The Puppies Arrive

The puppies are so cute, so cuddly and so adorable, but a lot of work. I am very thankful that Melody and her boyfriend Elijah are on spring break and can help me out. Right now, I have little Jacob crawling all over my lap.

I am sure you are all wondering how it all turned out and maybe you saw the Facebook post from Two by Two Animal Hospital. Well it began with Meribell visiting the vet on Tuesday March 10. She had an x-ray done and the vet saw 5 big puppies. The vet alerted me to the fact that since they were so big there might be a possible C-section on the horizon. She also said that they might not arrive until Sunday or Monday, so to be patient.

Our dogs currently sleep in the basement in their own kennel spaces until we get the new kennel built. Parker barks sometimes at night, but never Meri. Early Friday morning at 2:45 I heard her complaining, so I went to investigate. She was pacing around, so I got my cot out and made myself a bed next to her in the basement. I also texted my friend Kathy to alert her to the possibility of an impending delivery. But I didn’t see any other signs, so went about my day early on Friday and made arrangements with Kathy to come over at 10 and check Meribell.

Kathy came at 10 and by this time we could see that Meribell was leaking amniotic fluid, so we both sat on the bed and waited to see what would happen. Just after 11 I noticed her discharge had changed color. The floor is red, so I thought it was red, but just in case I put some fluid on a paper towel. It was green, one of the warning signs the vet gave me. Meribell hadn’t even pushed yet.

We pulled the car up and called the vet. I got in the trunk with Meribell in case a puppy came out on the way and Melody drove the 20 minutes to the vet. Thankfully no puppies on the way and we were checked into an examination room right away. The puppies were observed with an ultrasound and it was noted that their heart rates were lower than they should be, so Meri was prepped for a C-section.

Melody and I waited in the examination room for what seemed like ages. Then we heard there were 4 boys and 1 girl, and all were doing well now. 1 of the boys (that had been breech) needed a little help but was now doing well. We were so excited to meet them!

They were so cute and cuddly, and all were nursing on Meribell when we first saw them. It didn’t take long for Meribell to come around, and off to home we went.

It has been hard for Meribell to recover from her surgery and raise her pups by herself, so she has needed a lot of help. We bottle fed the pups for 24 hours to give her the break she needed, but thankfully she is now nursing them.

The pups weighed in between 18 oz and 21 oz on their birthday. Today, day 5, they have weighed in at 26 oz to 28 oz, so well on the way to doubling their birth weight during the first 10-15 days.

So enjoy the pictures of their first few days at home.