The long and short of it is that she was producing so much milk that it was stealing calcium from her body that she needed to function.
This resulted in a very sick Momma Dog, a flying run to the vet in the next town north because our local vet was away, and a few tense days as we tried to find the balance between her getting sucked enough to prevent mastitis, and getting sucked little enough to start shutting down the production, and not suck the calcium out of her again.
As a result, her owners have decided to go ahead and retire her as a breeding bitch. It's sad, because she is an excellent momma, and produces fantastic pups, as evidenced by Fuzzy Pup:
But, once a bitch has this problem, she's more prone to it, and it can kill the bitch, not to mention putting stress on the pups. Luckily, this litter was old enough at the time to start eating soft puppy food and drinking (sort of) milk replacer from a dish. They're growing like crazy and doing just fine.
Momma Dog will be spayed, and become a pet for someone, where she can indulge in her two favorite activities, being petted, and this:
It shouldn't be too hard to find her a new home, she's a total sweetheart, a complete love.
I mean, come on, who can resist that face?
If any of my readers nearby-ish are interested in her, drop me an email, I'll hook you up with her owners. She's registered purebred, loves attention, cuddling, and does well with other pets.
I really want to see her go to a loving home, she's a great dog, and I'd keep her myself if I could.
