OkcPets Magazine January 2022

16 OKC Pets • January/February 2022 Lending a Little Help Peggy went into labor on a Friday after- noon and delivered what looked like four healthy little white polar bears on her own, in perfect form. At seven years of age and having spent her life in a commercial pup- py mill, she was no rookie, and her puppies were clean, warm, and nursing with great gusto. Peggy seemed relaxed and content. All was well with the happy new family. But no, all was not actually well. Rylee’s experience told her that there were more pups still to come, yet Peggy’s body seemed to have decided that four was quite enough. After a reasonable amount of time supervising Peggy for signs of more contractions, we knew we had a problem. So after a quick call with the veterinarian, four tiny squirming bodies and one watch- ful mom were loaded into my Jeep to head to the emergency hospital. Dr. Steven Hodges of Oklahoma Vet- erinary Specialists confirmed that Peggy still had some work to do. Because Peggy and the yet-to-emerge puppies were not in any distress, we agreed to give her a little medically induced encouragement and some time. Three hours and a few doses of oxytocin later, two more healthy puppies arrived. Would a puppy-mill operator have noticed this problem and acted to save mom and babies? Doubtful. I’m so grateful to Rylee and Dr. Hodges. Mom and her perfect little family, four boys and two girls, were bundled back to the peace and quiet of their cozy foster setup. There they settled into nature’s rou- tine — eat, sleep, poop, pee, repeat, repeat, repeat. Meanwhile, the humans shifted into full-care mode. On Rylee’s agenda were strict supervi- sion of mom and her as-yet spotless family, lots of mandatory puppy snuggling, and so much laundry. So very much laundry. My job was to keep food and supplies stocked as needed. To schedule necessary vet visits. To visit the precious family as often as I could. And to start opening the floodgates of applications for potential homes. The puppies grew. Peggy continued to be an amazing mom. Black spots filtered in through the snow-white puppy coats as shiny little eyes opened and peered about. Squeals of hunger were followed by grunts of contentment and eventual quiet slumber. Their days were routine, calm, and easy. Clearly, these were the best con- ditions Peggy had ever known as a doting mother. And Rylee’s job grew right along with the pups. Nonstop cleaning. Constant attention and handling to ensure well-ad- justed puppies. Constant support, love, and praise for momma Peggy. And did I mention the cleaning? At five weeks of age, the puppies were eating a somewhat solid diet of mush and relying a bit less on their mother’s milk, much to Peggy’s delight. The family then moved from the sanctuary of their nursery to our home so Jim and I could work to so- cialize them to people, sights, and sounds as well as get to know each little personal- ity to facilitate successful placements at an appropriate age. At the same time, the puppies needed appointments for checkups and initial shots as well as special hearing testing. The Dalmatian breed is genetically prone to deafness, with 22 percent of puppies hear- ing in only one ear and about 8 percent completely deaf. Hearing status is some- thing a puppy mill ignores, but it is an important bit of knowledge for responsible breeders and rescues. Dr. Steven Hodges of Oklahoma Veterinary Specialists gets reacquainted with one of Peggy’s babies after he helped her to deliver them five weeks earlier. One of Peggy’s pups gets a hearing test. Dalmatians are prone to deafness in one or both ears.