Lyla and her Little Ones

Lyla Elizabeth is a shy hound girl who spent most of her pregnancy in the Spotsylvania County Animal shelter. She came to us a few weeks ago with a nice big belly and we waited and waited for her to go ahead and deliver those babies. Finally, on Tuesday, November 27, baby number one made its way into the world. Baby number two, however, hit a roadblock. Hours went by and all we saw of number two was a little bit of placenta so we packed Momma Lyla Elizabeth and her newborn baby up in the back of the Forerunner and took them to Blue Ridge Veterinary Associates in Purcelville. With their help (and some drugs) Lyla birthed six more babies, though number two was stillborn. Number eight, however, refused to cooperate and after a long day of birthing, Lyla, had to undergo a cesarian section. The final pup was fine- she's a squalling, demanding black and white girl. Lyla, however, had complications. Her blood simply would not clot and she continued to bleed out for some time after being surgically closed.

Lyla had to be transferred to an emergency hospital where she spent the next three nights at a HUGE expense... a little over $3000.00 with our discount. The first 24 hours were really bad and we were warned that her chances were slim for survival. On her second day, however, we found our Lyla a hero. Basil the plot hound (available now for adoption!) generously donated some of his own healthy blood to Lyla and before the transfusion of whole blood was even complete, she stood up and wagged her tail!

Thanks to Basil, Lyla continues to recover and is receiving followup care back at Blue Ridge. She is eating and responsive and the bleeding has nearly stopped. Meanwhile, her 7 babies are being cared for by three awesome vet techs from the hospital. Each of the three is taking babies home with them every night and bottle-feeding every few hours. During the day, they snuggle together in the incubator at the hospital. We can't say enough about how the staff at Blue Ridge has gone the extra mile for Lyla and those babies.

If you'd like to make a dontation to help pay for Lyla's care, please go to our website at http://www.lostdogrescue.org/.

Stay tuned for more on the pups as they grow.