October 2011

Well, where to start? It has been an eventful month to say the least:

I'll start at the beginning; at the time of writing my last blog it was a few days before our little Jazz was due to give birth. She went into labour on Sunday the 25th of September at sixty-four days. She started a couple of contractions in the early hours of Sunday and then stopped, so we took her to the vets at 10am just to get her checked over. After a shot of calcium we were sent home and to wait. In the afternoon she started contractions again, but with no results so off to the vets again and it was decided a c–section was needed. We were sent away and told to return in an hour. When we left jazz she was happy and healthy - wet nose and wagging tail despite her contractions - and because of this I tried not to worry too much. Upon returning to the vets, about 20 minutes early, we could see through the window from the car park, into the surgery room and witnessed a 2nd vet shouting at our vet and a lot of commotion with people running around etc. At this point I was very worried as I knew that they wouldn’t panic like this over a fading puppy. Shortly after our vet called us into the waiting room and confirmed that Jazz hadn’t made it. Words cannot describe the loss I felt and still feel now. The vet then went on to say we had five healthy puppies….

I shall not go into details but it was, and still is apparent due to many factors that jazz was not monitored as she should have been and we have since been lied to by the vets on many occasions, so are pursuing this matter further. I accept that we are all human - even vets - and it is in our nature to make mistakes. If they had said "we're sorry, we have made a mistake and we are prepared to help in any way," it would have been easier to swallow and I could have at least tried to move on. The fact that they took both my partner and me for mugs has not helped in anyway. I will keep you all updated on developments in future blogs.

I have been hand rearing the puppies - all boys - and they are now 5weeks old and going strong. It has been very hard work and I have had to cut down on a lot of my working hours. Weeks one and two I was doing feeds every other hour and stimulating them to make them go to the toilet as their mother would have. By week three feeds were every 2 and a half hours and by the end of that week they started to to go to the toilet by themselves. Now the pups are being weaned onto solids it is getting a lot easier. They are playing with each other and toys, wagging their tails and enjoying cuddles. Our other dogs are teaching them about dog language and manners, as am I teaching them how to cope with frustration.

We will be keeping one so as we can hold on to at least part of Jazz’s wonderful spirit, though we dont know which yet as their personalities are still developing. Because all the pups are boys and I had homes for girls - we do have two available to go to extra special homes; please contact me if you are interested.

In conclusion I would like to put forward a few points for you all to consider: When people ask me for advice on breeding their own bitch I have always been very straight with them, saying things like "do you have the money and time to raise a litter of pups?" They are a lot of hard work and ‘real breeders’ do not make money out of a litter as they cost a lot to raise, especially if you have to pay for a caesarean. Jazz’s previous litter were born naturally with no problems, but she needed a c-section this time so there are no guarantees. The only reason we mated her again was in the hopes of getting a bitch to try and get better temperaments within the breed. Every litter carries the risk of losing their mother; are you prepared for that? Now hindsight is a wonderful thing, and if I had the choice again: pups or Jazz? Well I would choose Jazz hands down. But we live and learn.

In saying that, having the pups after losing Jazz has given me the strength to carry on, I have had to for their sake, but it does not stop me missing her.

The loss of Jazz has hit the whole family hard, including the other dogs and even one of our cats and this has to be taken into consideration when choosing the new pup. Jazz was our pack leader (within the dogs), kept everyone in check and gave our dogs the stability they needed so it is crucial we consider which puppy will fit in the most with our pack.

Ziggy, our Dachshund boy, is very obviously grieving for his best friend and although he is lapping up the extra attention I fear he will never fully recover from losing Jazz as they were so so close.

Another point to make is because the pups did not receive the first milk from their mother (colostrum - which provides them with their mother's immunities) we have had to be very carefull with risks of infection etc, and as such our dogs have not been able to go out for walks which affects them greatly. They have not been bouncy but the opposite and quite depressed. I feel that walks would help them out of this slump, but unfortunately they will have to wait another couple of weeks.

Jazz was just four years old and words cannot describe just how wonderful she was; she touched so many lives and had a long list of people who swore they would have her if ever I couldn’t. I keep telling myself "only the good die young" but it all feels so wrong not having her here. I am very angry with the vets to say the least, but nothing they do now will bring her back. All I can do is concentrate on what I call her "gifts" (the puppies), and find the best possible homes for them.

Until next time, Sarah