Whelp: a high-pitched whining sound that speaks for youth and has long stood in for young dogs. Replaced by puppy, for a puppet or, in its shortened term, pet: a little soul carrier, bound to its mistress’s will, and carrying it. Before it became a pup, however, and long after its soul was replaced with a human one, it remains a whelp.

Coyote Whelp in the Bella Vista Quarry

The whelping will start in earnest in August, under the moon. Until then, quiet.