If you subscribe to our newsletter, you know that we recently had an unexpected, but pleasant delivery! A transport from another local facility containing a very pregnant dog arrived at our shelter. This girl had been picked up as a stray and no one had come to claim her. We were able to arrange a foster family for her, so she was brought to us. As the transporter took our staff around the back of the truck to remove the crate containing momma dog he mentioned that we should have another week or two before she would give birth.
SURPRISE! Our staff noticed not only had mom arrived, but she had given birth to two puppies on the way!
We knew that we needed to get mom and babies inside and settled as soon as possible since we weren’t sure how many more little ones were on the way. We set them up in our behavior suite for some privacy and got clean bedding ready for them. Dr. McFarling watched over mom and determined that mom was a pro and she knew exactly what she was doing. Momma pretty quickly gave birth to four more puppies making a total of six. And what an amazing mother she is! She got all of her puppies cleaned up and nursing right away.
We already had a foster family lined up to take the pregnant pooch, but since she had given birth and we weren’t sure if there were more puppies on the way, we decided to keep the entire family in our shelter overnight.
This allowed Dr. McFarling and our veterinary staff to provide a checkup to mom and all six pups first thing the next morning. You can see some of the exam process in the photos posted here. Luckily, everyone looked great! The pups all appeared to have nursed, and mom was tired, but tending to her pups just fine.
Later that day, the entire family went into foster care for some much needed rest and tender loving care. We’re incredibly thankful to the foster family for being so flexible and able to adapt from expecting a pregnant mom to instead taking in a mother and her six newborns. We’re anxious to hear what names they choose for this sweet mom and her little ones! We will be sure to keep you updated on this devoted mother and all of her precious babies, and of course, provide you with as many photos as possible!
If you want to help this family and many more like them, please donate! Your contribution helps save the lives of pets like these right here in our community!
