We adopted two dogs, and now...

[JennyBug]

After moving to a newer, bigger house, my husband wanted to realize his dream of owning a dog. We decided the best thing we could do would be to go to the animal shelter and choose a grateful soul rather than a puppy from a breeder (nothing against breeders, though!)

We went to our local shelter, and he found the perfect match: a big, lab/boxer/shepherd mix named Charlie. He romps, he plays, and he is well behaved. We played with him for a while at the shelter. When we returned him to his pen, we noticed his little cagemate - a little golden retriever named Joy. She leaned against the pen for pets, and it felt so right. I have lived with Goldens my whole life, and when she looked at me, I just knew we couldn't leave her there.

Instead of one dog, we adopted two (and rechristened them Chaser and Jessie). The second day we had them, we took them to the vet for their required checkup. The vet said Chaser is in really good shape. Jessie is way too thin. Then she felt Jessie's belly...

A couple of x-rays later we learned that we are expecting 5 - 6 puppies on or before this coming Wednesday. Jessie was two weeks away from delivering her litter when we adopted her. We have no idea what kind of dog the father is (it can't be our male because he is neutered and she was only at the shelter for a week before we adopted her), and she is so skinny we're worried about her ability to support the puppies. She is just under a year old (estimated), so this is her first litter. She will be spayed after this one. We considered having her spayed anyway, but with the puppies only two weeks away from being born, we just couldn't. I contacted the animal shelter, and they apologized and said they would help us with any puppies we can't adopt out, so that's a bright light.

I think my husband and I are the only ones who can go to a shelter to get one dog, adopt two, then end up with puppies! :wacko:

 

[Leah]

WOW. That's some luck right there, but at least two dogs are receiving a great new home... along with some pups too! Talk about a package deal. Good luck, hopefully everything will go smoothly for Jessie.

 

[Adhafera]

Oh my goodness! Best of luck with the puppies!

 

[jmdebb]

Well congrats on the new house and the two new dogs... glad to hear you saved 2 from the shelter. they are so lucky you came into their lives. have fun with the puppies and i hope you can find really great homes for them.

jean

 

[mishellyshel]

while my collie/shep is my most favorite dog, i did have a golden and he was awesome, big fatty weighed well over 100 pounds. i am sure whatever breed fathered the puppies they will be awesome and luckily you still have a couple weeks to fatten her up.
good luck. please post pictures. oh and i love the names!!

 

[alli713]

Wow! Now there's certainly a surprise! I wonder if the shelter just didn't catch the fact that she was pregnant because she's skinny? That seems odd though!

I hope she has all of them safely though!

 

[ABBY W.]

It does seem strange that they wouldn't have known she is pregnant. I would figure they would have done a thorough veterinary exam on her while she was there, certainly before she was adopted out. I hope she can support the pups. If she can, you are going to have so much fun! My family bred goldens when I was a kid and watching the pups grow was awesome! Word of advice, get yourself a big box, like a refrigerator is shipped in (maybe you can find one at a local appliance store), cut out a hole in the front for the mom to get through, and cut the top out. Line it the bottom with newspapers, it makes a perfect pen for mom to deliver and nurse the pups in. Good luck!

 

[Ash]

I'm with Abby and Alli on the shelter missing that. But be sure to post pics and good luck!

 

[susansheila]

Wow, congrats to you guys. You guys are like puppy angels!! Don't forget pictures. We love pictures.

 

[Rickman]

I'd get some good, wholesome food in her, maybe a vet can give you some idea on what brand, etc. and maybe some vitamins, too! A skinny dog might give you unhealthy puppies, which could be costly! Good luck!!

 

[eroomlorac]

I'm also surprised they didn't notice she was pregnant. And I wonder why they adopted out a non-spayed dog. I'm not meaning they should have spayed her while she was pregnant but it seems like they would have discovered she was pregnant during a vet exam and in preparation for a spay.

Anyway, I'm glad these dogs are in your good hands. Even though the mama dog is thin, if you feed her well from now on, I'm sure she'll be able to care for the puppies well with good and plentiful food given to her from now on. She probably won't put on any weight for a while but she'll do fine.

 

[3CsMommy]

Sounds like time to free-feed her some really good puppy food (I like Wellness, Innova, Prairie, or Solid Gold brands) and let her try to pork up/prepare for the wee ones. Talk to your vet about a prenatal vitamin for her too, just in case.

This is probably also a good time of year to find her a "whelping box" aka: plastic kid's swimming pool, though if your husband is the handy type, they're not hard to build either. And if she's got long hair, which Goldens usually do, you might want to take her now to a groomer to have her feathers and belly fur trimmed up so there's less mess and matting while she's in her nest.

Also... Pictures please?

 

[alli713]

Some places do adopt out non-spayed dogs with a spay contract. That was the case with Lila. Although I actually had to bring her back to the shelter to be spayed for free. Not sure if this was the case at this shelter or not though.

 

[rach_leigh]

Wow, that is a big surprise. I am surprised too, that the shelter missed that! Best of luck with Jessie and the puppies. Keep us posted on her progress!

 

[naturegirl240]

Wow you're going to be a grandma! I hope all goes well. She definitely needs a whelping box and be sure to do your research before she has the puppies and be ready to assist or call a vet if she needs it. I would also love to see some pictures!

 

[Megan]

erm...Congrats? What a surprise!

My shelter fixes MOST of their dogs before leaving, however SOME are adopted out on spay/neuter contracts. Infact, Gavin came intact and needed to be neutered within a few weeks of adoption. When I adopted my greyhound 8 years ago, she came intact as well and needed to be spayed.

 

[JennyBug]

Jessie was only at the shelter for about a week before we adopted her, so they might not have had time to spay her. Truthfully, when we first got her, unless she rolled over you really couldn't tell she was pregnant. Now she REALLY looks pregnant!!

The shelter adopted her out with a spay contract that required her to be spayed within a month of getting her. Since that isn't going to happen, I called the shelter and informed them of the upcoming litter, and they offered to help us place any puppies we can't find homes for ourselves.

We have a dog house with an easy to remove lid for her to whelp (sp?) in, and it's got an old blanket for her to use (I actually think our stray cats gave birth on it - don't worry, it's been washed!) We took them out for a brief walk this morning to go to the bathroom, and she seemed energetic, so I think we've got another couple of days to go.

Don't worry, I'll post pics when they get here!!

 

[Jeanette]

I would be worried about adopting a dog that hasn't been checked out by a vet.
Did she come with papers saying that she has her shots and everything? I know that all animals adopted in Toronto have their immunization records up to date AND they are all neutered and spayed or have a contract. That is just CRAZY! I just can't believe how big of a mess up that is! That's not just a 'whoops', that's neglect.

 

[3CsMommy]

Sounds like you're pretty well set up for the big event. If you can, I'd stop by a dollar store for a pack of cheap wash cloths or kitchen towels for helping clean up and massage little puppy bums (to help them pee/poo). If you don't already get a newspaper, picking up a couple of Sunday editions won't be a bad idea either; you'll get sick and bloody tired of all the laundry a litter of puppies kept on towels/blankets can make after about the second week. At least with newspaper you can toss it all out daily instead of doing 2-3 loads of wash every night. (I did this for a litter of 9 bloodhound/rottie mixes once. NEVER AGAIN!!!)

 

[Rickman]

When we were breeding "Warlocks" [125lb. Dobes] we used a 4 x 8 whelping pen with 3 4 ft. sides and a 2 ft. front. Inside I built a open step [?] around the sides 6 inches high and 6 inches wide, so the pups could get out of the way during births.
And lots of newspapers - like a 4ft. stack!! If the pups are a light color, don't use the color pages - you'll get different colored pups, ha ha!