Party of Five

I knew Bella was getting close to delivering her pups. She was showing signs all day on Thursday. I went to bed about 11 and I heard a constant licking coming from her kennel. I called Devin up and her backside and kennel were all wet. She was starting to deliver! She did a lot of contracting and nesting for about an hour. We were getting a little concerned with how long it was taking since we had trouble last time with one of the puppies getting caught in the birth canal. We called an ER vet just to make sure things were ok. As Devin was on the phone I saw a little pup starting to make its way out. The first 3 puppies came out great. She had problems with the 4th and needed our help. So far she had 2 boys and 2 girls and we thought she was done. The most she's ever had was 4 so we cleaned her up and changed her bedding so she could nurse her pups. I noticed her pushing again and out came another boy. She had 5!! We couldn't believe it! The last 2 had trouble breathing so we weren't sure they were going to make it, but they pulled through. Bella did great, but she was exhausted. We all were! We didn't get done until after 4 in the morning. Devin had to get up for work in a couple hours and I was flying out to San Diego. It seems our dogs can never deliver at a convenient time. It's always in the middle of the night! I'm so glad I was here, though. It's usually a two-person job. The puppies are almost a week old and are still doing great!