A few weeks ago, a woman brought her dog Xena to be spayed at a veterinarian's office where our Crossing Paths manager Ashlee works part time.

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Xena appeared to be very pregnant. The owner claimed that Xena was not near full term and asked that the puppies be aborted. When the vet opened up Xena, she found the puppies to be kicking and moving. Xena was only about 1 week early. The vet asked if Crossing Paths would rescue the pups and Ashlee immediately agreed. She proceeded to deliver 10 beautiful puppies as the vet saved Xena who had crashed while under anesthesia.

The puppies got up and were moved to a box, but they did not cry, worrying staff greatly. But sure enough, they began crying after 10 min, which seemed like a lifetime. Mom howled from her crate in response.

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The owner was notified that Xena's viable pups were delivered and that they had a place at Crossing Paths. Her cold response was to ask that Crossing Paths take Xena too because she didn't want her anyway. Staff members were ecstatic though because Xena offered her puppies their best chance for survival.

Xena was groggy and confused by the time she got to rescue with the pups. She didn't seem to understand that the puppies were hers. Staff assisted Xena by placing the puppies on her to help her understand. They bottle fed the puppies until Xena understood.

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Sadly, 5 of the premature puppies did not survive. Ten premature puppies is a lot for a mama dog to handle and they had a rough start. The good news is that the remaining 5 pups are thriving. Xena has gotten much better feeding them on her own and she lovingly grooms them. Now that she understands that the puppies are hers, she has become protective, preferring for staff to leave the pups alone with her. Staff check on them numerous times each day, but they understand that Mom knows best!