Day 22...not a good day.

Today was not a good day for Sadie. When we awoke this morning, Sadie had a large swelling in her mammary glands. Dr. Christensen found that Sadie had mastitis, a condition where the gland becomes inflamed. In Sadie's case, it has become infected, as her white blood cell count has not returned to normal after recovering from the GDV surgery and the births. Eventually, it will become a breast abscess, which will hopefully allow draining to dispel the infection. We must be very careful, as this condition and infection can be life threatening.

The problems Sadie has been having since the births has made creating and updating this blog very difficult, but I want everyone to know what's happening with Sadie and her pups. Unfortunately, we have had good with the bad. Sadie has had to deal with three major events (the births, the GDV surgery and the breast mastitis). Any of these individually could be potentially life-threatening....all three together has put Sadie almost into a state of shock, and she is not fighting off the latest problem very well. Hopefully tomorrow will bring better news.

11:00 pm Mar 6th
11:00 pm Mar 6th

7:00 am Mar 7th
Updated 11:00 pm Mar. 7th....
Sadie seemed to respond better with the last treatment of IV's and antibiotics that she received from Dr. Christensen tonight. She ate a little solid food, moved a little easier and seemed to be more alert. The picture below shows how she is still swollen, but it appears to not be as tender as before.


Sadie may not nurse while she is battling this infection (because of the chance of passing it through her milk to the pups) so Linda and I and the family have once again assumed the duties of feeding the puppies. At least now, at this stage of their development, they seem to be able to drink the substitute milk from a bowl, which will be much better than bottle feeding.


Also, Katelyn got to spend a little time with Purple Willie today, and both seemed to have a good time!!