Puppies come home!
It began about 3am Monday morning. I was napping on the sofa, next to the whelping box, when Tink woke me up. It seemed that she needed to go potty and for the next 7-8 hours we must have made a dozen trips to the backyard. In the house, during this time, Tink was acting like an expecting mom. She constantly moved the towels in the box to make a nest and alternated between panting and sleeping. Around 10:30 am I called the Vet’s office to let her know what was going on. Her assistant suggested I bring Tink in so they could monitor her progress. Of course I thought otherwise, being a typical male, I knew better. I told her I thought everything was progressing by the book, however, a while later, I called back and asked to speak with Dr. Rickard. The Dr. thought things sound normal too, except for the numerous potty trip. This suggested to her that all during this time, a puppy could be in the pelvic region pushing on Tink’s bladder and colon. We agreed to check back around 2pm, but within ten minutes of hanging up the phone, Tink started Stage II labor with hard contractions and profuse fluid from the birth canal. The fluid filled amniotic sac was visible in the birth canal shortly thereafter. About 30 mins went by and no progress was apparent in pushing the puppy out. By this time it was 12:30 pm and I was concerned. Tink appeared exhausted and was not making any progress. Another call to the Vet and she indicated the puppy may be stuck in birth canal. She told us to get to her office right away. Unfortunately, the drive to the vet is around 50-60 mins when the traffic is good. My wife, Deb, drove and I sat in the back with Tink. Deb made great time and got us there in 45 mins. As I carried Tink into the Vet’s office, the fluid sac broke in the waiting room. They took her into the back and prep ‘d for C-section. Dr. Rickard came out a few minute later and told me a puppy was stuck in the pelvis and the heart rate was depressed, but it was still alive. Not long after that, they called us into the back room. I thought we lost one, but there were three crying wet puppies were being worked on the examination table just outside the OR. Thankfully all were fine. The techs and Dr. said they were huge and wouldn’t have been able to come out on their own. The smallest puppy, Mr. White, weighing 1.0 lb (.45 kg), the next was 1 lb 4 oz (.57 kg), and the last was 1 lb 5 oz (.60 kg). By comparison, when April was born last year from Tink’s first litter, she weighed 1 lb at birth and the Vet thought she was large.
As for Tink, she was fine after the surgery. A bit weak and groggy, but ready to go when I mentioned home. She is a tough girl, hardly ever a cry or whimper. The ride home was uneventful. Both mom and puppies are settled into the whelping box quite cozy. Here are a couple of pictures of the gang.
 
BTW – Blue and White collars are the boys and red is the girl.
…P