01/12/2026
🎂 Happy 4th Birthday, Yōkai Litter! 🎂
Four years ago today, January 12th, 2022, five tiny spirits fought their way into this world — and nearly didn't make it.
The Yōkai Litter was supposed to be the beginning of everything. My first litter. The foundation of Pantheon Poodles. What I didn't know was that it would also be my introduction to the terror that comes with loving something before it's even taken its first breath.
At 11 PM, with Raiju in distress and puppy heartbeats fading, I was racing through the night to the only vet who was still open, who could save them. Most were closed, this one was over an hour away. My Hazards were on. Speed laws were broken. Time was running out.
When we finally found an emergency hospital, they wouldn't begin the surgery until $4,500 was paid upfront. Every second felt like an eternity. Then they sent me home to wait.
I don't remember falling asleep. I just remember waking in the wee hours ( 3 AM ) to a text message letting me know how many boys and girls they had. I just kept repeating "Raiju is alive. The puppies are alive. They're all okay."
One puppy did have to be resuscitated.
Then they came home in a plastic storage bin lined with towels, five impossibly small lives that had no idea how hard they'd already fought to exist. And for the next two weeks, I watched them around the clock. They were still in danger. Every breath. Every movement. Every moment a prayer.
I couldn't have done it alone.
My sister flew in from Arizona to be my second set of eyes, my second set of hands, my sanity. She took alternating shifts so I could finally sleep. She sat on puppy watch while I cried from exhaustion and fear. She helped me raise these babies through the most critical, terrifying, beautiful weeks of my breeding journey.
Without her, I don't know how we would have made it through.
And now? Look at them!
Tanuki, our first stud, 12x Total Dog, stealing hearts and show rings everywhere he goes.
Kirin, Chiko, Seiryu, Rayuto...all thriving in homes where they are loved beyond measure, living the lives they almost never got to have. Therapy dogs, show dog, family pet. Irreplaceable each and every one.
From emergency C-section to four incredible years. From fading heartbeats to full, beautiful lives.
Happy birthday, my first spirits. You taught me that the hardest beginnings can lead to the most extraordinary journeys.
🖤 To the Yōkai Litter, and to everyone who helped them survive. 🖤
Thank you, sis. I couldn't have done it without you.
