06/16/2024
Introducing the Peek-A-Boo Litter . . . aka things that hide:
Marco, Polo, Hide (Heidi), Seek, D.B. Cooper (Coop), Jack-in-the-Box (Jack) and Whack-a-Mole (Molly).
On April 20th, the Oregon Coordinator received a phone call from a woman asking for assistance placing a 2yo female, Lylah. She stated that her daughter-in-law, left three Ridgebacks in her son’s backyard and took off, apparently there is an ongoing divorce. The surrendering family found a home for their 4yo female, who was being spayed. The son was neutering and keeping the male.
On April 25th, Lylah was picked up by her foster home. She was seen by a vet on May 14th for a rabies vaccine, bloodwork and scheduled for spay on June 6th. In the late afternoon of May 21st, the Oregon Coordinator received a call that Lylah just had a puppy. The puppy was severely/very premature. The coordinator quickly made a call, to a friend who is a RRCUS breeder to see who may know of a reproductive vet in the Sacramento area.
Thanks to another RRCUS breeder, Lylah was able to be seen by a Reproductive Veterinarian the next afternoon. It was determined, via ultrasound, Lylah was still pregnant with many puppies measuring around 50 days gestation. Unfortunately, testing revealed her progesterone levels were extremely low, considerably lower than what is ideal for a scheduled c-section. The Repro Vet indicated there was a chance the puppies could make it to term, but also that Lylah could miscarry at any time. It was felt by all involved that a spay abort at this stage in pregnancy was too risky for Lylah.
Our primary concern was for Lylah, however if there was a safe way for Lylah to bring healthy puppies to term we wanted to try. She was promptly started on two medications to increase her progesterone levels and control her contractions. Lylah was under round the clock supervision given the high risk, which included monitoring by Whelpwise, a veterinary prenatal specialist, for the duration of her pregnancy. Lucky for Lylah, and her unborn puppies, her foster mom is a trauma nurse so caring for Lylah and round the clock checks were no sweat.
There were many adjustments to Lylah’s medications due her scheduled readings showing contractions and uterine irritability, but finally correct dosing was found. On May 31st, it was determined by Lylah’s Veterinary team and Whelpwise the time had come to start tapering the medications assisting to keep the puppies inside and bake. On June 2nd at 1:35pm the first puppy was born a girl weighing 11.2oz, the last puppy, a boy, was born at 11:55pm weighing 12.2oz. Lylah had 8 puppies in all, 2 girls, 6 boys, all ridged, weighing between 8.2oz and 12.2oz in just over 10 hours. While the puppies were born on the small side, they are healthy and mighty. There are no cleft palates, no kinks and no dermoids detected. Unfortunately, one male puppy passed at 2 days old. This is not an uncommon occurrence, however, it does not make the loss any easier.
If having a surprise litter wasn’t enough, Lylah was struggling with inappetence. She would drink some goats milk or puppy formula and have some bites of beef stew on occasion. On day 3, Lylah started acting on edge and had a slight fever. She was taken to the ER, there can be multiple conditions which can present in the days and weeks postpartum. Thankfully, there did not appear to be any retained afterbirth or puppies. However, her symptoms could not be explained. The belief is she was starting to show signs of metritis, a uterine infection, that likely had been festering since she aborted the puppy 2wks prior.
The decision was made to start her on antibiotics, and send her home with a couple bags of subcutaneous fluids to administer, over the next few days, while the puppies nursed. Careful consideration was made to insure the antibiotic selected was safe for nursing puppies. The goal, was to not have to fully supplement feedings unless given no other option. 12 hours later, Lylah was back to her happy self, and her Hungry Hungry Hippo appetite had returned!
If you would like to be considered for one of the Peek-A-Boo puppies, please submit an application here - https://bit.ly/RRRI_Adopt. Please note, all selected adopters will need to travel to pick up their puppy in person. The puppies are located in the Sacramento, CA area. They will be ready to go to their new homes the week of July 28th. They can travel by car or under the seat of a plane, as long as they are under 20lbs and fit in an airline approved Sherpa bag.
As one can imagine, having a litter is quite an undertaking both physically and financially. Even more so when not expected. Thanks to the wonderful Ridgeback community, we were able to borrow the majority of the items needed for whelp and raising neonates. However, there are still items needed to help raise the litter until they are ready to go home at 8wks, from the sides of their puppy pen, food, enrichment items, toys, collars, leashes, bedding, etc.
If you would like to purchase items to help them along their journey, you can do so here - https://amzn.to/4aZbdZ3. Select Rhodesian Ridgeback Rescue address and items will ship directly to their foster home.
If you would like to make a donation toward the Peek-A-Boo Litter, expenses you may do so here - https://bit.ly/RRRI_Donate, 100% of monies donated goes towards the care of these sweet pups. Please indicate your donation is "In Honor of' Peek-A-Boo Litter. Or if you wish to make a donation via check, please mail checks payable to 'RRRI' to RRRI, P.O. Box 4141, Leesburg, VA 20177. In the memo line be sure to write Peek-A-Boo Litter. Donation letters will be mailed to those who donate by check. Please note, that any monies donated over the puppies’ care will go towards helping other Ridgebacks in need!
