Homeless & Pregnant
It was late March when an urgent call came in from an overcrowded shelter in Alamogorda, New Mexico. Duchess, a pregnant black Labrador who was found as a stray, would be euthanized if she wasn’t rescued in three days. SOLR rushed into action and Duchess arrived at the home of Carol and Stan Lange on February 28. “She was obviously someone’s pet because she was house-trained, walked great on a leash, and had beautiful manners,” says Carol. One week later, Duchess gave birth to seven beautiful puppies.
But it was not an easy labor. “Duchess was panting and in labor for well over a day, and we were worried,” says Carol. Finally, the birthing process began, and over the next five hours, Duchess had four boys and three girls.
“We had the whelping box ready for several days beforehand with a heat lamp, but Duchess chose the floor next to the box which meant we sacrificed a comforter for the cause,” says Carol. For the first few days, Carol and Stan took turns sleeping. An adult was always nearby so they could check on Momma, make sure she had plenty of water, and that she didn’t accidentally roll on a puppy.
Fostering a pregnant Momma may sound daunting, but Carol and Stan believe it is a skill almost anyone can learn. “It is important to know that the birthing process takes hours -- with Duchess it was five hours. Someone needs to be watching to make sure the puppies are out of their sac and breathing,” says Carol. Puppies are born with a protective fetal membrane that the mother removes after birth. If the mother cannot remove this sac, you must manually remove it and stimulate the puppy to breathe. In Duchess’ case, she was unable to remove the fifth puppy’s sac without help, so Carol plunged in. “Plan to have a box of gloves ready,” adds Carol.
To abandon a sweet, pregnant Momma like Duchess is hard for us to imagine. Yet today, Duchess and her seven pups are safe, thanks to the life-saving skills of our wonderful volunteers.
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