Janie and Jenn (moms of Doglando dogs Lexie, Shaye, Mali and Rainey) are both very active in rescue and are writing a blog post about all things in the world of Rescue.
All of the events posted in the blog about Rainey happened a while ago. Rainey has been given a clean bill of health from the vet.
This Is What Rescue Is All About (Part Three – Rainey and her Puppies)
Rainey managed to pull through her emergency c-section, but she was very weak. Two additional puppies were saved, due to the c-section, so a total of four puppies had survived birth. The other complication was that Rainey was not a very good momma and had not produced enough milk to feed her babies so they would need to be bottle-fed.
The wonderful Dr. Raulerson from Animal Hospital at Vista Lakes was Rainey’s vet and she agreed to take the puppies home for the first two nights. She got up every two hours and fed the puppies. She also drove to the vet clinic twice a night to check on Rainey. She didn’t think Rainey was going to make it so she was sick from the illnesses and weak from the surgery.
On the third day, I went to pick up the puppies from Dr. Raulerson. She showed me how to feed them and sent me home with Esbilac (puppy formula). I immediately called Janie because I knew that I could not take care of four puppies by myself. She agreed to take them a few nights a week and we solicited the help of third person so each of us had them a few nights a week. Rainey would stay a few more days with the vet.
Puppies this young are very fragile and the first night I had them I noticed one was not doing very well. The next morning, the puppy was barely alive so I called a friend who had fostered many puppies and asked her what to do. She said to bring the puppy to her and she would tube feed her. I packed them all up in my car and sped over to her house. Unfortunately, the puppy was already gone by the time I got to her house.
Now, we were down to three. A few weeks went by, with us bottle feeding them, and then the next one passed away. We thought she was fairly healthy, but she never properly developed so when she opened her first eye, it was deformed. She also begin to fade so we knew she was not going to make it. We were all devastated.
The remaining two puppies were not gaining weight so I took them to Dr. Raulerson. She told me they were not eating enough and that I’d need to tube feed them, if they had any chance of survival. I thought, I don’t know how to tube feed puppies. There is no way I can do this. However, a vet tech showed me the technique and I began to tube feed the puppies. It is amazing what you can do when you someone or something is depending on you. Unfortunately, it was not enough and the third one died about a week later.
Only Moose was left. We named him Moose because he was the biggest of the litter and appeared to be the healthiest. After the third one died, he too began to fade. He was my husband’s favorite so we took turns feeding him. Moose continued to lose weight and I could tell her was on the same path as the others. After many calls to Janie and the shelter executive director, the decision was made to euthanize him so that he would not be in pain. I drove him to Animal Hospital of Vista Lakes and Dr. Raulerson performed the euthanasia. Rainey’s puppies were all gone.
I was upset none of the puppies had made it, but Rainey was so sick while she was pregnant and she was given drugs that are known to cause birth defects (we didn’t know she was pregnant at the time) so the puppies really didn’t have a chance. I was grateful I still had Rainey.
The good news was that Rainey was on her way to a full recovery. She was quarantined at my house for 90+ days, where she was given a chance to heal. I spent many nights sleeping in the bathroom with her so she would not be alone. After about 30 days, I started to see big improvements. She started to let me know how much she disliked the crate and I knew she was starting to feel better. When was quarantine was over, she was given a clean bill of health from the vet.
After all we had gone through together, I knew I could never find an adoptive family who was worthy of such an amazing dog so I adopted her myself. She now spends a couple of days a week at Doglando, she has a nice warm bed, plenty to eat, tons of toys, and a family to call her own.
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