Heartbreak

The loss of a puppy is something that every breeder experiences at one point or another, but no matter how many times, it doesn’t get any easier. Each puppy, in each litter, was planned for and prayed over. I have been lucky in that I have only experienced this loss a few times, but it hurts each time. This most recent loss may be the most painful of them all. Trixie, our beloved five year old shih-tzu mama, just blessed us with five beautiful babies, three beefy boys and two dainty girls. We were the most excited over this litter because it is Trixie’s last litter and we had planned to keep a girl. When she went into labor late in the afternoon on June 7th everything went as planned. She gave birth quickly and without any complications. She gave us not one but two beautiful little girls to choose from. One was her twin, brown and white with an adorable little brown nose. This was the one we chose. We named her Ginger. Ginger, was thriving, she was nursing like a champ and was even able to push her much bigger brothers out of the way to get to her favorite spot next to mom. Everything was great, until it wasn’t…

I was outside working for a couple of hours yesterday and came back in to check on Trixie and her puppies who were resting in their whelping pen in my bedroom. I always count puppies when I walk in to make sure someone didn’t get stuck under or behind mama. I counted only four. I began to frantically look for the missing puppy, there she was nestled behind her mama’s head. I was relieved until I picked her up and felt that she was cold and was acting very lethargic. I immediately began warming her up and tried to get her to nurse. After 30 minutes of no success, I called my vet. I rushed her in and they were able to get some formula in her and she perked back up. I brought her home feeling more optimistic than I had when I left. I stayed up all night feeding her every 2-3 hours and making sure she was warm and safe with mama. She seemed to be doing okay and I thought we had dodged a bullet. I stayed by her and Trixie’s side the entire time until this sweet girl that we all had fallen in love with breathed her last. We are all heartbroken. She was so loved and cared for in her short time with us. I find peace in knowing that this precious girl only knew love while she was with us but it still hurts losing her.