Tori's Litter
This is a journal I have kept on Tori's labor and outcome. I have also included prices for items, vets, etc. I have kept this as I want all those who are considering breeding ANY dog, that it is very costly and risky. Is it worth it? (Note: Tori is a Boxer)
Breeding dogs is not a money making business. You should only breed to better the breed....not for an experience for the kids, not because you want a puppy just like the sire or dam, not for money.
Friday, April 2
early AM..refused food
2:00 PM light panting started, temp at 99.0
3:30 PM temp dropped to 98.8
panting continued through the night....I hardly got ANY sleep lying beside her watching and waiting.
Saturday, April 3
early AM...panting still in progress..no signs of contractions, pushing, distress, etc.
7:40AM...water bag appeared....broke
8:45AM...another water bag appeared and broke...still no contractions, pushing or puppies.
10:00AM..phoned vet, asked for advice. As long as she is no distress or pushing...lets give her a few more hours.
12:00PM...still nothing...all the same. I "feathered" her to try and make her contract...nothing...very unusual. I also could not feel anything in the canal, which was a good sign, however.
1:00PM...phoned vet back....all still the same...again, let's give her a couple more hours as she is showing no signs of distress, contractions or pushing.
3:00PM...off to the vet...20 minute drive. Vet feels for puppy in canal and feathers as well. Nothing. Let's do an x-ray and make sure one is not stuck in there anyway and see how puppies are positioned. X-ray showed 5 puppies...all appear in normal position...none in canal. Vet gave a shot of Oxytocin to see if this would start contractions. We waited approximently 30 minutes and nothing. Vet gave her another shot..still nothing within 30 minutes. A c-section deemed necessary.
I agreed to a spay as well.
At about 6:00 PM...the vet hands us the complete uterus so we can fish out the puppies while he does the spay as so Tori will not have to be under for as long. Another visiting vet was there to help with the puppies as well as my best friend.
With MUCH work slinging and sucking fluid out of the puppies...we revived them all. The white puppy has a swollen back leg and cut as the vet must have accidently punctured it while cutting him out. We think he will be fine though.
Tori takes quite awhile to come out of the gas...after she awoke...we took her off the table and tried to get her to stand. She was VERY weak. She was very disoriented and pale as well. She would not stand and she seemed not to have no control over her head and or balance. After over an hour...the vet wanted to keep her overnight as she was just not doing well at all and her color was very bad. This is when I broke down. The thought of losing her had been shoved WAY back in my head...this could NOT happen to my Tori. I bawled my eyes out having to leave her there. We have never spent a night apart. This was very hard for me. I knew I had to collect myself, as I had 5 new babies to take care of for her. The vet sent me home with 5 ready to feed containers of puppy milk replacer. VERY pricey at $5.75 per 8 oz box. I felt as if they needed the best to start them off and would then get a very good homemade recipe to feed them later if need be.
I kissed and hugged Tori and told her I would be back to get her.
On the way home, I had to stop and get bottles and nipples. ($9.38) As soon as I arrived home, I boiled and disenfected the bottles/nipples and got them ready to feed the puppies. I got them all fed and tucked in for the night. I put them in a basket beside my bed as I would need to get up and feed them every 3 hours. With 5 puppies it took approximently 40 minutes to feed, burp and make each of them potty. Back to sleep...2 hours later...repeat. What a night! By this time I am a walking zombie!
Sunday, April 4 (Easter)
9:00 AM...vet called to let me know that Tori was doing much better, but still wanted her to spend the rest of the day at the clinic for more observation. The every 3-4 hour feeding continued through the day. Since this was Easter...this was all done in between boiling and dying eggs for my kids, cooking lunch, showering (I had not showered in 2 days...I simply forgot!!!!!) and numerous other things...I was really starting to weaken.
4:00 PM...vet called...I could pick up Tori! I left right away to get her. She was still weak but looked much better and had most of her color back. I loaded her up and went home. In the car I just talked and talked to her about how much I missed her and how pretty her babies were. She looked happy. ($361.00)
4:45 PM...arrived home, got her out and into house. Took her to see her babies and she showed no interest. I was afraid of this. I fixed her some food topped with warm gravy and she did not want to eat. I made her comfortable in a crate and I bottle fed the puppies. Tori slept.
8:30 PM...Tori woke up and acted interested in seeing the puppies. She stepped in to the box and her instincts took over. She began to clean them and layed down to nurse them! The rest of the evening did not eat much food. I was going to make a night of it...finally...a good nights sleep! WRONG!
9:00 PM...I went to bed...could not sleep...worrying still about Tori and the pups. Got up every few hours to check on them.
Monday, April 5
9:00AM... I slept ALL night...though I feel like I have not slept at all. I feel much better, just tired. Tori was doing well with the pups. She has enough milk to get them through the night. I knew she needed to go outside so I encouraged her to go. She would not budge. She was still very sore. I had to carefully ease her outside to potty. She still walked as if she were drunk.
She could not squat all the way down from the soreness and went she went to poop...I had to literally hold her up so she would not fall over. It was very hard for her to use the bathroom .
We are supplementing the puppies 4 times today as it appears her milk has not let down yet.
My throat is getting sore and I am very tired. I feel like I am getting sick. All this stress must have my immune system down. I CANNOT get sick! I have Tori and 5 puppies to care for along with my housework, husband, and 3 kids! I guzzled orange juice and vitamins.
10:00PM...I went to bed...
Tuesday, April 6
6:00AM... Let Tori out to potty. She is so stiff and sore . I had to help her to potty, and still having to hold her to poop.
Tori is not eating...I have to take the puppies in to have tails cut so I will take her with me to be checked out as she also has 103 fever.
11:00 AM...took Tori and pups to vet. Tori seemed very tired. Temp was 103.1, but vet seemed to think it was just from being in the office. Never heard that one before! Today's visit was $52.75.
9:00 PM...Tori looks very weak and tired. She still has not eaten. Her temp is 103.4. Called vet, my husband is running her up there. My husband called from cell phone. He had to carry her in the office as she could not walk in on her own. Tori will be staying all night. Her temp was 103.6. vet wants her on IV(Naxcel) antibiotics for the night.
(I asked him about antibiotics after the surgery...he said none were needed!!! I also asked him about antibiotics again when we took puppies to have tails cut...no reason for antiboitics! He is the vet....I guess they do not give them anymore??????)
Wednesday, April 7
12:00 AM...bottle fed pups...I am so sick. I canot stop coughing and my throat is so sore. I guess I will have to make a doctor's appointment as well.
3:00 AM...bottle fed pups.
6:30 AM...bottle fed pups. I am up for the day as I have to get my kids off to school. Boy do I wish I could crawl back in the bed!
10:00 AM. Vet called and said Tori was doing much better. We can pick her up this afternoon.
4:00 PM...picked up Tori at vet. Boy does she act better. She was acting like her old self. This is great! The vet is sending home with me 8 syringes full of antibiotics to give to her under the skin for 8 more days. He said he treated her for Mastitis!!! Tori does not have Mastitis in any shape, form or fashion!!!!! She does not even have milk! No swelling, no lumps, no redness. This vet is really testing me.
5:00 PM...arrived home...Tori went straight to the pups...YEAH!
April 8, Thursday
6:00 AM...I slept all night! Now my voice is gone! I do feel MUCH better...just can't talk! Mom and pups are still doing well. It does not look like Tori will be getting milk at this point.
6:30...bottle fed puppies
10:30...bottle fed puppies
2:00...bottle fed puppies
6:00...bottle fed puppies
9:30...bottle fed puppies
Friday, April 9
6:30AM...another good night's sleep! I finally feeling caught up and rested! Bottle fed pups.
NOTE: not noted each time it is done as it is quite a few times a day...I check Tori's temp, check her milk, clean/change lines in whelping box, weigh puppies daily, check/clean Tori's stitches, wash/sterilize bottles and mix formula.
Saturday, April 10
Tori still on antibitoics. She is eating much better now.
Sunday, April 11
Another "normal" day! Same routine. Eyes are starting to crack open.
Monday, April 12
6:30AM...I just woke up and found AT LEAST a half cup of fresh blood in Tori's whelping box! I checked her all over and it is coming from her vulva/vagina. I am off to the vet as soon as they open.
10:00AM...just got back from vet. He said this was a normal discharge. Although I am questioning this new vet...as I did not think it was normal for a discharge after a c-section, not fresh, bright red blood anyway. I will watch her closely. She had her stitches out while we were there.
(I am now doubting this vet seriously..as it disturbs me more that she was not put on antibiotics after the surgery and now the bleeding is considered normal???)
Tuesday, April 13
11:15AM...I found a more fresh blood in Tori's box this morning...along with some clots. Vet happened to call and check on her so I told him about the blood again. He said to just keep an eye on her she was just sloughing out old tissue. (Again...I always thought with a c-section there WAS NO tissue to be sloughed.)
Wednesday, April 14
......a normal day. Puppies are eating every 4 hours. I am going through 2 cans evaporated milk a day now. They drink, between the 5 of them, 3 - 5 oz bottles! I can barely get my hand around them to pick them up now!
Thursday, April 15
......a normal day...all eyes are open.
Friday, April 16
......a normal day
Saturday, April 17
Wormed pups with Evict DS (pyrantel pamoate) 2 oz bottle $12.00.
Sunday, April 18
I rushed Tori to the vet at 1:15 PM today.
Today...at around 1:00 PM, my son yelled that Tori was bleeding. I ran inside and found a huge puddle of blood in the whelping box. I got her to come out of the box and blood just POURED all over the floor. Along with all the bright red blood was clots of blood. As I ran inside to call the vet...she just kept GUSHING blood. The vet that performed the sugery was out of town...all others were gone...some other vet was on call for them 30 minutes away. I could not wait to drive her that far as she would have surely bled to death. I called and left a message with the answering service of the vet closest to me within 3 minutes we were there. They just happened to be there working on some other animals THANK GOD. By this time she had lost WAY TOO MUCH blood...at least 6 cups. We got her inside and without knowing anything about her he just had to play by ear what could be wrong. To make a long story short...we still do not know why she is bleeding. She lost AT LEAST 6 cups more of blood in the clinic. We went through 7 rolls of paper towels. She was also straining as if to deliver a puppy and each time big clots of blood would pour out. He said he could not open her up at that time having lost so much blood and she was very weak and very pale. It took him an hour to start treatment of any kind on her. He pulled blood for blood work and sent it off. Why is bloodwork necessary??? She is bleeding to death! He tried getting her on an IV...veins kept collapsing from lack of blood. After over 2 hours, he performed a blood transfusion, but she lost as much as she received...if not more. The only thing he could do at that point was to "pack" her vagina and insert a urinary catheter. First, a stomach tap was done...1 tap showed a little blood, the other 2 none. She had to be put under to do the packing and insert catheter. The vet called me at 9:30 PM, she had a hard time again coming out of sedation...but he called and said color looks better and she is stable. She is still oozing blood. We are just waiting and praying at this point. The packing was done to see if the blood would back up into the abdomen...which is very bad or just clot up and stop. In the morning...depending on how she is doing...we may have no choice but to go in and see.
Monday, April 19
Tori passed way last night. I think what hurts the most is that I was not there with her when she died. It hurts so bad to know she died without me there for her.
I have agreed to let them open her up to see exactly what was going on in there.
I am so angry with the vet that performed the c-section/spay for not seeing that something was obviously wrong.
There were no heartworms, no tumors and very little blood in the abdomen. The said the uterine stump is the size of your fist normally...but after a spay "dries" up as small as the end of your finger. It was very small and had no rotten tissue or such. She said the ligature/sutures were intact and looked fine. She really could not say what caused this and is still very confused about it and the amount of blood that was lost. She did say that the bladder was very thickend...and she seems to think maybe this was caused by a reaction to the suture material.
So, I am still where I started....and have no idea of the cause of the bleeding.
Vet called late this same evening, curiosity had gotten the best of them. They went back in to look for a cause. The only thing they could find was a main blood vessel that runs along side uterine horn had ruptured....but why???
The bill for Tori last night at the vet was $424.00...
Tuesday, April 20
I started the puppies on rice cereal and formula. This may satisfy them better than the formula alone. They weigh an average of 3 pounds.
(8 oz box Gerber rice cereal $1.49 per box)
Wednesday, April 21
We were able to bring Tori home to bury her.
I received a phone call at 9:55 PM...it was the vet on call that was going to meet me the night that Tori died. I had forgotten all about him. I apologized and told him what had happened. He then asked me where to send the bill. I asked what bill? He said the bill for coming to meet you. I again apologized and told him I was just so upset...I forgot to call him and let him know that I felt she would not last the drive there and stopped at another vet and also that I was not sure WHERE I was supposed to met him. At HIS office or my regular vet's office that he was on call for. I quite honestly have not thought about him again.
He then asked how did I wish to resolve this matter. I told him resolve it any way he wished.
Had I been able to make it to him...I would have. I had every intention of calling him...I just simply forgot. $50.00 emergency fee.
Thursday, April 22
I started the puppies on the Eukanuba Puppy Weaning Formula (gruel) mixed with formula and rice cereal. They went to town, ate like little pigs at the trough!
(6lb 8oz bag $12.99)
Sunday, April 25
I am feeding the puppies the gruel 4 times a day with a bottle at night.
Tuesday, April 27
Puppies now weigh an average of 5 pounds.
Saturday, May 1
The puppies have now graduated to an ex-pen attached to the wire crate. NEWSPAPERS...NEWSPAPERS...NEWSPAPERS!!!!! The floor has to be cleaned up and fresh papers put down 4 times a day. I bleach once a day. Puppies are now on Eukanuba medium breed puppy food. I am adding water and feeding it to them mushy. ($25.00 20 lb bag)
Saturday, May 8
Took puppies to vet for 1st set of shots, and checkup. ($125.00) The weights were 7 lbs to 8 lbs. All sounded good, no murmours, fecal looked good, checked out AOK! Vet was very surprised at how fat and healthy they all looked considering they lost their mother. I have my family to thank for helping me all hours of the night!!!! Bought 2nd bag of food ($25.00) Sent off Litter Registration ($18.00)
Sunday, May 9th
Puppies had a bath!!!!!!! What a riot!
Monday, May 10th
I just sent off my complaint to the Veterinary Board of Louisiana.
(NOTE: while all seems back to normal...it is not. Tori is VERY much missed. There is an empty spot in my heart and our house. If you are considering breeding...think again...is it worth the risk? I consider myself to be very knowledgable and capable and have reared other litters with NO problems whatsoever. It CAN happen to ANYONE.)
While I do not mind at all...puppies are a FULL TIME job. It is alot of work taking care of them, feeding them, cleaning up and the smell will knock you out in the mornings! Sure, I could stick them outside like others do or in a run...but mine do not touch the ground until they are AT LEAST 6 weeks old...IF then! Since I have a patio door, they are able to get plenty of sunshine which is essential to them.
They have also been let outside on the porch when the weather is nice.
TOTAL MONETARY COST as of 5-14-99 is:
$1,357.00
MOST COSTLY: losing my Tori......
-MicheLe Hodge
