We Have Puppies!

The puppies are here! Tiga delivered the first puppy yesterday at 1:50 pm. She than preceded to pop out the next four in just over 1 hour. Then she quit. Yep, she just quit. I think she was so busy with the first five that she just forgot she had to have another three. Her contractions stopped and she just laid there happily nursing and cleaning her puppies. After 3 hours of no action we took her to the vet where it was decided she would have a C-section to deliver the rest. The C-section was quite interesting. I have to admit I didn't watch the whole thing but what I did see was pretty fascinating. The Drs. and staff at Inver Grove Heights Animal Hospital were wonderful - professional, efficient and really nice and informative. Tiga came out of there as though it were nothing - hard to imagine considering her uterus was hanging by her side at one point. And all three of the remaining puppies were born alive and healthy. All in all, a great days work by Tiga and all of those that helped. I have to give special thanks to Eileen and Melanie. Eileen, Director of Programs at Helping Paws, came to be with us and supervise the whelping. Melanie, a foster home for Helping Paws, arrived after the fifth puppy was born, just in time to witness the C-section. Melanie is a nurse and it was great having her on hand to help with the feathering. I won't go into detail about that, but let me assure you I was glad Melanie was there to do it.

And now here they are! (The red marks on the puppies are nail polish. This is used so we can tell who is who. Didn't want anyone to think they weren't clean or worse yet were wounded!)

Tiga and pups right after returning home from the vet. She is dead tired after the long day's ordeal.

Amazing what a little sleep can do for you. This is Tiga today after a good night's sleep - chipper and alert once again.

Here are the eight little cuties.

Taking a rest on Mom's leg. It is amazing that this face will shortly turn into a beautiful Golden Retriever head.

Now this is a face.