Miracle's Story

All new life is a miracle.  Some lives, however, have more hurdles to jump over before arriving safely.  Our puppy, Miracle, survived an unusual delivery.

We knew from both an ultrasound and an x-ray that Jolly was carrying at least 6 puppies.  Our vet said he wouldn’t rule out 7, but he definitely saw 6.  After having 6 puppies on July 5, Jolly settled down and started taking care of her babies, showing no signs of distress.  We assumed it was a litter of 6 just like her last litter.

As a routine measure of care, we monitor Jolly’s temperature after having puppies.  On July 6, her temperature was elevated in the morning.  We whisked her and the puppies off to the vet.  An x-ray revealed that there were 2 unborn puppies.  We were shocked!  Somehow these babies had hidden on her previous x-ray. 

As we discussed options with our vet, we decided a C-section was best for Jolly.  The vet said there is no way to predict if these puppies were still alive.  Their last sibling had been delivered 18 hours earlier. 

Following surgery, we learned that Jolly was actually carrying 3 unborn puppies, which means she was carrying a total of 9 puppies this litter!  Our vet told us one puppy was underdeveloped with no bones to show up on the x-ray.  That dear puppy had died in utero long before labor and delivery.  One other puppy did not survive the 18 hours in the womb, but one little Miracle did!  And he’s a feisty little Miracle!  He jumped right into the bunch and made sure he got his fair share of the meals.

The vet said it is very likely that the underdeveloped puppy was the root cause of Jolly not being able to deliver her last babies.  Her uterus tore where he was attached.  Because of this tear, we chose to spay Jolly, which means this is her last litter.
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Though we are sad to have lost 2 puppies in the litter, we are very grateful for the 7 miracles we do have!