the wilke's: May 2013

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Saving Sunshine!

Just before Spring Break, the boys and I were on our way to school - when the boys saw something on the side of the road. I couldn't tell what it was, but I could tell it was an animal. I pulled over, and discovered it was a dog, a Chihuahua. She had been hit by a car and couldn't move. I scooped her up, and put her in my truck. I took the boys to school, then immediately called a rescue that I love and support, Take Me Home Pet Rescue. The director, Elise, told me that if we could foster her that they could take her into their program. I took her to TMHPR's vet, and she spent the next few weeks at the vets office. She had emergency surgery to replace her broken pelvis. She had to have 30 days of complete cage rest in order for her pelvis to heal correctly. After a few weeks, we brought her home to foster her and for her to rest. Andy named her Sunshine. He said that she seemed really sad and looked like she needed alittle Sunshine. So .... Sunshine it is : )

Over the next few weeks, she had strict cage rest. But over that time, I started to notice that her stomach was getting bigger. I took her back to the vet for a check-up, and discovered that she was going to be a mommy. On the way to the vet, Andy was trying to figure out how Sunshine could be a mommy since she wasn't married. I didn't answer. And then he said "Oh, I bet I know what happened. I bet she got married before we found her." In which I responded, "I bet that's exactly what happened."

TMHPR had another foster lined up for Sunshine after she was done w/her spay surgery (which she didn't get since she was pregnant), but I told the boys if she was pregnant that we would keep fostering her. They have never seen puppies, and really wanted to experience that.

Sunshine has been so fun for our family. We all love her. She's small, but so very sweet. And, the dogs and the cat all tolerate her. They seem to all get along pretty well. I really think she wants to play w/Teddy, and that she and Ralf would be BFF's if she weren't pregnant.

We are in the final days of her pregnancy and actually awaiting her to go into labor. She lost her mucus plus, and her temperature has dropped. It should be anytime. I have educated myself w/as much information off the internet as I can. I have watched countless dog birth videos trying to prepare myself. I am a bit nervous b/c I have never done this before. But mostly, b/c I want her to be okay. The vet says that her pelvis is completely healed and she should deliver safely. But then I worry about the puppies, that they are okay. I pray for a safe delivery, and for healthy puppies.

My awesome husband and I created a video for TMHPR to help raise money to pay for Sunshine's surgery and medical bills. You can view it here! If you would like to donate towards her care or support TMHPR, you can do that here!

Here are some photos from her journey so far....

We went by for a visit before we went out of town for Spring Break!