Noel was transferred from a northern Wyoming shelter just days away from giving birth. The day after we shared her story, Noel became distressed. She was not eating or drinking, using the bathroom, and was producing no milk for her babies. Two of the babies were struggling also, and very sadly passed away. When we called our veterinarian at Cottonwood Veterinary Clinic LLC, there was no hesitation to add a family of 10 dogs to their already full schedule. Noel’s foster mom dropped everything, the day before the holiday, and rushed them there. At the clinic, all the puppies received check-ups, subcutaneous fluids and were either bottle or tube fed. It was suspected that Noel had an infection of some kind and was given antibiotics, fluids, and an injection of medication to help increase her milk production. Everyone was sent home and we waited…
On Thanksgiving Day, the update from Noel’s foster mom was a joyous one! Noel was eating, drinking, using the bathroom and most importantly - feeding the babies that she loves so much! Her milk production is still kind of slow so the foster home is supplementing with bottle feeding a few times a day. But she feels so much better and the babies are steadily gaining 1-3 ounces a day! Noel is so proud of her babies and we are so proud of her and her foster family!
Without a foster family agreeing to take Noel into their home, she would have most likely had her bundle of 11 in a scary, cold, loud shelter. Due to the volume of dogs they have to keep their eyes on, Noel’s distress might have gone unnoticed and this story may have had a much less bright beginning.
Noel’s foster family deserves so much credit here. But, you deserve credit too! Without you and the support you show for us all year long, we would not exist. There would have been no one to take Noel from that shelter, no volunteer transporter to go pick her up, no staff to reach out to, no veterinarian to take care of her and her family at a moment's notice. We are here because of you and not a day goes by that we don’t think about that!
