Zoe, an extremely pregnant Terrier mix, was slated for euthanasia at an Alabama animal shelter when Sandi Paws Rescue, based out of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, heard about her and knew that they had to rescue her, no matter what.
A regular rescue transport was already scheduled, but mama Zoe wasn’t fit for the traditional transport since she was so close to delivering her puppies. That’s when Sandi Paws Rescue volunteers Laura McCauley and Jamie Orr decided to drive 13 hours overnight from Wisconsin to Alabama in order to rescue Zoe and drive her back to Wisconsin. There, she would be fostered while she delivered and raised her puppies.
But this rescue turned out to be a little more complicated than anybody expected!
During the emergency trip down to Alabama, McCauley and Orr realized they were too tired to make the entire drive in one night, so they stopped at a motel in Evansville, Illinois to get some sleep. Meanwhile, a volunteer in Alabama had rescued Zoe from the shelter and was waiting for McCauley and Orr to come get her. The next morning, the pair encountered Spring Break traffic, which further delayed their trip.
Once they had Zoe and were returning to Wisconsin, a chance bathroom stop led them to find out from a traveler heading south that there was a winter storm warning just 20 miles north of them. The commuter said that there were cars and semi trucks slid off the road all over the place. McCauley and Orr decided again that it would be safest to get a motel room and avoid driving through a snowstorm at night.
It’s a good thing they stopped, because Zoe decided that it was time to have her babies! You can watch the live stream below, just be warned that there is some swearing.
The first two puppies were born on the motel bed before McCauley and Orr realized what was happening. They moved her to the bathtub, where she eventually gave birth to 5 more puppies, for a total of 4 girls and 3 boys.
The next morning, McCauley and Orr loaded Zoe and her puppies back into the car – after paying the motel for the ruined sheets and towels – and finished the drive to Wisconsin, where a foster home was already set up and waiting for the new family.
Unfortunately, Zoe and her pups were soon rushed to a veterinarian, as Zoe had a fever of 104.4 and was bleeding. It turns out that she had an infection and something – but not a stillborn puppy – still waiting to come out. She also had metritis, an inflammation of the uterus. She was placed on antibiotics and a medication to stimulate her to pass whatever was left in her uterus.
As of writing this on March 29, Zoe and her puppies were back home with the foster and Zoe is finally starting to do a little better. Her fever is gone, but she is still going to the veterinarian daily for checkups.
The rescue and vet bills are stacking up for Sandi Paws Rescue. If you would like to donate, you can make a donation via PayPal to sandipawsrescue@gmail.com; at a link on the rescue’s website, sandipawsrescue.wixsite.com; and through inquiry on the Facebook page.
(H/T: FDL Reporter, Sandi Paws Rescue)
