“Not until all the pups are born. Right now, our goals are to make sure the cord is properly cut, the pup is breathing, is warm, feels protected, is not being squished, and that Shadow feels safe. After all the pups are born, I’ll force Shadow outside to pee and drink some water, then bring her back to nurse, which is what she’ll want to be doing.”
“What if a pup has problems breathing?”
“Dr. Molly has a little suction cup standing by to clear the air passages.” Molly held up the little utensil. “But Pup one is just fine, and now it’s time to start documenting. Would you like to be the scribe?”
“I’m good at doing what I’m told.”
“I doubt that.”
She handed him a notebook. “Let’s start with a cover page. Today’s date. German Shepherd Litter. Lines identifying the mother and father. Got that?”
Bart set up the title page. “Do you want the dog owners?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Anything else on the title page?”
“Let’s get the location as Molly McGuire’s Cabin, Kitchen Pantry, Summer’s End resort, Okanogan County, Washington State.”
“Got it. Anything else?”
“No, that’s it for the cover page. Now a new page with a heading for Pup one.”
“We’re about to get Pup two.”
Bart pointed as Shadow was working on a second ball of fur trying to crawl to freedom. A face and two paws were visible. Shadow was furiously licking what could be seen of Pup two.
“Perfect.”
“Ok, on the page for Pup one, let’s put time of birth as 5:45 AM. And let’s describe it as dark in color and healthy. Now thatShadow is preoccupied with Pup two, I’m going to put a tiny collar on it that says “one”.
Molly fastened the collar and took a photo of Pup one with the number visible.
“What’s Bear’s role?”
“Exactly what he’s doing, standing guard. But it’s important that you’re here so Bear can learn that what’s happening is a good thing and that the new pups are important to you and need to be handled gently and with care. If the pups are important to you, the pups will be important to him. Right now, his instinct is to protect Shadow. If a predator were to approach, you’d see Bear get ferociously protective. But he’s protecting Shadow, not the pups. Shadow’s instinct would be to protect the pups. You’re teaching Bear that the pups are to be protected too.”
“Pup two is out.”
They watched as Shadow actively licked Pup two.
“Okay, did you see Shadow cut the cord?”
“Amazing.”
“You can start a new page. Pup two is born at 5:55. Healthy and active. Dark in color but light brown on the chest.”
Pup one was wiggling around, being warmed by the pad and heat lamp, while Shadow was grooming Pup two. Molly picked it up and inspected. “Pup one is male.”
The birthing process went well until it didn’t.
Bart asked, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s been too long between pups. Something’s not right.”
Molly picked up her cell phone and dialed.
Vivian’s voice could be heard on the speaker phone. “Is Shadow in labor?”
