‘Miracle’ puppies raised by Blue Cross

A litter of eight puppies have survived against all odds, thanks to lifesaving care at Blue Cross.

Golden retrievers Theodore, Cider, Dougal, Kasper, Winnie, Holly, Sasha and Bailey were born in an emergency caesarean at a vet practice close to our Burford rehoming centre in Oxfordshire.

The puppies’ heart rates had started to rise dangerously before they were born as their mum was so poorly. She had been brought to Blue Cross days earlier as a stray, starving and heavily pregnant.

But while all eight puppies survived birth, they weren’t out of the woods; the first two weeks would be crucial for mum and litter.

Our team were especially concerned about Holly, who was half the size of her littermates and born with a hernia which required an operation to repair.

Burford Centre Manager, Hannah Wiltshire, says: “The puppy with the hernia was a big worry from day one, as she was very, very small. But we were seriously concerned about all of them – there was a serious risk that all nine of them wouldn’t make it.”

As mum was so poorly, weak and stressed, the team had to give the puppies supplementary hand-feeds every three hours from the outset. This required a team of 30 people from all over Blue Cross working shift patterns, day and night, and sleeping at the centre on makeshift beds.

“Myself along with one colleague, stayed with them for that first night,” says Hannah.

“Puppies have to eat, and when you hand-rear, you can’t make them eat. So, it is them deciding to do it. But if they didn’t eat, they wouldn’t survive. It was really touch and go.”

But, thanks to extraordinary efforts of all involved, the whole family made it past those risky first few weeks.

Hannah continues: “I’m so proud that we got them all through. It’s nothing short of a miracle. 

“Every time the vet came up to visit, they couldn’t believe the progress they were making. We all thought we would lose the tiny one, but we didn’t, she made it through too.”

Once the litter was past those risky first few weeks, they started to thrive and develop their own personalities.

And then the focus shifted to the socialisation process, so that the puppies would grow into happy and confident pets despite being raised away from a normal home. 

Hannah explains: “In a home environment they would just be exposed to things organically, like different flooring and different sounds. So, all the things we don’t even register, like doorbells, phones, ovens and kettles, or kids playing and different voices, that’s all stuff they’re not going to be exposed to unless we make it happen.”

Our Behaviour Team developed a special weekly plan for the litter, to ensure they experienced the things they needed to at the right times.

The puppies were played special CDs to introduce them to new sounds gradually, like fireworks. And the windows and doors of the puppy unit were left open as much as possible, so they could hear birds, wind and planes.

By the time they were four weeks old, the puppies had started to ooze confidence and were eager to explore anything in their surroundings, as well as run around playing with each other.

Hannah says: “Their development just skyrocketed. They were so confident in everything we gave them to do. They picked up independent feeding straight away and when they went outside for the first time, they did it without hesitation. They were just superstars.”

Blue Cross found loving homes for all eight puppies midway during their time with us, so that our team could bring in the new owners for group training sessions to ensure they had the very best starts to their life as cherished pets.

And, at eight weeks old, they all flew the nest, leaving behind an exhausted but happy team.