I am thrilled to finally be sharing my thoughts about what has been a highlight of our home lately. I have been waiting for a moment to write all of the events and emotions down! Last Saturday, one of our beagles had puppies. We’d been waiting so long! Our female has had a couple of hysterical pregnancies in the past. She bred with my uncle’s dog a couple of years ago, and since then she’s been eager to get pregnant again. She’s a mama dog. That’s all there is to it. But she finally got knocked up, and at five in the morning last Saturday, she had her first. I tiny little boy (photo below-he ended up being the runt). My mom, sister, and I were beyond excited.
After the first, she was in labor for another two hours before painfully giving birth to a stillborn female. The pup had been born breech, and mama (Molly) was in pain for a long two hours. That day, I had work at eight; so, I had to leave my mom and sister with Molly. Mom was by her side the whole time, but around 11:30 my mom called me in tears, she was sure that something was wrong and none of the Vets in town were answering her calls. She asked me to come home, and my supervisor allowed me to. I got home, and my sister was sitting by Molly; my mom had left to go knock on our Vet’s door.
I think I have to explain why we weren’t with a vet in the first place. The simple answer is that we’ve had beagle puppies before. When I was younger one of our female beagles had two litters. Birth is a natural experience, and we don’t find the need for medical prodding and drugs for humans let alone dogs. My mom had my two youngest siblings at home without a midwife; my dad delivered the babies. At any rate, we didn’t plan on their being any difficulties, but guess what? In the end, we were right on target. Within minutes of me getting home Molly delivered another boy, and while we were cleaning him up, a girl was born. My mom walked in just after the third was born. She was crying, and I just looked at her and told her that everything was fine and that Molly had just birthed two puppies within three minutes. Then, Mom went back outside to call everyone she had cried to and tell them that Molly and the puppies were fine. When she was doing that, Molly had another.
Turns out delivering babies is different for all mothers, even doggy mothers. Of course, when my mom came back in the house she was upset that she’d missed three. She explained to me how awful Molly had sounded when she was having contractions. She had never heard a dog howl like Molly had. The noise combined with the fact that it had been almost four hours since the stillborn puppy, just set her off. The funny thing is that Molly gives birth just like my mom. Some ladies are just screamers; they can’t help it. At any rate, Mom was relieved; we all were.
When I finally went back to work (my supervisor told me to come back whenever I could), I started to think about how nervous I was during the third delivery. I remember holding my breath, waiting to see life from that tiny puppy. I was praying it was alive; I’m sure my little sister was too. What a relief it was to see his little legs move and his chest rise up and down. I’m sitting at work when all these emotions hit me, and I start to think about my mom’s miscarriages. Firstly, I can’t imagine how heartbreaking it is to lose a baby, and secondly, I can’t imagine getting pregnant after a failed pregnancy. My mom had two miscarriages before I was born. I was so scared when that third puppy came out. So scared. I think about how my mom must have felt during my gestation after having two babies taken away from her. It brings tears to my eyes. Life is so precious, and I learned to respect women who have lost children all the more.
