Expecting . . .

Her name is Ava and it took three rescue groups and several volunteers to save her. She's a little scrappy looking for a purebred German Shepherd, but with proper nutrition, medication for her ailments and a good bath, she'll soon be a beautiful girl. Ava has lived outdoors all her life. She has never been vaccinated or given flea or heartworm preventative. Of course, she's had puppies before because she hasn't been spayed. Her last litter all died because she had them outdoors, in the winter. Her owners did not want to deal with puppies again, so when she became pregnant this time, they called a rescue group. The rescue, however, was full. They called another rescue that was also full. That rescue called Heartland. Heartland, too, is full, but because I love Shepherds and because her story touched me and because she had nowhere else to go, I said "yes," when asked if I could just make room for one more.

With little notice and a dog on the way who could give birth at any time, the last 24 hours have brought a whirlwind of preparations. Nature designed its creatures to instinctively know what to do when babies arrive. More than likely, I'll need none of the things I stocked up on. I might miss the birth entirely. Then again, emergencies never happen when it is convenient and only very, very expensive veterinarians are available at 3am. So, I wanted my bases covered for the things that might go wrong that I can handle on my own, the things that will make Ava more comfortable and the things that will help her puppies if they need it.

That handled, I headed to Lowes for the materials to build a whelping box. I read many ideas on the internet and ended up sort of hodge-podging those ideas together based on the supplies I could find in the lumber, hardware and plumbing departments. It all looked simple enough until I was staring at this big pile of stuff in the middle of my living room floor. A lot of drilling, sawing and cussing ensued and, sometime around 4:00am, I had a whelping box assembled. It isn't pretty, but I think it'll do its job.

My visiting Grand-Puppy, Blue, models the finished whelping box

Just a little time in rescue can really suck the enthusiasm for cute puppies right out of a person. I look at any litter of whoops puppies now and know the odds each pup will have a wonderful life are abysmal. It is simply a reality that irresponsible breeding directly correlates with the senseless neglect and suffering rescue workers witness daily. It is times like these I sort of miss my naivete.

Today was the big day; I went to pick Ava up at the vet. The news on her condition is mixed. She is due, with 5-6 pups, any time. She also has a uterine infection we await the lab results on. Bad news means the babies wont make it and good news means the antibiotics she's taking will clear the infection and all will be well. The odds are in favor of all being well.

Ava has gone through a lot the last couple days. Three rescue groups were involved in her transport to Heartland. The life she knew disappeared and she's been surrounded by strangers. She doesn't feel well and is very frightened. Ava isn't familiar with the inside of a house. Doorways scare her and stairs terrify her. She is, however, a gentle girl, and obediently followed me into her new room, where she jumped right into her whelping box and snuggled in. I check on her often as she becomes accustomed to the sounds in her new home. She doesn't greet me with enthusiasm yet, though when I crawl into her box, she will put the very tip of her nose on my knee and let out a big sigh. It will take us a couple days, but we'll be fine. And we'll wait together for nature to take its course. Hopefully, I wont miss the big event.

A BIG Thank You to Impact for Animals and SNUGGLE, who went out of their way to find Ava a safe place to have her babies and made sure she reached her destination. And, thanks to each of the volunteers who participated in her transport. You've changed Ava's life for the better!