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Mama dog, puppies saved by Austin Pets Alive!
A stray dog has new puppies to take care of thanks to Austin Pets Alive! Here is their story of survival.
AUSTIN, Texas - After facing a life-threatening situation, a mother dog and her three puppies now have a chance at life thanks to emergency care provided by Austin Pets Alive!.
Mother Goose, a black lab mix, and her three puppies could be found on Thursday morning in the care of APA!.
Without the obvious IV hooked up to Mother Goose, it would have been hard to believe that this family of dogs would probably not be alive if it was not for the emergency work of APA!'s medical team.
"Thankfully, we don't really have to think about that because we are here," said Jordana Moerbe, APA!'s Medical Care Director. "Thankfully Mother Goose didn't have to be faced with that situation."
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Earlier this week, Mother Goose, a stray, faced an extremely life-threatening issue while trying to deliver her puppies. Her labor stalled and meant one of the puppies could not pass, which put her life and the lives of her puppies at risk.
It is an emergency situation Moerbe says is pretty rare.
"Maybe one out of 70, 80 dogs might need some assistance," she said.
Mother Goose was brought to Austin Pets Alive! for help. The medical team worked overtime to save her life by performing an emergency c-section.
"When situations like this come up, we are equipped to respond to them," said Moerbe. "We've kind of built that into our operations. It's kind of why we're here. We're built to react to these animals in need that don't really have anywhere else to go."
The emergency surgery worked, but there were a few heartbreaks during and in the day following the birth.
"We have three puppies right now. Unfortunately, one puppy passed during birth, and then we had another puppy pass overnight," said Moerbe.
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Moerbe says this was a stressful event for both Mother Goose and her puppies, but seeing the family of four dogs together reminds her of why APA! does what it does.
"Because even though maybe we just met Mother Goose, once we get her through surgery, and we have her puppies, and she's recovering with her puppies, it's just such a beautiful thing, and it reminds us why their lives are so important," she said.
Right now, the dogs are recovering and APA! Is keeping a close eye on them. There is a worry Mother Goose isn't producing enough milk, so the puppies are being bottle-fed.
Soon, the first goal is to have them in a loving home through a foster who can take care of them all together.
"Our best situation would be a foster that can take them both and possibly bottle-feed those puppies and help [Mother Goose]," said Moerbe.
To learn more information on how to foster Mother Goose and her puppies or other dogs, click here. To donate to APA!, click here.