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This story is a bit different from the title of this article, but I thought I needed to share this with everyone that ever loved a dog and especially anyone that has had litters of puppies.

I am a breeder of AKC Yorkshire Terriers and have been for almost eight years. I have had numerous litters of the cutest, most lovable little Yorkies that anyone can imagine and mostly without very much trouble. My Mommy Yorkies do a wonderful job of having their babies and are very attentive to their needs. Every litter that we have had, has been largely without incident, except for this last litter.

We had two Mommies due at almost the same time! Maggie's litter was born first but not without complications. We had to rush her to our Vet's office for an emergency C-section. All went well and she had three beautiful little pups, two boys and a girl. Naomi was due anytime but before we got Maggie home, she went into labor. Naomi has never had any trouble in giving birth, but this time she did. After she gave birth, she developed a very serious infection. Off to the Vet's once again. Naomi was a very sick little girl and we though we were going to loose her for almost two days. She had to stay in the hospital for four days, and we had to bottle feed her three pups. Now about two days into nursing Naomi's pups, Maggie's three pups died. She was distraught! She looked everywhere for her pups. Then, Naomi's pups stopped nursing from the bottle!

We called the Vet and asked if there was anything that we could try to see if they would nurse. He suggested that we try Maggie and see if she would nurse Naomi's pups. Well, Maggie is really tempermental and we were afraid to try that. However, after several more attempts to feed the babies, we decided to try Maggie. Can you believe it? She went right in and started to nurse those little babies, just as if they were hers. This continued for several more days until it was time to bring Naomi home. That's when we thought the problem would begin. We didn't know if Naomi would even go near her pups, with Maggie's scent around them or if she would attack them and possibly harm them.

It was a big gamble, but we slowly introduced Naomi back to her pups. She didn't hesitate one bit! It was as if she had never left them at all! However, Naomi's milk had dried up and she didn't have enough to feed them. We thought we were back in the same boat by not being able to feed them. Then, came a solution. We alternated Maggie and Naomi in nursing them! They each took turns and before long, the babies began to grow. The pups didn't care who was feed them, they were just being nursed and taken care of. And Naomi and Maggie didn't care, they were just doing what came naturally.

Now the greatest thing about this is, and I didn't tell you at the outset, is that Maggie is one of Naomi's pups from a previous litter! Who says animals are dumb?

Learn more about this author, John S Willard Jr.
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