Sad News

Maggie's smallest little girl died during the night. She was not doing well yesterday... sitting off by herself, not playing or eating, most of the day. She did not have an elevated temperature and she refused rice cereal and just plain milk when offered. Maggie ignored her which is a bad sign. Canine moms always seem to know when a puppy has a problem that cannot be fixed. If the pups are very young... under 2-1/2 weeks... moms will often shove the pup aside, away from the rest of the litter. Over the years, I have learned when that happens, there is NOTHING I, or a vet, can do to change the outcome. With pups a little bit older, moms will let them go off by themselves but they will force healthy or minorly ill pups to stay close. The cause of deaths like this is usually something like a liver shunt or heart problem and with a large litter, it is not unusual to lose a pup or two as they start getting more active and the malfunctioning organs cannot handle the increased exertion.

Just so everyone knows, the photos of the pups on the website are mislabeled. The FEMALE puppy who died is the little sleepy "guy." The blond pup with the white spot on the forehead that I claim is a girl, is not... which means the other pup in that photo is a boy as well. And the other blond pup with the.... Well, we'll get it straightened out once they get here and are microchipped.