do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. -Epicurus

When I took Phoenix in for ultrasound the vet technician told me she could see five to six puppies, but not to use that as an accurate number count. Several weeks later when Phoenix went in for her x-ray I was fully expecting 5-8 puppies. When the technician came back out and told me ten to eleven I had to ask her to repeat what she just said. I was taken by surprise! We haven’t had a litter that large for years at Parfait Mischen!

Phoenix must have some hidden pockets in her belly, because she hid those babies so well. By the size of her belly, I would have never guessed that many puppies could be tucked away in there!

Phoenix began her delivery around 8pm on Monday, December 14th. Dogs will often deliver through the night and into the morning hours. Phoenix broke a record of wrapping up her delivery by 2am! She gave birth to Alexander first and the others came consecutively after. She gave birth to three puppies within 10 minutes breaking another record for the deliveries that I have assisted over the years.

The vet was close, she had twelve puppies in total, ten survived. The second puppy born was a still born, the placenta sac’s appearance was not the right color or texture. It’s always sad to have a still born, we still worked with it to make sure there was nothing that could be done. After several minutes, we knew this puppy wouldn’t be coming back. We gently wrapped it in a cloth and took him away from momma.

Approximately eight puppies in Phoenix delivered a little girl that was tinier than the others. She was very gentle with it. Nature has a way of sensing things that we do not. Immediately she didn’t want that puppy to nurse, she wanted it to stay under her chin. When a momma does that, I know that there is most likely something internally wrong with that particular puppy. This one was no exception, it looked healthy so I worked hard with it. I kept helping her nurse and stay on during throughout the rest of delivery and throughout the night and the following. I woke up every hour and helped her nursed throughout that night as well, but then she took a dive and refuse to eat. I worked with her more, but unfortunately when you start tube feeding a newborn they don’t have much of a chance. She was fading very fast despite the all the efforts I was putting in. I made sure she could stay close and comfortable as possible near momma’s arm and chin. Which that is right where Phoenix wanted her to stay.

I stopped intervening and let her rest next to momma and siblings and made sure she was staying warm. Due to my lack of sleep, I needed to take a nap in the afternoon. I didn’t want her to get pushed away from the group and get too cold while I slept. So I wrapped her in a soft cloth and let her sleep in arms where I could let her stay warm. When I woke from my nap she had passed away. It will always be a hard part of breeding, saying good-bye too soon. But oddly enough, it is easier once they have passed. You work so hard to give them the best fighting chance. When you’ve done everything and you’ve said your good-bye, you get to look at all the healthy puppies and momma and see the beauty of life that is here right now. And there is a lot of life in this large beautiful litter! They are active and growing everyday! We couldn’t be more happy with the structure and colors in this litter. We love each and everyone of them, and we know you will too!

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