This is a good one. My first phone call of the morning:

"Doctor, I think that Sparky and Scruffy are pregnant."

This is an easy one, I think to myself. I neutered Sparky last month—exactly 45 days ago. And I neutered Sparky on the day Scruffy first went into heat. The client swears that Sparky and Scruffy were apart before this because of Sparky`s incessant interest in her.

On first blush, this seems, clinically, an open and shut case. No way can Sparky have gotten it on successfully with Scruffy after losing the battle to retain his testicles.

Think again.

Apparently, Sparky`s interest in Scuffy did not wane after he was neutered. Against all odds, they got it together the next day—the client saw it all happen.

In spite of the discomfort of having his testicles removed less than 24 hours prior to the "engagement," Sparky apparently felt well enough to use the rest of his apparatus—to amazing effect, apparently.

This requires an explanation: Sperm live up to 48 hours within the ducts of the reproductive system. These remain essentially intact after the source of the sperm is removed (the testicles). Testosterone, responsible for maintaining the rest of the male reproductive system in tip-top shape, remains in the bloodstream for 2 to 4 weeks after the surgery. Testosterone also provides the drive Sparky apparently did not lack the next day. Damn that pesky hormone.

So it is theoretically possible—and now that I think more on it, probable—that Sparky and Scruffy are pregnant.

The next question: What’s my legal liability here? After all, I didn`t warn her to keep the pups apart.

Uh-oh…