Sometimes Things Don't Go As Planned

Sunday night Shane and the kids came back from camping in Idaho and everything seemed normal. Callie was showing no signs of labor and everyone was really tired so we all just went to bed. Then at about 3:30 in the morning I woke up because Callie was digging in her kennel frantically. I got up with her since I knew that this was an early sign of labor. I was excited at this point but not worried. It was 60 days from her first breeding but only 53 from her last. I figured that she must just be at day 60 maybe even actually ovulated a few days before breeding which would put her right at 62 or 63. But then at about 4 am things changed. Callie started losing large amounts of dark green discharge. Not a good sign as it usually means that a placenta has detached. You want to see dark green after delivery not before. I called the vet. He said that she still could be ok as long as she delivered in the next few hours. He told me that if nothing happened by 8 to meet at the clinic. So I started watching Callie and analyzing every movement and every sigh trying to figure out if she was infact in labor. She was not. She was more interested in sleeping. At 7 am I gave her some chicken broth and an extra strength Tums. Sometimes the protein and calcium will help move things along. I also tried to get her outside and moving. That was a big joke though. I live in Utah and even though it was May 24th it was snowing. Callie went out one door and right back in the other. Can't say that I blame her. So when 8 o'clock came there was nothing. So we were off to the vet. The vet did a vaginal exam and her cervix was open so we started some oxytocin (much like pitocin for human mothers). She got her first injection there and the vet sent one home with me. I was told that if there was no puppy in one hour to give the second injection and if there was no puppy after another hour it was time for a c-section. So we came home and got right in the whelping box. Callie started panting and having some mild contractions. I really thought the rest of the day would go smoothly. I was wrong. After the two shots of oxytocin and the two hour time frame she was still more interested in sleeping. So back to the vets office. We decided to do a c-section. I asked if I could stay. Of course I did not want to leave. I wanted to witness everything. But was told that it would be better for me to go home and clean up the mess from the night before and get the box ready to bring home puppies. They also said that she would need to recover there for a few hours and that would be a good chance for me to get some sleep. I left Callie there at the clinic and was told to call in about an hour to see how everything went. I got everything cleaned up and ready to bring home at least two puppies. However when I called the vets office and the nurse said "oh yes the Dr. wants to talk with you." My heart sank. I just knew that something was not right. The first thing he told me was that Callie was just fine. She had very strong vital signs and was just waking up from surgery and looking very alert. Then he told me about the puppies. She did infact have only two. One had died probably 4 days prior. He was decomposing and that is what caused Callie to go into labor early. Yes he did say early. About 5 days early. That poor puppy's body was completely blocking the birth canal. So the little alive girl behind him could not have been born any other way.
Happy Birthday Little Angel!!! We are calling her Angel because if I had to give her a full AKC name it would be Webbs On A Wing And A Prayer. Because that is how I feel about her at this point. She was born 5 days premature and since Callie did not carry to term and then had a c-section on top of that she has rejected her. She just does not understand that this little being is her baby. I was able to squeeze a few drops of colostrum from 4 nipples late last night and Callie was tired enough that when I put Angel there to suckle she did not fight it. So hopefully she at least got a little of the anti-bodies she needs.

Other than that she has been being fed 1ml of Esibilac with Nutri-Cal every hour. For those of you not familiar with what a small amount that is it is one insulin syringe. She has not taken very well to the bottle. We have tried it a few times even different sizes but it is not working out well. She does suckle on the syringe though. Of course there is no needle. As she suckles I just very slowly depress the plunger until she has gotten her full amount. Then it is time to eliminate. She was urinating with no problems yesterday and last night but she was not having any bowel movements. This concerned me. But at about 4 this morning all the pipes are working fine. I also soon realized that as long as I held her very close to me that she would stop crying. So I actually got to sleep for about two hours during the night with her nuzzled up to my neck and my hands over her keeping her very warm and feeling very secure. I do have hot water bottles and heating pads but it is not the same as being close to someone I guess. All day today she has been being carried around in my bra. Being fed and made to potty every hour. She is a very small 3.6 oz blenheim little girl. Normal size for a Cavalier newborn is between 5-6 oz. Callie no longer has any milk at all and really could care less about this little being so she is getting all her care from me. So yeah I think that the name On A Wing And A Prayer is probably fitting. I will update tomorrow with more pics and anything else that comes up. Also I will add that at this point I do not have her listed for sale. This is simply because I want to make sure that she is going to make it and have her vet checked in a few weeks and make sure that everything is fine with her before I offer her for sale. I will say that who ever gets her will be very lucky to have her in their family. She will be very well socialized with humans and probably very affectionate due to the hand raising. She also seems to have perfect markings at this point as well. It is hard to see since she really does not have much hair but from what I can see her mask is perfect. Can not tell yet whether she will have the coveted "Dutchess thumb print" yet but she is gorgeous either way.