Puppet, the Corgi

I walked into work on Friday & the first patient I encountered was a very pregnant Corgi named Puppet. I mean she was ready to pop! She was in for a c-section. The vet wasn’t in yet but we were going to go ahead & put an IV catheter in her. She didn’t want to sit or lay down because it was too uncomfortable for her so I sat on the floor with her while the other tech got supplies ready. The look this dog had in her eyes was complete terror. After all she was 6 ½ yrs old & this was her first litter. She had absolutely no idea what was going on! Once the doctor got there, we prepped her for surgery. The owner & another breeder friend came in about that time & were ready to help deliver the puppies. As I was shaving & scrubbing the dog while she was still awake, the breeders were having casual conversation about how the moms of some previous litters had died soon after c-sections. That’s the last thing you wanna hear right before you take a dog into surgery. We asked them to please stop talking about that because it kinda freaked us out. One of them said “don’t worry Puppet will be fine!”

so we induced her & got her into surgery. We were all ready with clean towels & many hands to rub puppies once they came out. The vet got her opened up & one by one he kept pulling out puppies & passing them on to us. This is a pretty gross operation but awesome at the same time. I’m always afraid I’m gonna drop one as the vet passes them on to me! so slippery!! But we got them all clean & rubbed down to get fluid out of their lungs. Puppet ended up having 11 healthy puppies! I helped tie off & cut their umbilical cords then we put them all in the incubator to keep warm.

Mama Puppet was doing fine thru out the whole surgery up until the time the vet had finished stitching up her uterus. I was helping flush that when the tech monitoring her said she was having a hard time hearing a heartbeat. The equipment was reading her vitals all outta whack. I tried listening with a stethoscope too but swear I only heard a faint heartbeat. With her abdomen still open the vet tried to feel for a heartbeat but nothing. Puppet was crashing. We all went into crisis mode. The vet began CPR & was giving out orders. Another tech & I started grabbing & drawing up emergency meds. I had to keep going out into the hall for other supplies…when I did, I had to pass by the owner & breeder. I heard one of them say “something bad’s going on in there isn’t it.” I had to ignore that comment for now. After about 5-7mins of CPR & emergency drugs, Puppet was gone, leaving 11 new-born puppies without a mom.

Bitter sweet moment...new puppies but mama didn't survive. Talk about an unbelievably sad feeling. Her body just couldn’t take it. I thought back to earlier that morning when I was sitting on the floor with her. She kept nuzzling me & hiding her head under my arm. That scared look in her eyes then still haunts me now. You have to wonder if she knew what was going to happen. That lingered with all of us the rest of the day. Needless to say, after work, I went & drank a lot of tequila with friends hoping to get that sadness out of my head. I did forget about it for a while...until I sobered up the next day & it all rushed back to me.

Days like this at my job are very trying & emotionally draining. You never want to experience them but they are inevitable. They break your heart but also make you stronger & remind you just how precious life really is.