe
Sababa Shire Jaffa Summer Night — Zoika
Sababa Shire Jerusalem Heart of Gold — Golanchik
Sababa Shire Judea Valor Grace — Sonka
Sababa Shire Jish Milk Shake — Finist Yasny Korzhik
But this litter gave us much more to remember than just their names.
Golanchik, in particular, gave us plenty of reasons to worry. His start in life was difficult, and there were moments when we truly had to fight for him. But the little guy proved to be a fighter himself — we didn’t give up, and neither did he. Perhaps that is why Jerusalem Heart of Gold eventually seemed such a fitting name for him.
By the time the puppies were eight weeks old, most of them already had families waiting for them. Zoika was the first to leave — my favorite girl of the litter, and the one I found especially difficult to say goodbye to. But just a few days later, she unexpectedly came back home: she had become slightly unwell, and her inexperienced owner had been frightened by the possibility of more serious diagnoses.
At the time, we had no idea that this return would eventually change Zoika’s fate completely.
One by one, the others left for their new homes as well.
Sonka became Nina and moved to Petah Tikva. Finist Yasny Korzhik became Luka and settled in a moshav, where he was introduced almost immediately to horses, cows, and chickens. Giuseppe became Cody. Cujo moved to Kfar Saba and received a wonderful new name — Bowlby, after psychologist John Bowlby, the founder of attachment theory. Oika became Ellie and moved to Arad, where Sasha — a daughter of Eevee from our first litter — was already waiting for her. And so two girls from our first two litters ended up living in the same family.
Golanchik, our little fighter, became Chucky and settled in Ramat Gan.
Zoika, meanwhile, was still with us. The illness that had caused her to be returned had long since disappeared without a trace, and we decided that she wasn’t going anywhere after all and would remain part of the kennel.
But at the end of August, the right owner appeared — someone we simply couldn’t say no to. Zoika moved to Haifa to live with the family of a world champion and silver medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games as a member of Israel’s rhythmic gymnastics team.
And so the girl who had been the first of the seven to leave was ultimately the last to find her home. Yet she never truly left our lives: she remained part of Holy Paws, and Kaya’s story now continues through her.
That was our second litter.
Seven puppies. Seven tricolors. Seven colors of the rainbow. Seven names connected to Israel.
Our J litter — the Independence puppies.
Puppies in this litter
Sababa Shire Judean Desert in Shadow of Rain
Learn more
The name Cujo was chosen almost instantly. After all, what other famous dog can you think of whose name starts with the same letter as Красный — “red” in Russian?..
His official name, on the other hand, was inspired by the fact that Cujo was the only puppy without any white markings on his withers. And so he was named after the Judean Desert — a desert in the rain shadow.
He is our little black bear cub — a real one, too: not a single white spot on his neck or head, apart from the markings on his muzzle.
He is a huge fan of food. He is also quite happy to yell about it, especially when he hasn’t eaten for an eternity — approximately two or three hours. 😁
A really lovely boy, fluffy as Winnie-the-Pooh, which makes him look very much like iPhone-Alfi.
Sababa shire Jordan Valley River Song
Learn more
Oika (Odi)
At first, we called this little girl Odi, after the main character of Stranger Things. In Russian, Eleven is called Odinnadtsat, so her short name became Odi.
But over time, Odi somehow turned into Oika. And, of course, her collar was Оранжевый — orange in Russian.
Her official name, meanwhile, commemorates both the place where we planned to live in the future and Israel’s only river — the Jordan Valley and the Jordan River.
She has more white than any of her siblings, including a wide white collar around her neck, so she is our little panda bear.
Sababa shire Jezreel Spring Meadow
Learn more
dGiuseppe
Zhenya had been dreaming of giving one of the puppies a proper mafia-style name, and Cujo seemed like the perfect candidate. But I vetoed Carlos, so poor dGiuseppe had to take one for the team. And although his name technically starts with a “d”, the letter that really matters is Ж — for Жёлтый, “yellow” in Russian. :-)
His official name, meanwhile, came from the Jezreel Valley — long and narrow, just like the white stripe on dGiuseppe’s neck.
Giuseppe was the smallest puppy at birth, weighing just 250 g, and he is still the tiniest of the litter. But he can eat so much that his belly ends up making him look bigger than any of his siblings. Small but mighty, indeed.
And he is very vocal. When he demands food, he does it so convincingly that you want to drop everything and run to feed him.
This little guy will never miss out on something he wants — and he certainly won’t let anyone push him around. Guaranteed.
Sababa shire Jaffa Summer Night
Learn more
Zoika
Why Zoika? Well, because that’s the name of our Eevee’s mother, so the name practically chose itself. And her collar happened to be Зелёный — “green” in Russian.
Her official name was inspired by the annual summer festival Jaffa Nights. After all, Zoika is dark as the night and beautiful as Jaffa.
Right now, she is the biggest puppy in the litter — and incredibly, incredibly funny. Yesterday she suddenly barked at Zhenya, and he nearly fell over from sheer surprise. We had no idea any of the puppies had already learned how to bark.
Zoika is the darkest of the girls, so she is our little black bear. :))
She is a rather calm little creature, with a very strong sense of her own dignity. Absolutely wonderful — and my favorite.
Sababa shire Jerusalem Heart of Gold
Learn more
Golanchik
For a long time, we couldn’t find a home name we liked for the puppy with the Голубой — “light blue” — collar. And then Zhenya suddenly remembered the recent Eurovision and Israel’s representative, Eden Golan. And what might you affectionately call a soldier from the Golani Brigade? That’s right — Golanchik.
After everything he had already been through, and because he never gave up or backed down — just like a true Golani fighter — his official name was inspired by the most famous place in Israel, and perhaps one of the most famous places in the world: Jerusalem.
He is the calmest of the boys. We have never heard him squeak or howl for no reason — only if someone dares to invade his personal space.
Golanchik is also constantly hungry, because he urgently needs to catch up with those brothers and sisters who have already passed the 1 kg mark.
And he will catch up. No doubt about it!
Sababa shire Judea Valor Grace
Learn more
Sonka (Svyokla)
In my version, her home name is Sonya, after the heroine of Marina’s favorite children’s book, Smart Dog Sonya. But Zhenya declared that “Sonka” sounded like some old cassette player from the neighborhood, while Svyokla — “Beetroot” — sounded much more fun and even starts with an S in Hebrew. So to him, she will always be Svyokla, the puppy with the Синий — “blue” — collar.
Her official name, meanwhile, reflects the magnificence of Judea and the valor and courage of all those who fell in battles and wars for Judea. The word valor means courage or bravery, especially when shown in battle or in the face of danger.
The most Scandalous, Stubborn, Strong-willed… the most sssssilly little dog, in other words. 🙂 And what a personality she has!
She was also the very first puppy to figure out how to escape from their box. :)
Sababa shire Jish Milk Shake
Learn more
Finist Yasny Korzhik
Zhenya rejected every name I suggested — Filya, Fedya, Frodo, Funtik. “How can he possibly be Funtik? That’s not serious, and he isn’t a pig. He’s a corgi! A Yasny Korzhik… a true Finist!”
And so he became Finist Yasny Korzhik — our corgi version of Finist the Bright Falcon from Russian folklore, and the proud master of the Фиолетовый — “violet” — collar.
And that narrow white collar around his neck? Why, that is obviously a river of milk.
In Israel, milk is associated not only with Tnuva, but also with the village of Gush Halav — the only village in Israel where Maronites make up the majority of the population. One of the ancient Hebrew names associated with Gush Halav is Jish.
And that is how our Finist became Sababa Shire Jish Milk Shake.
Gallery
2024Photos: 1
