Un-Happy Easter 8-(

It is with great sadness I must tell you that Cruz has lost her entire litter of puppies.  She is quite ill and I’m very worried about her.  She has been “off” for the past 2-3 weeks and I was extremely worried so we went to the vet.  He said that she may be having either kidney or liver problems and put her on antibiotics, for the third time in six months.  He said at that time there was a small chance she may lose the litter.  I didn’t want to worry anyone needlessly so I decided to keep the news to myself.  As the days went on she had less and less energy and had trouble keeping her food down.  She couldn’t hold her bladder for more than a few hours at a time.  If I was too sound asleep to hear her, she would run down to the basement and pee.  She has lost a lot of weight and whines during our walks.  I have stopped including her and she seems to feel ok with that.  Now that her due date is past, I can take her in for testing to see what her problem is.  I am praying everyday that she will get better.

 

On another note, I am so, so sorry to disappoint everyone who is waiting for a puppy.  As I write this I feel sick to my stomach and have tears running down my cheeks knowing how many people are reading this with great sadness.  I can say with all my heart I did absolutely everything in my power to have a successful litter.  Before she was bred, she was updated on her shots, dewormed, transferred to puppy food for those extra calories and calcium, bathed and groomed and given extra exercise to tone her muscles.  From the 6th day of heat I collected vaginal swabs and blood samples and checked for the changes required to let me know she was ovulating.  And I did that 3 times a day for 10 days.  I prepared Merlin for his job by deworming, bathing & grooming and removing him from the pack several days before she was ready to be bred.  By keeping him in isolation for a few days, it saves up on energy he will need for breeding.  It is hard work and he’s starting to show his age a little.  When Cruz was ovulating she was bred every other day for 6 days until the swabs and blood showed she was no longer ovulating.  I breed every other day because the semen survives inside the bitch for at least 48 hours.  That way she is subjected to sperm for every single moment she was ovulating and it didn’t wear out Merlin in the process.  Each time she was bred she was put in a crate for 2 hours to prevent her from losing any ejaculate and therefore raising the chance of pregnancy.  During the early weeks of pregnancy I treat the females like Queens.  Extra food, extra walks, nothing to do with anything they perceive as unwanted.  For instance Cruz and Fia don’t get along so I make sure they don’t cross paths and cause any stress for each other.  I add extra kelp & salmon oil to the girls food as well as a supplement called “Missing Link”.  I do everything I can to be sure that both the dog and the puppies have the best possible chance.

 

In all honesty I have done the very best I know how to do.  But I still failed.  And I feel so incredibly bad.  More for you than for me, by far.  I feel like I’ve let so many people down.  I have been dreading writing this email for weeks.  I’ve been writing it in my head every day and every night.  Several times each day.  I can never get it right.  I can never describe how incredibly horrible I feel.  All I can say is I did the best I could and I’m very, very sorry to put you through this.

 

And I am sick with worry over my girl. 

 

Mary Ann