And Then There Were Puppies

And then there were puppies…despite the best guesses of vets and my assessment of Krimpet’s size/activity, she sure fooled me. Which just goes to show, it’s pretty much impossible to predict an outcome when it involves animals. (I spent a few summers working on a racetrack, so I should have known that already.)

Last Thursday, I was writing at my desk and Krimpet was having her turn being loose to wander in/out the dog door between the dog yard and my office. I was mildly concerned because instead of periodically trying to steal my planner off my desk, which had been her habit, she was stretched out full length on the futon.

When I ducked out to do something, forgetting it was Krimpet and not Gracie Lou I’d left out, I raced back expecting to find my planner in bits on the floor (like happened to one of my notebooks, several important notes on my desk, and a dozen of the rack cards I give out a book signings), my planner sat where I left it and Krimpet thumped her tail from where she still lay on the futon. But now, she looked different and it sounded like her teeth were chattering.

This was the point where I realized something might be amiss. So I texted Nick to request his help. Krimpet is not a fan of having her temperature taken and rather than chasing her all over the cottage trying to keep a thermometer in her butt, I had Nick hold her.

Her temperature was 97 degrees, but she fought the indignity of it, then scarfed up the treat reward and scampered around happy for our company as Nick arranged the puppy cam and I set up the whelping box. Normally when a pregnant dog’s temperature drops dramatically, she will give birth within about 24 hours.

Other than her lack of interest in eating paper, she was acting normal and not happy to be left in the puppy room with the big empty whelping box. Nick and I had planned a lunch date because he was leaving in two days for China and would be gone two weeks, including over our anniversary (today!). We did have a lovely lunch, but I was anxiously checking the puppy cam the entire time. For the most part, Krimpet remained at the door wanting out of her prison, but sometimes she would disappear out of the camera’s view and I worried. So much for our romantic date.

By the time we got home, it was pretty clear that Krimpet was definitely in labor. She was panting and clingy, so Nick and I sat with her in the puppy room. Some date. (But this is not our first rodeo, and Nick knows who he married.)

The first puppy arrived at 6:25 and the rest arrived about every 45-60 minutes into the night. Krimpet was a pro. There wasn’t anything I could do (which is normal) except carry the water bowl over to her and feed her cooked chicken (left from our dinner the night before, thankfully, as I wasn’t expecting puppies for at least another week so wasn’t prepared). It was a long night, and I’ll admit that keeping my eyes open the entire time wasn’t easy. I missed the birth of puppies six and seven.

Puppy number eight was tiny—half the size of the others and very slow to start moving. She struggled to nurse, and despite my help, each time she half-heartedly latched on, one of the other puppies nudged her off. The other seven were strong and determined from the start. Krimpet seemed to know this pup wasn’t long for our world, as she basically ignored it.

Around 8:30 in the morning, the puppy became unresponsive. As sad as it seems, losing a puppy, especially one that is small, thin, and weak, isn’t surprising. What is miraculous is that all the others are thriving, despite their mom being a stray, living in a shelter for five weeks, and only receiving two weeks of good prenatal care.

The puppies are just over a week old and all either two pounds or closing in on it, gaining at least two ounces each day. That may sound small, but considering their mom is a 30-pound dog, these are some big puppies.

Figuring out how big they will be is anyone’s guess (but we know how well we did guessing the pupdate!). It depends greatly on who dad was, and Krimpet isn’t talking. My guess is that dad was a big Plott hound as all of the puppies have colors consistent with Plott hound and being a stray in this valley means there’s a good chance a hound dog is the daddy.

I’ll try to have individual pictures of the puppies, plus their names next week. Since mom is Butterscotch Krimpet, they are the Snack Cake pups (Twinkie, Ring Ding, Honey Bun, Kandy Cake, Moon Pie, Suzy Q, and Nutty Buddy).

They will be available through the Humane Society of Shenandoah County. The pups can go home around New Year’s, but it will be a foster-to-adopt situation, meaning that the adoption won’t be finalized until the puppies are spayed/neutered (HSSC will pay for that). If you’re interested in one of these puppies, you can apply here.

If you’re local (or want to make a road trip), you’re welcome to come by and help socialize the puppies. The more visitors and attention they get, the better. Message me by email, text, or Facebook, if you’d like to come by.

If you’d like to see them in action, join the Another Good Dog Facebook group where I try to post live videos daily. Think of it as cyber-pet-therapy. They are pretty mesmerizing.

And please, don’t be blinded by the puppies – Gracie Lou is still here and still looking for her forever people. If you, or someone you know, is looking for a couch buddy or an adoring companion, reach out to me for more information. It’s time to get this sweet girl home.

Until Each One Has a Home,

Cara

For information on me, my writing, and books, visit CaraWrites.com.

If you’d like regular updates of all our foster dogs past and present, plus occasional dog care/training tips, and occasional foster cat updates (!) be sure to join the Facebook group, Another Good Dog.

And if you’d like to know where all these dogs come from and how you can help solve the crisis of too many unwanted dogs in our shelters, visit WhoWillLetTheDogsOut.org and subscribe to our blog where we share stories of our travels to shelters, rescues, and dog pounds.

If you can’t get enough foster dog stories, check out my book: Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs . Or its follow up that takes you to the shelters in the south One Hundred Dogs & Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey Into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues.