Farewell Keme

It's a sad day here today. Hubby brought Keme, our mutt, to the SPCA this morning. We had a pretty scary night last night. Just like every night, we got the kids to bed and then hubby fed the dogs. Last night Keme got done eating first and went to eat Annabelle's. Annabelle didn't take kind to that and gave her a warning growl/bark. Keme responded by biting Annabelle's neck. Just as hubby got to them, Keme lifted Annabelle a little over the floor and gave her a shake. Hubby fought with her to release Annabelle but because she had locked her jaw, it took awhile. It probably wasn't a really long time in hind sight but in the moment, it felt like it lasted forever. I instantly knew that Keme was no longer welcome in our home. I love Keme but with small children and small animals, that's way too much of a risk to have in our house. I'd never be able to live with myself if something happened to a child, mine or otherwise. Annabelle was in obvious pain but seemed to be doing better than I thought she would; she even tried to jump on the couch. I called my brother who agreed to drive hubby and Annabelle to the emergency vet; I had to stay with the kids. The next couple hours seemed to drag on. Finally, they were home. Annabelle was still a little drugged up but she was good. She's on pain meds and an antibiotic. We're making sure she rests and are watching to make sure her wounds heal well. I'm sad not to have Keme here anymore but I know we made the right choice. I would never feel comfortable with her ever again. Sean hadn't fallen asleep by the time this all happened and came out to the living room while we were checking Annabelle over. I briefly explained that Annabelle was hurt but ok and was going to go to the doctor. After they left for the vet I sat down and talked to him about what happened. This is when him cracking his head open and needing stitches last year came in handy. It helped him understand. I also explained that Keme did it to Annabelle and since we don't want anyone else getting hurt that Keme was going to go to a new home. He was ok with this thankfully. He then proceeded to stay up until everyone was home, around 1:00! The one time Sean got really upset was when he told me that he wanted two dogs. That was before I could explain to him that Annabelle was ok. Two dogs is not out of the question but it won't happen anytime soon. When it does happen, it'll be a small dog, probably a pug. For now, I'm beyond thankful that Annabelle is ok.

Annabelle resting up

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The puppies are here!!

I'll start from the beginning. Keme had a temperature drop yesterday morning. That was our first warning that it wasn't going to be long. That night she was nesting, panting and started leaking. I thought she may have them over night but she didn't. This morning her temperature was still low but she was now panting and shivering. She spent a lot of time stretched out in her box.



So I double checked that everything was ready.

The emergency station and her box:


The weighing/marking station. The fabric collars got replaced with string because the fabric kept coming untied.


About an hour before she gave birth to the first puppy, she got very clingy. The first puppy, a boy, was born at 3:45pm weighing only 115g/4oz...he was a stillborn.

Over the next 4 hours, she had 8 more puppies!! She did great! Only a couple really needed suctioning and only one needed me to take the bag off.

Puppy 2: 4:15 Male 363g/12.8oz
Puppy 3: 4:33 Female 445g/15.7oz
Puppy 4: 4:49 Female 371g/13.1oz
Puppy 5: 5:31 Female 360g/12.7oz
Puppy 6: 5:41 Female 346g/12.2oz
Puppy 7: 6:25 Female 380g/13.4oz
Puppy 8: 7:14 Male 414g/14.6oz
Puppy 9: 7:37 Female 325g/11.5oz

Pictures!
Resting after #2


After #3


Nursing!






Water break


All done! Good job mama!!


One of the cats had to check out what was going on.


Sean funny: Sean saw Keme cleaning a puppy and her freaked out say "Mama! She eating baby puppy!" So I had to explain that she was just cleaning her. He also wants to make a picture for the puppies. We'll do that tomorrow. :)

All snuggled together in a basket while mama had a potty break/sponge bath and I cleaned the box.


Time for the close ups! Their names for now are their color on their string.
Red


Orange


Yellow


Green


Blue


Purple


Black


Brown

Keme's Story

A litter of puppies had been found on the side of the road. The lady that found them thought she could make some money off of them...all of them but one. She knew of someone that did dog rescue and dropped the "ugly" dog off at her doorstep. That lady started trying to find a new home for the puppy. I saw that puppy on craigslist and emailed the rescue lady. Soon, we brought that puppy home.



She was an adorable puppy!! We thought awhile for a name and ended up deciding on Keme (key-me). We thought it was fitting because it means secret and this puppy has some secrets.



For one reason then another, getting her spayed got put off. Then she went into heat. We didn't think too much of it because our other dog is female and fixed. We planned to get her spayed after her heat cycle was over.



Until one afternoon... I found the neighbor's German Shepherd mix in our yard!! He had jumped our fence!



I wasn't happy to say the least! I just hoped that Keme wasn't pregnant but kept an eye out for signs. A month and a half later, we're preparing for puppies.




She recently started sitting sideways.

Last night we got her whelping box. We tore down her crate and moved her bed into the box to hopefully get her comfortable with it. We estimate (according to the day we caught the dog in our yard) that her due date is April 23rd...2 weeks from now. I would not have breed any dog on purpose but I can't lie; I'm a little excited about the idea of tiny puppies!




Side story here: Our neighbor is a really crappy dog owner. She had 3 dogs at the time; 2 chihuahuas and a German Shepherd mix. All of the dogs constantly get out. The poor German Shepherd mix was left outside 24/7...even in snow and rain. After this incident, their dog continued to get in our yard. Our miniature dachshund was outside one day when I heard a yelp. The German Shepherd was standing over her. That was the last straw. I started calling animal control every time the dog was out of their yard. He was eventually picked up. I hope he's been adopted out to a better home because I know he hasn't been back ...even though the neighbor has has 2 other big dogs since. I've only seen them for a day though. I wonder about them.