Riots Miracle Babies

Riot's Miracle Babies

(or, the pregnancy from hell!)

January 22, 2005

Normally, all the events worth mentioning are posted on the news page each month, but this little "adventure" warrants a page all its own! It might be fun to keep it updated as these miracle babies grow up, if for no other reason than to reassure me that this gargantuan effort was indeed worth what I went through for 9 long weeks from November to January.

As many of you may know, Riot has had problems with her last two litters. Phoenix was the only survivor in his litter of seven, two of those puppies being badly decomposed. And, with this last litter, there was yet another decomposing puppy in the litter of five. I think the only reason that we saved 4 out of the 5 was that my sixth sense just told me something wasn't right with Riot when I got up on a Monday morning, so I took her down for an ultrasound that did show 4 puppies were fine, but the 5th was "questionable". We put her on the table that same morning, and sure enough, there was one puppy that had been dead for quite some time. Another few hours or another day, and more than likely, I would have lost the entire litter this time as well.

So, when she was bred to AfterMax this last time, I contacted one of the top reproduction specialists in the world, Dr. Robert Van Hutchinson, or "Hutch" as he's better known. I gave him a rundown of her history, and his call was that Riot had a uterine lining problem; what was happening was that her progesterone levels would fall below what was necessary to maintain a pregnancy, causing premature placental separation and thus the dead, decomposing puppies. But, he was confident that with close monitoring, testing, probable progesterone injections and a scheduled C-section, he would be able to get me some live puppies!

Before she even returned home from Louisiana, we had to draw blood on her while she was with Jan for a baseline progesterone level. Then, after she got back, initially we were pulling blood once a week. Paul is set up to do a lot of his testing in-house, but progesterone testing is one that normally is sent out, unless of course you're Hutch! The lab has the results available within 24 hours, and they're easily accessible via the internet. I would report back to Hutch usually every Thursday morning with the results, and things seemed to be going along pretty ok. He reassured me that things were ok so far, as her levels were well above 4.0, which is the minimum needed to support a pregnancy. Paul had ordered injectable progesterone just in case, so it would be on hand if needed.

The blood sample we pulled on December 29th came back at 8.1, still well above what was needed, but it was a significant drop from the sample taken the week before. When I threw these numbers at Hutch on Thursday morning, he asked me if there was any possibility of getting another sample drawn that morning, as with the holiday weekend coming up and no results able to be had on New Year's Day, he'd really hate to find out the following week that Riot should have been started on progesterone over the weekend. He told me that he wouldn't be in the office the next day, which was New Year's Eve, but that everyone had been brought up to speed with what was happening, and they would advise me accordingly when I phoned them with results. So........I loaded Riot in the car and trudged down to the office so Paul could draw blood and get it picked up before noontime. When we pulled up the results early on Friday morning, my heart just sank when I saw 0.2 on the screen! I knew I wouldn't be able to get in touch with Hutch's office until after 9 a.m., so Paul took Riot in with him in case they wanted her to have an injection of progesterone right away. When they returned my call at about 9:30, I was told that before we even considered giving Riot an injection, we needed to have an ultrasound done first to see if the puppies were even still alive, as that was the worst possible number I could have. I immediately called the practice in Albany where I have ultrasounds done, and thankfully they scheduled me for an emergency ultrasound at 11 a.m. I can't begin to describe the feeling in the pit of my stomach as I drove down to pick Riot up at the practice, and then get her over to Albany. I just knew the puppies were all dead..........I kept looking over at her lying on the seat, imagining that she didn't really look all that pregnant anymore.

The ultrasound was done, and miraculously, it showed 4 puppies and 4 heartbeats!!! The overwhelming sense of relief was incredible! I had the progesterone injection with me in the event that the puppies were still alive, so I popped her right there on the table with the progesterone. Then I scheduled another ultrasound for Monday morning, so we could see if the puppies would make it through the weekend. Needless to say, this wasn't exactly what I had planned to do on New Year's Eve morning!!! Jose and Twila were both coming up for New Year's Eve, and I was supposed to be out doing my shopping, as we were going to be dining on lobsters and sipping champagne that evening! But, I managed to get everything done, even though everyone else was already at the house by the time I arrived home! I don't think I've ever celebrated a New Year's Eve quite like I did this one! Riot and her babies were toasted countless times during the course of the evening, you can be sure.

When I called in to Hutch's office on Monday morning to let them know Riot's status, the technician couldn't believe the puppies had made it! She was astounded. We gave her another injection that morning just before we pulled blood, and from there on out we were pulling blood every other day. Poor Riot had gotten to the point where she'd see Paul with a needle in his hand and just try to become invisible!! From there I headed out for the second ultrasound, which showed that they indeed had made it through the weekend. Evidently we had caught Riot just in time. She needed yet another injection on the Saturday before she whelped, and Hutch's instructions were no further injections after Monday, but to continue to pull blood and monitor levels. On Monday morning of the week she whelped, I took Riot to the practice to x-ray her, so as to get a better idea of how ready the puppies were to be born. Well lo and behold, the x-ray showed 5 puppies, not 4!!! One however was very tiny, and up really high..... way up under her ribcage, which is probably why it didn't show up on the ultrasounds. The rest looked fine, and skulls were well-calcified, indicating they were "fully cooked".

I'm not a betting person, but perhaps should have at least played the numbers game this time. Riot's first day of color was November 1st........she was bred for the first time on November 12th........the 12th day of her season. Her first two litters where she had no complications were both delivered on the 61st day from the breeding on day 12. The problem litters went much longer. So, my calculations for when she was ready to whelp this time came up with January 12th as being the 61st day from the breeding on day 12.........which happened to be November 12th! Sure enough, she didn't disappoint me, and even though we had planned to section her on Wednesday afternoon, Riot started into labor on her own early Wednesday morning. We had her on the table by 9:30 and had all 5 puppies out and the bitch back up by shortly before 11 a.m. We had 4 girls and a boy, and sit down for this one - - the dog pup had a body spot!!!!

The little puppy I had seen on the x-ray though was every bit as small in real life. We just couldn't get her going no matter what we did, and despite being on oxygen for an hour, she still would do nothing but take an occasional agonizing gasp. She finally started to take some irregular breaths, but still was not moving. We used a big lasagna pan with a tight-fitting lid as a makeshift oxygen tent, placed her in it, Paul pumped it full of oxygen, and I put it on a heating pad to transport her home. She was so fragile and weak she could barely move, let alone nurse. When Paul got home we tube fed her with some esbilac that I had added a bit of molasses to, and that seemed to give her a jump-start. Still, she had to be put onto a nipple to nurse, and supported while she ate. I needed to cup my hand around her to keep the other puppies from shoving her out of the way. So, I spent Wednesday night on the couch, getting up every hour to help her eat. She was still alive in the morning, and by Thursday afternoon seemed to have figured out her own little "schedule" so that while all the other puppies were asleep, she'd be nursing! I'm betting this one is going to have every bit as much heart as her mother! By Sunday she no longer needed any assistance, and by Monday no one was shoving her out of the way! She now nurses right along with her littermates, and never misses an opportunity to sidle up to the milk bar!

Now, way back before Riot had even been bred, a group of us decided to take advantage of great air fares and do the FoxCry trial in Florida in January. At that time I was under the impression that I wouldn't have a conflict with Riot whelping. Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men.........I had my non-refundable ticket, and had even paid for the shipping for the dogs up front, and was scheduled to fly to Florida on January 13th!!! Naturally, everything hinged on what happened with Riot, but I had a back-up plan just in case things did go ok. With the exception of the little weenie-bob, Riot and all the puppies were fine, so I had my friend Amy, who has always done my dogs and worked for Paul for quite some time, scheduled to stay with Riot and the pups during the day on Thursday and Friday while Paul was at work. Amy used to help us years ago when we rehabilitated the wild animals, so I knew Riot was in the best of hands with Amy. I did manage to get away to the "sunny South" for the weekend, and I think I used up all my minutes on my cell phone calling back home to check on the wee one!

As they say, all's well that ends well. The puppies are just beautiful, even the little runt is lovely in her own way. Every time I look at them sleeping peacefully in the playpen, I'm in awe that we actually managed to get them here! But, if it hadn't been for Hutch and his uncanny ability to be one step ahead of what was happening with Riot, I probably wouldn't be looking at any puppies at all! The guy is amazing. Had we gone all of New Year's weekend without that progesterone injection, I would imagine there would have been no happy ending. Of course, I don't even want to sit down and begin to add up the expenses involved with this little excursion! Blood tests, progesterone, phone consults, ultrasounds, C-sections, babysitters, and who knows what else really puts this right up there as one of the most expensive litters in recent memory!!! I think I'll name one of the puppies Ca-ching!!

Seriously though, I doubt that I'll breed Riot ever again.........this was just too stressful an experience for all of us. I can't see putting this grand old bitch through this again..........or myself either, for that matter. But it might be fun to keep this page going so everyone can see how these miracle kids turn out. I have a feeling that at least a couple of them might have what it takes to follow in their mother's footsteps. Time will tell! For now, I'm going to enjoy every minute of watching them grow.

03/27/05

It's hard to believe these kids are already big enough to have placed in their new homes, but yes, everyone is now settled in and doing well! Bonus Bitch not only caught up to the rest of the litter, but actually is a bit bigger than two of her sisters at this point! She's living with Kathy Cook at Jackat's Farm in Virginia, and I'm co-owning her with Kathy. She actually reminds me very much of Riot when she was this age. She certainly does have her mother's heart and determination, if nothing else! The tri bitch is living in Virginia as well, with Linda at Windermere, and the little "Red look-a-like" who decided to just stay tiny is living in Austin, Texas in a loving pet home. In the event that she ever does get big enough to breed, then there will be a Riot grandchild in my future. The little smooth bitch and the dog pup are staying here with me for the time being. And while it's wonderful not to have as much mess each morning from puppies, I have to admit that letting these puppies go has been very, very difficult indeed! I have never worked so hard on a litter, and for that reason alone these puppies are special to me. And even though they've begun their new lives, I still intend to keep up with their progress so we can see if they will indeed end up the miracle babies they started out to be!

Click here for a short Video of the pup "Quiet Riot" at her new home

Quiet Riot and Pebbles