Mama beagle is a first-time mom, she’s nervous, and she had to have an emergency c-section. She was brought to the shelter a few weeks ago from a rural animal control, where she had been on the euthanasia list. Dad is a mysterious stranger.
When she woke up from her c-section, mom showed zero interest in her pups. She didn’t want to clean, feed, or be anywhere near them. We decided to give her a chance in case she was just loopy from anesthesia, but it wasn’t to be. The kennel manager came to my door while I was eating dinner with all four pups, all cold and crying. With the help of some heating pads and bottles, we got them fed, warmed up, and helped them eliminate (it’s amazing how much an animal the size of the palm of your hand can pee!). She took two for the night and I took the other two.
Meet Nina and Simone. Both sleeping peacefully for now, although we’ve got the alarm set for every-two-hour feedings. They’ve got a long road ahead of them and the odds are not awesome for survival this young without a mother of their own species. But I love them already and I’m going to give them the best chance I can.
Here’s Simone with her milk mustache
Nina taking the bottle like a champ
the girls keeping each other company
The plan for tomorrow is to try mom again and possibly to try another mom we have in the kennels, whose kids are about four weeks old now. Even if we can successfully provide for their basic needs or if neither mom can effectively feed them, having a dog mom is important for their socialization and helps them sort of “learn to be a dog.”
Anyway, wish us luck! And send caffeine. I’m gonna need it.
Good luck! The babes are adorable, and I hope momma comes around.
If neither nursing mom will take them, maybe another dog in the shelter will adopt them for socialization even if no milk? Humans would still have to feed them, of course.
What beautiful babies! I love them too, but I don’t envy you.
My sweet little Nina passed away this afternoon.
A former co-worker took them last night so that I could go to a concert (one I had been planning for months to attend) and kept them overnight. This morning, she told me Nina was cold, lethargic, and not taking her feeds at all. We did everything we could to bring her back around, but she steadily declined over the course of the day.
Nina struggled to some degree from the start in comparison to her stronger sister. She had a hard time coming around from sedation at birth and was always smaller and had a harder time feeding.
I had her only three days- her whole lifetime. And I know the score. That’s part of why I ended up with them instead of one of the less-experienced kennel employees. Partly, it’s because I know what I’m doing. Partly, it’s because I can handle the reality that they may not survive. My “specialty” is normally seniors and hospice animals, so death is part of the deal.
Still, though- even with only having known her three days, even with the fact that she’s so little she mostly just ate, slept, and pooped, even having done this many times before, I’m heartbroken. Part of loving animals who are unlikely to survive is loving them without reservation. They deserve that much- for someone to get attached. To sob their heart out when they die. To remember each one.
Nina loved to curl into the palm of my hand. She always knew where my hand was and would crawl into it if I put it anywhere near her. She would latch on hard to any finger she could find. She slept best when someone was holding her. She had a big pink nose and the funniest tiny little ears that stuck out sideways. Any time I looked at those ears, I thought about how she’d probably grow up to have long, silky beagle ears and how I’d always remember how tiny and goofy-looking they were.
And for all three days- her whole life- my god was she loved.
You are a great person. Thank you for what you do.
ETA: And your post has me tearing up.
Sniff~
RIP Nina
Are the other two orphans doing OK?
My surviving baby, Simone, is doing okay. She’s usually all about the bottle and wasn’t that interested in her just-a-few-minutes-ago feed. Which isn’t super abnormal and she ate a lot at the last one, but I’m kind of on high alert. I wonder if she feels the loss of her sister. I know she doesn’t understand it, but she’s alone now, which she must notice.
My co-worker took the other two for the first night, but quickly decided raising puppies was too much work and found a vet tech at the hospital where the pups were delivered who was willing to foster. As of this morning, they were doing okay and are named Basil and Sage, but that’s all I know.
I’m considering getting her info and contacting her to see if she wants me to take her two or if she wants to take my one. Three is a lot to take care of for either one of us, but without at least having a sibling, Simone will be sort of “raised by wolves”… only in reverse. I really neither want to give up my baby nor want to take on two more, but also… if it’s right for her, it’s the right thing to do.
My dogs are curious about the fluid currently running down my cheeks. I’m going to go give them kisses. 
Likewise. In this confirmed cat person’s opinion, dogs are truly special.
(Hope it’s not too much of a sidetrack, but what caused me to give up watching “Animal Cops” was one episode — I think it was in Phoenix — where they removed some Aussie-type puppies from a hoarder. One of them was about six weeks old, rail-thin, covered with fleas, had parvo and/or distemper, &c&c&c. And when the tech touched her, she wagged her nub of a tail. Just horrifying, and I haven’t watched it since.)
I have long maintained that angels don’t have wings; they have paws and a tail.
Yeah, I can’t cope with that kind of shit at all. It takes a special kind of person like @SurrenderDorothy.
I’m so sorry. You gave her love and comfort when she needed you and she had the best life she could because of it. She can’t give you her gratitude now but I can. Thank you.
Simone took a turn this morning. She’s normally very wiggly, active, and responsive, and was her normal self when I checked in on her around 11. When it was time to feed her at around 11:30, she was lethargic, almost limp. We went through our normal routine (I potty her before feeding so she doesn’t pee on me and so she’s more comfortable while eating) and I chided her for being still sleepy, but then she didn’t come around. She did accept the nipple and swallowed a bit, but she normally kneads and sucks and roots and latches on enthusiastically and there was none of that.
So I gave her fluids and a little karo syrup to bring her blood sugar up in case she was hypoglycemic, I wrapped her up in her heating pad and held her in case she was too cold (she’s always on a heating pad, but the A/C in my office is enough that I wear a sweater even on oppressively hot days like today) and just… nothing.
So I called the vet’s office where one of the techs has her siblings. Since her sister died, she’s been alone except for me and I’m a sorry replacement for a mama dog. The second to last thing I wanted to do was to pass her over to someone else. She’s my baby. But the last thing I want is for her to die without trying everything if there’s some chance she could have been saved. We decided to try putting her with her siblings to see if that helped, so she now has all three.
She’s not showing significant improvement, but she’s hanging in there. Simone doesn’t do anything quietly and that includes going into that good night. We’re taking it one step at a time. I don’t really know what the plan is if this works and she improves. On one hand, it would indicate that she benefits from having her siblings around and I should leave her with them. On the other, I just want my baby back.
Come on, Simone. We love you.
I’m sending best wishes to Simone.
Good dog, Simone!
Very good human, @SurrenderDorothy!
I stopped by to check in on Simone on my lunch break (the vet is right down the road) and she’s doing much better! I was sure yesterday that I was going to lose her, but I fed her while I was there and she ate well and was mobile and alert, actively rooting for a bottle.
There’s no such thing as “out of the woods” at this age, but it’s the right direction!
She should open her eyes in a little less than a week now. It usually happens at almost exactly 14 days. Of course, since my girl is gifted and talented, she may do it at 13. I can’t wait til she can see the world!
