SUNNY
BREEZY
CYCLONE
HALO
MISTY
RAINBOW
SLUSH
SUMMER
THUNDER
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Day One - Four Weeks Eleven Weeks Today
Miracles do happen, heroes do exist and sweet Sunny is proof. Fourteen month old Sunny came to Tri-State Basset Rescue weighing only 37 pounds, while pregnant with eight puppies that she would deliver two days after entering our care. Every bone in her back and ribs showed. Sunny was taken by a shelter from a "breeder" (along with 17 other dogs, we later found out) after being confined to a crate for most of her life, including the time she was pregnant. As if that wasn't bad enough, she was being starved, and wasn't being fed nearly enough to sustain herself or the puppies she was carrying. Although she was skin and bones when we got her, the abuse and neglect she suffered didn't affect her sweet personality. She's captured hearts all along her journey, starting with the wonderful volunteers who picked her up from the shelter and transported her to the vet.
Sunny and her pups have beaten the odds over and over, beginning with her delivering eight live puppies two days after being pulled from the horrendous conditions she was living in. We applaud the shelter staff for recognizing the seriousness of Sunny's condition and immediately releasing her to rescue. After delivering the pups in the wee hours of the morning, Sunny and the babies were picked up in the afternoon and brought to their foster home. Their wonderful foster Mom, Sue, has raised litters of pups for other rescues previously and wasn't daunted by Sunny's depleted state or the sheer number of puppies (eight!!!). Although still a baby herself, Sunny turned out to be a very good Mom. Unfortunately, poor Sunny and consequently her babies had a severe worm infestation, which can be very dangerous to young pups. Sunny and the pups were wormed several times but the pups had a setback at four weeks when they suddenly developed diarrhea and dehydration. Foster Mom Sue came to the rescue and got them to the vet for fluids and treatment, which pulled them through the crisis.
At the same time, Sunny was in such poor shape that even though she was eating voraciously and receiving good care, her immune system was so weak that she developed mange when the pups were about six weeks old. The vets advised giving her a shot of prednisone along with Ivermectin to alleviate the itching and scratching that was driving her crazy and to treat the mange, but said that the pups would have to be weaned immediately, because of the pred. Since the pups were partially weaned and had been eating some dry puppy food made into a mush along with nursing, we agreed to let Sunny have the shot to give her some relief.
Unfortunately, within a day or two, Sunny developed a very high fever, extreme tenderness in her mammary glands and deep purple bruising. As the symptoms were developing, Sue was in contact with the vet, who didn't diagnose the symptoms correctly as mastitis. In the middle of the night of the second day, Sunny's fever spiked at 107 degrees and Sue rushed her to an emergency vet. They diagnosed mastitis and said that the purple bruising on her breasts was tissue that was infected and dying. They rushed her into surgery and it was truly a miracle that she pulled through. They kept telling us that they weren't sure she would survive the surgery. She had to have all of her mammary glands removed, along with all of the dead tissue. The incision was so large that there wasn't enough skin left to close the wound. Sunny's blood pressure also dropped during the surgery and they were afraid that that she wasn't going to make it. Thankfully, she is a strong little girl who pulled through and made it through the surgery. She was hospitalized for five days and then discharged back to her foster home with a 12 inch open incision along her belly and chest which had to be re-bandaged daily.
In the meantime, while Sunny was in the hospital, her foster Mom became surrogate Mom to the eight growing pups. Although they were in better shape than their poor mother, they were also compromised due to Sunny's depleted condition during the pregnancy and they needed extra care and attention. There were a couple more minor scares with the pups, but they seemed to be over the worst. Sunny came home from the vet hospital very weak but happy and has made wonderful progress. While she can't nurse the pups, she still enjoys being with her babies (until they start to chew up her bandage!) Her incision has continued to close and although daily bandage changes are still required, the open part of the incision is only a few inches long. The vets expect the incision to eventually close on its own completely. While she won't have any re-growth of the hair along her belly and chest, the skin will be healthy. And bald bellies are just as good for belly-rubs as hairy ones!
Sunny's pups are now 11 weeks old (on 9/7) and mom and pups are all doing well. The pups have all made their internet debut and foster Mom Sue hosted a puppy meet and greet for potential adopters. We're happy to report that all the pups are spoken for. We had to name them to designate adopters and we decided on a weather theme because of Mommy "Sunny". The three males became "Cyclone", "Slush", and "Thunder". The five females became "Rainbow", "Summer", "Halo", "Breezy", and "Misty".
And what about Sunny?? Sunny has had a loving home waiting for her since the first day we got her. Dana and Bob, who transported her from the shelter to the vet eleven weeks ago, couldn't forget about the sweet girl who stole their hearts. As soon as Sunny's incision is closed, she'll go to her new home.
This experience has been one that none of us involved in will ever forget. From the sadness of seeing Sunny with ribs and backbone sticking out two days before delivering puppies, to the joy when she had eight healthy puppies, to the fear that we were going to lose Sunny to misdiagnosed mastitis, to the relief that mom and pups have survived against all odds..this is the best and the worst of rescue all rolled into one.
To celebrate Sunny and her puppies, we're planning a special ceremony at Tri-State's September Picnic on the 23rd. Sunny and all eight of her puppies will be there and Sunny will be "pawtographing" hand-painted t-shirts
(by artist and foster Mom, Sue) as a fund-raiser to cover some of the costs of her surgery ($5,000+).
Please come out and meet Sunny and her babies in the Gazebo at Riverview Beach Park in Pennsville, NJ and see this miracle girl with her miracle puppies. Help celebrate sending the puppies off to their new homes with a special ceremony. You'll never be able to forget Sunny or her babies. Buy a t-shirt and say, "I helped save Sunny". Shirts are $25 and will be available at the picnic or can be mailed out to you (plus postage if mailed). Send us an email sandybob_at_tristatebassets.org with all of the pertinent information and we'll mail you a shirt. The shirts are unique and hand-painted so each one is different. We have a variety of colors and can accommodate sizes small to 4x.
Our deepest thanks go to all of the wonderful people who helped Sunny and her puppies along this incredible journey, including the shelter staff who saved her in the nick of time and the vets whose determination and skill saved her yet again, and to everyone who helped transport and sent prayers and drool when things were grim. And our most special thanks to Sunny's foster Mom, Sue, who almost single-handedly saved Sunny and her babies against tremendous odds. You're all our heroes. |
