The Birthplace Litter

The names of SSD Scotia’s new puppies tell the story of their birth.

Our whelping families, the people who take care of the pregnant female and then the puppies for the first nine weeks, usually select the theme. Scotia’s whelpers were having a difficult time agreeing on a theme, but after the delivery, it became clear what the theme should be.

Please welcome the Birthplace Litter! Almost every puppy was born in a different place, so as the theme suggests, they took their names from their birth location.

Scotia had been in labor for several hours with no sign of a puppy, so the whelping team and the vet staff on call at Palmyra Animal Clinic decided that Scotia needed to go to the vet for a c-section. In the wee hours of the morning, the whelping team of five people loaded all the necessary supplies for the trip and headed out with Scotia.

Something about the car ride must have helped, because at 3:33 a.m., Scotia gave birth in the back of Diane’s (our long-time volunteer and whelping team veteran) car. The first born puppy was a yellow female named Pilot, which is the model of the car. 

We called the vet to let them know we were taking Scotia back home. With every whelp, we keep detailed notes, and based on Scotia’s past deliveries, we were confident that she should be able to easily give birth to the rest of the puppies. In the past, she tended to give birth every 30 minutes, and she stayed true to form with this litter. The second pup was born in the car at 3:57 a.m. as they were crossing the George Wade Bridge. This yellow male puppy was named Bridge.

Once the whelping team got Scotia, Pilot, and Bridge settled at home, at 4:41 a.m. Scotia gave birth to another puppy, who would turn out to be the only puppy actually born in the whelping box. Her name is Nola, named after the whelpers’ hometown of Enola.

Scotia continued in labor for several more hours but made little progress. She was becoming increasingly fatigued, so our whelping team called the vet for guidance, and it was decided that Scotia needed to go to the vet for a c-section.

There really was something about the car, because at 7:10 a.m., Scotia gave birth to a yellow female. Sadly, we were unable to revive the puppy, who had gotten stuck in the birth canal. She was named Comfort, because Scotia delivered her in the parking lot of a Comfort Inn.

The car continued its journey to the Palmyra Animal Clinic, but at 7:30 a.m., off the Grantville/743 exit of I-81, Scotia gave birth to a healthy yellow male, who was named Grantville.

We arrived at the Palmyra Animal Clinic around 8 a.m., and Scotia and all her puppies were escorted back with the vets. She was able to deliver the last two puppies naturally, although both pups were stillborn. Our whelpers decided to name them after the roads our volunteers often travel to get to Palmyra Animal Clinic: Gravel Hill and Cherry, both yellow females.

Comfort, Gravel Hill, and Cherry will be buried in a special spot at the home of one of our volunteers.

Everyone is doing well since they have returned home. Mom and pups are resting and doing fine.

Thank you so much to our whelping team! We’re so glad to have such a wonderful and experienced group of volunteers taking care of the mothers and puppies.