Just a little while ago we told you about Pocahontas, a pregnant dog that was rescued from life in a flooded basement. She was saved by Rescue Dogs Rock NYC just in time to give birth, and made friends with another pregnant dog while in care. Sadly, her friend did not survive puppy birth, so Pocahontas took in the new puppies and is raising them as her own.

On October 6^th, Rescue Dogs posted this on their Facebook page

Sometimes in rescue, the heartbreak becomes unbearable. Today is one of those days. We fell in love with this precious dog the second we laid eyes on her. It was a video taken at Fulton County Animal Services in Georgia. At the time, we had no idea she was pregnant. Once we found out Lily Rose was pregnant, we knew her situation was urgent. We reached out to our Maryland vet partner & of course they said they’d help! We knew LR was around 55 days along and we also learned she was heartworm positive & had demodex mange. We moved mountains using a private transport to get her to MD before her babies came.

Monday night, Lily’s temp dropped & she was heavily panting. We were sure the puppies were coming, but no. The X-rays showed they were close & moving a lot, but just weren’t moving to the birth canal. Her mucus plug came out & again we anxiously awaited the birth. Finally last night, her medical team said we have to induce labor, mama is uncomfortable & starting to moan some. This morning still no puppies!

The decision was made to do a C-section as time had run out. We could not wait any longer. We knew the risk with mama’s heartworm, but we had no choice. Something was wrong. When they got in, they discovered a large stillborn puppy was blocking the birth canal! No wonder no puppy could get out. At this same time of removing the puppies to safety, mama went into cardiac arrest & passed. The medical team tried desperately to get her back. They worked on her for a full 10 minutes. Such an emotional roller coaster knowing mom was gone & yet still trying to save her 8 living puppies!

Ugh, what a nightmare!! Lily Rose will be buried with her stillborn puppy & both were tearfully kissed goodbye.  We will never forget this happy, smiley girl, but all we can do to honor her now is to fight like heck to save her babies. We promise you Lily Rose, we will move mountains for them as we did for you!  RIP Lily Rose! We will ALWAYS love you & NEVER forget you.

Pocahontas, who had been at the Maryland vet when Lily Rose arrived, had given birth four weeks earlier, and her puppies were just starting to be weaned.  The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, and she had no problem taking on a new brood.  You’d think that raising sixteen puppies would be too much for any dog, but once you’ve had eight, what’s another eight more?  All are healthy and thriving!