I have been granted a momentary leave of absence from slaving to report on our harrowing adventure of delivering puppies last night. After many years, and many disappointments, DH and I have brought forth our first litter! Sometime back in 2001, we decided that it would be a good learning experience for our kids to raise something. Teach responsibility, business management, and sex ed all rolled up into one family enterprise. Living in the city, we agreed upon dachshunds. Small, short hair dogs. Cute. Sell for $$$$. Good idea, right?
Yeah, until your first female comes into her first heat and you discover she has a hereditary defect and you have to get her fixed and then you run over her in your own driveway with your little children watching and the whole experience is just so traumatizing that you wait another year and buy a new female and male pair and then you move and have a hurricane and the dog is so stressed that it doesn't come into heat for a whole nuther year and when it does it turns out that breeding an even slightly larger dog with a slightly smaller female is a profoundly stupid idea!
Our poor dog was in such agony last night. We had one good happy moment when the first puppy was born and the kids were all crowded around the whelping kennel exclaiming over the wonder of life, but it went to hell in a hand-basket from there. Thankfully, after the kids were ushered off to bed. It turns out that first one was the runt of the litter. It had a hernia and had to be whisked to the animal hospital for stitches. Do you know how much after-hours, emergency vet care costs? That will be $75 for the exam. $40 for the stitches. Two tiny stitches. Took a total of 10 minutes. Oh, and by the way, if you have to bring in the mother, that will be $500.00 up front for us to even look at her. O.K., no thank you, we will be delivering these puppies ourselves. Dogs have been doing it on their own since the garden, so how hard can it be, right? Twelve hours later, I'm back on the hotline, weeping, I will gladly pay whatever they ask. Just please stop this animal's suffering--the dog's too!
Sorry, we're closed. And your vet? Oh, I don't believe he opens until 8:30.
TWO hours away!! And the whole time Sally is looking at me with these--well, yes, puppy dog eyes--that said, "Please, help me!" She wasn't going to make it another two hours.
We were miserable knowing we had done this terrible thing to Sally, but we did try to do everything we could to save her and the puppies. Girlfriends, I stuck my finger in places I never thought I would! We lost two of the puppies and saved three. And Sally lived, praise God, she lived! If you have never had to tell your children that a beloved pet is dead, you cannot know my relief. She is being a good mother to her puppies. They are very cute, but I don't think I'm cut out for the dog business.
Dachshund anyone?
4 comments:
You absolutely crack me up. You know I do not naturally share your appreciation for the canine species, but my heart goes out to support birth of any sort. Y'all are awesome. Congrats!
Hey there...watch ole Sally the courageous mama. We bred our dachshunds and the mama started walking into things (temporary loss of peripheral vision) and after a speedy trip to the vet they said she had toxemia. We had to feed the pups on our own, since she couldn't. This was years ago, and surely Sally couldn't be this unfortunate, but I wanted you to know anyhow. Congrats, canine midwife!
Oh I'm so glad Sally made it through and Jess too! Boy, though, she looks tired in that picture.
I'm so glad to see you out of your bondage and chains (a Pastor's wife at that LOL) and saying hi in Blog land! Ok, back to slaving - we'll miss you!
They are so cute it makes me want one. What an experience though. Glad it all worked out okay and Sally made it.
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