The last time I went to Cedar Point, I was "talked into" riding some huge, gargantuan roller coaster. I knew in advance that I was not a strong candidate for "success." The ride was thrilling and exciting, and I was praying it would be over sooner or later - hopefully sooner! Then, my stomach reminded me of the greasy food I had for lunch before the coaster. Today was that kind of day.
Although dogs have been delivering puppies without people forever, we like to make sure someone is with the Mommy dog when they deliver. "Someone" usually means me. My wife calls me a "Canine Dula." I do tummy rubs, bathroom walks, and positive encouragement - when I'm not making myself more coffee.
For me, today started about 1:30 AM as Lady started whining and scratching. That means it's time to get off the couch, where I was sleeping so I could hear the dogs, and get to work!
Lady started having contractions and eventually delivered her first puppy about 5:30 AM. Her part of the process is quite strenuous, so puppies usually come every hour or so. By 10:30 we had five healthy puppies chirping away and trying to eat something while their mom was licking them clean, again, and again, and again....
By noon, with only five puppies born, we started to get nervous. Where was #6? Our Vet is closed from 12:00 to 1:30 daily, so I knew we were "on our own." Fortunately, my wife is a genius, so she helped calm me down and told me to take a break.
To make a long story somewhat shorter, puppy #6 was delivered about 1:00, but was unfortunately stillborn. Although Lady tried to "revive" it, we could tell the puppy wasn't going to make it....
It was very, very, very sad... I was happy my daughter wasn't home - it would have been so hard for her.
We didn't even expect the #6 puppy until last week's x-ray, and now we were suddenly feeling empty as we slid back to the number estimated from the ultrasound: five. We don't know what happened, or why, but the puppy was clearly not fully developed. Since Lady has a history of perfectly healthy puppies, and the other five are perfectly normal, we just assume "something" happened and Lady's body did what Nature does...
We feel so sorry for people on our list that have been hoping for a puppy, because now we have one less available. I will begin contacting people tomorrow (Wednesday) and see who is still ready to adopt a cute fur-ball. I should have it ironed out by this weekend.
We have 3 girls and 2 boys, which made my daughter very happy! She and my son "compete" over boys vs. girls.
I'll post more pictures and information over the next few days, but here are a few early pictures to whet your appetite.
Boys: Blue, Green
Girls: Red, Purple, Orange
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| A little blurry, but shows my hand as a size comparison for a newborn puppy |
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| I think this is Miss Red, but it again shows how small they are |
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| Three darker ones, and 2 lighter ones |
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| Lady making sure her puppies are clean |
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| She is a very protective and nurturing mom |
Again, I'll have more pictures tomorrow.
