New Puppies - Heavy Heart

A Very good friend of mine rushed her Golden to the vet to do an emergency C-Section on her pregnant female yesterday because one of the pups was in trouble. They took 10 puppies but 1 didn't make it. About 45 minutes after the pups were born and while mom was getting stitched back up, she suddenly died. They are not sure what happened since all her vitals were okay. They believe a blood clot.

So now there are 9 orphaned puppies that need help. We tried to feed them from bottles but they didn't want any part of that. They ended up getting feed by a tube. We also have to stimulate them to pee and poop (something mom naturally does). It was a long night. I am now sitting at my desk at work with extremely heavy and swollen eyes. I will be going over there again tonight to help out and relieve my friend for awhile.

So far we have only found 1 surrogate mom for the babies and she could only take 3. She is a Yellow Lab mommy that had 5 pups 4 days ago but 1 died. So now with these 3 she is feeding 7.

Please pray the 9 pups survive, that all the pups find moms who can take them, and that my friend will be okay emotionally. She is feeling very guilty at this moment that this is her fault. Of course she is not since they did everything they could but her loving furkid is gone and it's hard to deal with. :(

How terrible! This friend must be in such a state right now, mourning for her beloved baby girl, plus scrambling to save the pups! What was supposed to be a joyous occasion is now still a blessing, but tempered with two tradgedies.
Those pups will be in my prayers.

Oh my, how sad... I feel so sorry for your friend, but tell her not to feel guilty, it wasn't her fault!

I hope the puppies will all survive, and they will find loving homes.

I wish your friend and you lots of strength, I'm glad you are helping her out.

Take care ok!

Our thoughts and prayers are with you and especially your friend, what an emotional rollercoaster that must be. I hope people and mama dogs are all able to foster the pups, and that she keeps one as a piece of her beloved baby who is now, I bet, being a foster mom to pups who died too soon, too, at the Rainbow Bridge.

Dixie, What a sad story! My heart is indeed heavy after reading your post. Someone on pet talk's doggy just puppies, right? I can not remember who it was. Maybe they can help out if they are not too far.

Your poor friend! Please tell her she is in our thoughts.

How horrible!! :( :( :( :(

I do so hope those puppies make it. And tell your friend it wasn't her fault.

~Kimmy

I am so sorry, I can only imagine how she feels to lose her beloved mama dog. I will pray that the little ones make it and I know you will do your best to help them.
Jackie

How terrible!
My thoughts and prayers are with you, the pups, and your friend!

I'm so sorry to hear that. I will put the pups and you and the momma on my prayer list. I hate to hear stuff like that. Just make sure your friend doesn't start blaming herself...it really is easy to do.

This is so sad to hear. My prayers go out to those little puppies and especially for your friend. Try and convince her that this terrible thing is definately not her fault. Don't let her put blame on herself, she doesn't need to be depressed - those little puppies need her and her Momma dog would be so proud!!!!

OH MY GOD,,,,,,,That is so terrible, I cannot believe it. Your poor friend must be devastated. That is a nightmare. Dixie, I'll take a puppy or two to feed NO PROBLEM, if you guys need help, let me know, I am in Erie and can be there in less than 2 hours.What a shame, that poor mamma. My heart is sick, I will be praying hard for those little babies, and let me know asap if you want me to come get a few to nurse. Terri

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I have an update on the situation!!!!!

From my previous post you know that 3 of the pups went to a yellow lab momma. That left 6 to be manually fed and cared for. Well through some great Networking in the Lab and Golden community in Pittsburgh, another lab and a Golden have been found that were able to nurse the babies. All the babies are getting cared for by momma dogs now! All the babies are able to suck from their new mommies and are getting along great.

They will stay with the other families to be nursed and cared for until they are weaned and then they will come back to my friends house for a short period before they go to their forever homes.

It has been a very tragic experience and the sadness of losing her momma dog is just devastating. All of our hearts are heavy with sadness but my friend has said she will be keeping one of the females in honor and rememberance of her loved furmomma who is now taking care of the one pup who passed on with her. What a fitting honor.

[ November 07, 2001: Message edited by: Dixieland Dancer ]

Hey, what a great news that is! I'm so happy everything turned out fine! :)

Thank God Dixie - my heart still goes out to your friend who losed her beloved pet. Maybe this new baby will at least help to lighten the sadness incurred, but I know not completely. You can't replace pets in your heart and sole, but she will have a darling rememberance of her beloved furbaby. Give her my love & my prayers are with her and thank you Dixie - you are such a good friend, she's lucky to have you.

Wow that is awful! My heart goes out to your poor friend! Karen put it perfectly: she must be on a roller coaster of emotions. Happy that she has eleven gorgeous little puppies to play with, but heartbroken over the loss of her dog. Dixie everyone is right, you are a great friend. I wish I could help, but since I can't, give each and every one of the puppies a kiss from me, and give your friend a big hug.

Oh my, this is horrible horrible news. Candy, my heart is heavy now too. I am praying for these puppies and for you and your friend. I hope you find the strength that these puppies need. God Bless you for being so diligent with this - Of course, I wouldn't have expected anything less from you. Your heart is as big as the moon - just like the rest of us. But, with you to the rescue I have no doubt that every pup will be fine and will grow up big and strong.

Good luck Candy - my heart and prayers are with you and those pups.

[ November 08, 2001: Message edited by: doggiemom ]

Puppy update. One of the little girls weighing 13 oz. is having problems sucking from her new mom. She is kind of lethargic and having a hard time holding body temp. She is getting tube feed and they are using a heating pad to keep her warm. She nuzzles with new mom all the time but won't drink. Please keep her and the rest of the 8 in your prayers.

I sat with my friend last night for hours and just let her cry as I cryed along with her. With her Sandy gone and the puppies at new homes, it seemed very strange in her house. My eyes are so swollen and I think I'll forgo obedience class tonight to catch up on some much needed sleep.

She has decided to keep one of the babies in rememberance of her Sandy. She has two other Goldens also. One is Sandy's 16 month old female baby from Sandy's first litter.

Please keep her in your prayers. Her name is Lynn if I haven't mentioned it before.

I am so sorry that such a thing happened. I can't imagine the grief everyone is feeling. To lose your beloved dog during what is supposed to be a miraculous (sp?) experience is devistating. Tell your friend that I am SO sorry that she lost her golden friend and that those puppies are in my prayers. :( So sad

Oh Dixie, I am sitting here with tears knowing the pain that Lynn is going through, when I read something like this I always think what would I do if I lost Daisy or Perry and it's unthinkable. I am so sorry, please tell Lynn that we are thinking about her and feeling her pain too. I will pray for those little babies that they will have the strength to become healthy and happy. Dixie get some rest yourself, I can imagine you are exhausted.
Jackie

[ November 08, 2001: Message edited by: Jackie ]

Oh Dixie. My heart is breaking for you, your friend Lynn and the brave little puppies; what fighters they are. It is so tragic that momma Sandy lost her life giving life to her babies. I am in tears for your friend Lynn and her loss. Thanks to you, and thanks to the volunteer golden and labbie mom's for giving these precious ones their best chance. I will be praying for the puppies, especially the little one who's having a harder time of it, for you and especially for Lynn. I know she is devestated. How lucky she is to have you, her wonderful friend, there to help her through this. Please let her know that many here are thinking of her and sharing her pain. Oh, this is so very sad :(

I'm sorry it took me so long to post on this job. They took away my internet at work!!!! :eek: I'm so sorry to hear about Lynn's loss. What a difficult time for her. Please let her know that she is in my thoughts along with all the puppies. I hope that one starts eating again.

My thoughts are with you, your friend and
those poor little puppies.
How sad to loose the mother.
I think it is so wonderfu that
you were able to find surrogate mothers
for the pups.
This happened a couple of times on
the Akita list I am on, where
the mother was lost and
thankfully surrogate mothers were
able to be used.
I will be thinking good thoughts
for those pups to make it.

How devastating. I am so sorry. I'll pray that the pups are ok.

Puppy update! All the pups ended up having a hard time on Thursday and Friday. Probably because they were almost a week early. They all seemed to have to fight to be able to suck. Then it was decided to tube feed all of them as well as let them try to suck from mom. By Sunday, their normal due date, they were all off the tube feeding and going at the surrogate moms with vengence.

They are all expected to make it now! :D I'll try to post pictures of the babies when I can. They are so precious!

Lynn is still having a rough time though. She crys constantly and misses her Sandy terribly. I think it will help when she can have a baby with her all the time.

Thanks for all your prayers. ;)

Oh, Candy!! What a wide range of emotions over this whole message thread. I am so sad for your friend, Lynn, and her sweet baby, Sandy. But my goodness!! Who would have thought that those babies could find "wet nurses" to take over their feeding? It is a miracle. Those babies were indeed meant to be!!!
Keep us posted. And we will keep all of them, including Lynn, in our prayers.

Logan

I am so happy that the puppies are going to be okay! I hope that they can help your friend get through her horrible loss.