Hopeful Momma Dog

Hope's shelter picture arrived in an email just like about 35 others that day, same as every other day. One look, however, at her sad, hopeless eyes and GIANT belly and I knew I had to do something to save this sad girl and had to do it quickly. We got her transported to us the day after she arrived in the shelter and I brought her home and set her up in my bathroom.

I named her "Hope" because when I saw her in person the only thing I could think was "I hope she makes it through childbirth!." She was so emaciated, so dehydrated and so weak I couldn't imagine that she could physically handle the birthing process. We treated her for a terrible case of tapeworms and hand fed her puppy food for a day or two and then I turned her care over to the wonderful staff at the Blue Ridge Veterinary Associates. When I took her in for an exam they xrayed and found "at least 10" babies in that giant belly! They put her on IV fluids to combat the dehydration and the next day started her on some drugs to stimulate the contractions. The first baby came immediately.

Throughout the whole long day Hope was too tired to actually push her babies all the way out herself. She got help from her favorite vet tech each and every time and then happily took over the feeding chores. There was a scary period when puppy number 8 was twisted in the birth canal and not moving and everyone prepped for a c-section, but to their great surprise the puppy found its way into the world on its own and nubmers 9, 10 and 11 quickly followed.

So Hope is home now with her 11 babies and we are lining up the baby bottles to start helping her feed them. We can't wait to see whether they are rottweilers or coon hounds!