Senior Labrador Retriever That Was Surrendered At A Shelter Gives Birth To 21 Puppies After Being In Labor For More Than A Day

Mama's story is bittersweet but her determination to stay alive is inspiring

Chelsi

• Published in Animal Stories
• July 5, 2022

Emergency medical care for animals is expensive. Some owners put off taking their furry friends to the veterinarian because of the cost but their cost-saving strategy endangers the life of their pets.

Take this senior Labrador Retriever that was surrendered to the Boone Area Humane Society. It was supposed to be an uneventful Saturday when the very pregnant black Labrador was released to the organization.

She was brought in at the back of a pickup truck, barely moving. They could already tell how swollen her abdomen was and it was obvious this was not the first time she was carrying a litter of puppies.

They immediately assessed that she has been in labor for over 24 hours before the owner gave her up. Due to her state, the humane society brought her to the Iowa University College of Veterinary Medicine for intensive care.

They gave her an ultrasound and confirmed that she was indeed pregnant. Not long after that, the heavily pregnant dog gave birth to two premature puppies.

One of the puppies was alive but the other was stillborn. Her weakened physical state meant that the dog couldn't handle prolonged labor so they prepped her for an emergency cesarean section.

The humane society was told the procedure would cost them around $8,000. Once her lab work came back and it was confirmed the dog mom was septic, the amount went up to $18,000-$20,000.

The Boone Area Humane Society took to social media to ask for their community's support

They didn't fail the organization and the dog mom. They were able to raise almost $20,000, the full amount for the emergency surgery.

The medical staff estimated that the dog mom was around 7 to 8 years old — she was way past the recommended age of breeding

The silver lining is they do not believe she was a victim of a puppy mill or an irresponsible breeder

The mom gave birth to a total of 21 premature puppies

The record for the largest dog litter born was 24 puppies

Unfortunately, due to the nature of their birth endangered most of the puppies.

Only 12 of them managed to survive the ordeal

The even sadder news is, none of the senior dog's pups made it out of the hospital alive

Despite the difficult few days Mama had, she was still fighting to stay alive

She had a long road of recovery ahead of her and she is willing to do all of the hard work

Not long after the tragic events surrounding the birth of her litter, Mama moved into the home of her foster family. Mama got her own bed and a stuffed toy to cuddle with.

It took her awhile to fully adjust into her new home but she slowly warmed up to her foster family

She may have through difficult times but Mama deserves this better and improved life

She was also renamed Ruthie in honor of the late Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg — another fighter.

Ruthie's struggles were not in vain. It is definitely sad that she lost all of her puppies but the money left over from her surgery has funded a new effort of the Boone Area Humane Society.

The new initiative is called Ruthie's Fund. It aims to help dogs and cats who come into the shelter needing emergency medical care.

Chelsi