A Loss

Shortly after posting the video, the little rough girl started to fade. Every time I checked on the family, Phoebe would have licked her so much that she was damp and cool. I'd move her back to the heating pad, dry her off and watch her for a bit. After a couple episodes of this, she looked like she had lost weight. After warming her up again, I gave her a drop of Karo syrup on my finger. She'd keep a strong hold on my finger and also had a regular, good heartbeat. After she'd perk up, I'd give her some drops of Phoebe milk, which seemed to strengthen her, too, and then I'd encourage her to nurse. I watched the pup for a long time and while she had latched on, was not nursing. Then I tube fed her and again felt that she would make it. After a second tube feeding, she suddenly gasped and went limp. I tried to revive her and thought a couple of times I could hear a faint heartbeat, but she wouldn't start breathing. I had noticed a couple of times during the day that her breath was odd, it had kind of a rotten smell to it. In the late afternoon, Phoebe was aggressively pushing her away and was becoming agitated. Once I took the poor baby away, Phoebe settled down and became a happy girl again.
The pups had a vet appointment this morning for dew claw removal anyway, so the smooth and Phoebe got a good once over by Dr Robbins. The pup weighs 1.2 pounds and Phoebe is recovering well from her c-section. The staff felt bad that she lost another puppy and compensated by giving her plenty of treats. The smooth puppy let known her indignation over being disturbed from her morning nap, then let the entire office (if not the whole block!) know what she thinks of dew claw removal! Mother and daughter are now resting contentedly, the pup stretched out on the heating pad. Now that she doesn't have to share mom at all, I think she'll grow at a phenomenal rate and soon find the heating pad too small!