Paws and Prayers Rescue Blog

Momma with her pups

I just read a story about a mother dog, her owners home was on fire. Onlookers were shocked when she re-entered the ferocious flames six times rescuing her puppies one by one and carrying them out and placing them in what she deemed the safest place, a open compartment of the fire truck. Once they were all safe she climbed in herself and nursed her 10 day old puppies. Seeing this reminded me that I have been blessed enough to witness this amazing motherly love before.

Some thirty years ago I had a beautiful Shepard Husky Mix, aware she was due to give birth any day we prepared for a birthing box full of comfortable blankets. While at work one day she decided, despite our efforts to keep her pinned in our kitchen, it would be more comfortable to have her pups on my new couch. We opened the door that evening to find her laying on the couch with stuffing every where!! I gasped at the sight of my couch shredded all over my living room, while surveying the damage I heard the tiniest squeak. And then I saw them, two adorable puppies nursing on their mommy. I totally forgot about the mess, Babe had delivered her puppies! What I didn't realize at that moment was that there were more. Her weight on the couch had caused the babies to slip down inside the couch, she hadn't been destructive she was trying to get her babies. There were nine more pups down inside the couch for a total of eleven. Fortunately all the pups were healthy and there was no ill effect from being - couch puppies. I couldn't be upset with Momma, I had recently lost my three month old son I would have torn up anything to save my baby. I totally understood, it was motherly love.

Shepard Husky mix puppies

Snow White

Recently I took into my foster care a very emaciated White Shepard momma, along with her six, three day old pups. The pups needed supplemented because momma wasn't producing milk yet. A few hours after her arrival as I was preparing to feed when I noticed the tiniest puppy in the corner all by herself. I picked her up she was lifeless and extremely cold, I needed to warm her up and fast. I have a microwaveable bag filled with rice I use for headaches and I heated it up and wrapped her in a blanket and then placed her on the heated bag. It took several hours but I got her temperature up, got some food in her and she started to peak up. I gave her back to momma which licked her and pushed her gently under her. A few hours later the whole scene repeated itself a second time. The third time I found her in the corner she was even worse than before and again I began the process of reviving her. Only this time her extremely weak mother came to me, placing her mouth around the puppy and carried her back and placed in the corner. Once again I picked up the poor little girl and started to work on her, when I felt a gentle nudge. Momma again took her and put her back in the corner. Being determined I was going to save her I again picked up the puppy walked back over where I was working on her and before I could even start, momma took her away. As much as I didn't want to give up I also didn't want to upset momma any more. Heart broken I decided momma must know more than I did, so I let her be. A couple hours later I return expecting to find this precious little baby in the corner. What I found is something I will never forget as long as I live. The puppy had indeed passed but her lifeless little body was not in the corner. She was being held in her momma's paws. Momma looked up at me and for the last time picked up her lifeless baby and brought her to me. I could have her now! She must have known something was wrong, how hard it must have been to love her puppy so much to let her go, sparing her baby from any further pain. It was motherly love!!

Snow White and her pups in foster care.  All, including Snow, have since gone on to find their furever homes!

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Content By:  Donna Schulman

Donna Schulman is a foster for dogs and puppies along with her husband Richard.  Donna is a full time care taker for her mother and Richard is an automotive painter.  They have a 7-year-old rescued Pomeranian named Pepper and three rescued cats Figaro, Charlie and Boots.

Images:  Provided by Donna Schulman