Asia USA Realty (Singapore) asiahomes.com Pte Ltd  - Real Estate Department 29 Feb 2004
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INTERNET COMMUNITY EDUCATION  
 "Be Kind to Pets" - Tips for a longer life for pets. A Community Education supported by Asiahomes Internet.

Would all Bull Terrier puppies die?

I did not think that the other bull terrier puppies inside the womb would survive, but I kept my opinion to myself. 

The first puppy's head was stuck in the vagina for over eight hours.

It was hard as a rock. Could rigor mortis set in when the puppy was still inside the bitch's womb?  It had died for at least 7 hours and the stiffening of the muscles, known as rigor mortis would have set in.

The bitch was gentle although it had bitten other bigger bull terriers and even a pit bull, the owner said.  Well, I was not taking chances of being bitten.  She moved her backside away whenever the breeder tried to pull out the head. 

What should the breeder have done at 1 hour past midnight?  This was the worst time for a bitch to have difficulty in giving birth.  The breeder decided to call the vet in the morning and here, I was, ready for the emergency Caesarean section and expecting all puppies to be dead.

The bitch did not struggle much when the anaesthetic gas was given to her via a gas mask.  She was just too tired. Was she toxic?

Would she die on the operating table?  The vet invariably would be blamed for her death.  "The bitch died during surgery" would be bad for a professional reputation. 

I incised the skin over the uterus. Dark red blood oozed out from the subcutaneous fat.  The blood is usually bright red in healthy bitches.  This was a bad sign. 

The bitch breathed faster and faster.  Was the anaesthetic dose too low?  Yet, she would die if it was just sufficient as she was weak. 

It was best to take out the puppies quickly.  The first one looked dead. The second one was barely alive.  The breeder took over to revive them. He did not have much experience as bull terriers normally deliver naturally and did not need human assistance.  Was the breeder capable of doing a good job?

I had the mother to worry about. The quicker the surgery, the better chances of survival.  It is still hard to accept a dead bitch on the operating table.    

Was there any more puppy?  I pulled out a dead pup. This was the first pup. I had earlier decapitate it.

Would there be another puppy? A fourth was hidden deep inside the uterine horn. I pulled out the horn and slowly massaged the pup out of the incision.  It moved inside its amniotic sac, like a ripe fruit ready to drop at the touch of the breeze.

"What took you so long?" it opened its mouth inside the sac to admonish me.

It was breathing in the amniotic fluid and its legs were moving. This was unusual.

I pulled her out quickly. I ruptured the sac quickly, clamped the umbilical vein, cut off the connection to the placenta. It was a vigorous black and white puppy with a pink nose.

Surprising, all 3 puppies were all right. All 4 were males. I was glad that I did not predict to the breeder that he had no hope of seeing live puppies.  It was bad news. Silence is golden.  Vets can be proven wrong by the resilence of strong bitches in emergency Caesarean deliveries.

The mother was strong. She nursed the 3 pups when she reached home. 2 puppies were stressed out, 1 vigorous pup (black and white). If they were not Bull Terriers but chihuahua or maltese, all 3 puppies would be dead when Caesarean section was delayed over 8 hours from the time the first pup was seen at the vulva. 

UPDATE AS AT MAR 1 2004

It is one of those pleasures to see the 2 Caesarean delivered puppies grown up healthy and strong on February 29, 2004 at 8 pm. 

One had a swollen abscess below the right eye. Most likely caused by the sharp nail from the other puppy puncturing the skin during play. I pressed out the pus and gave the pup an antibiotic injection.  The pet shop owner would look after the cleaning of the wound. 

They were given the first vaccination at 6 weeks old and are available for sale at the pet shop in the East Coast.

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