Chloe
By Joy Olinger-Cox 1-20-01

On November 17 in Abingdon, VA, at my friend, Hal Stata’s, barn, my dog Gizmo was playing with a Beagle and when I called for him the Beagle turned and scurried away. Later that evening while Hal was hunting in the mountains, I saw the Beagle again in the yard and heading east. It had been freezing that week and as I watched, the Beagle would run into things as it moved, I sensed it was lost. I called for it to come, but it paid no attention so I told Gizmo to go and turn it around. As I got closer to it I could tell it was a female and she was very much pregnant. Once I got to her with Giz slowing her down, I touched her on the back and she fell immediately to the ground. I felt so sadly for her. When I finally looked into her face, it was easy to see she is blind. I picked her up and she was so heavy and her teats were wet. About the time I got her to the barn, Hal came back from hunting on his four-wheeler and I told him, I found the blind, pregnant Beagle wandering and lost. We had both seen this dog many times up and down the lonely road, but we had assumed she had a home and now it was evident, with her being blind and pregnant, that she was abandoned.

We took her inside the barn and made her a bed on blankets. We gave her water and food and after she ate, she fell asleep and did not move. The temperature at that time was 42 degrees and it was expected to get down to 19 degrees through the night. We felt bad that she had to stay in the barn in the freeze, so I put blankets in the bathtub in the apartment in the barn and we let her sleep in there during the night. She had plenty of water. She did not make a sound and slept for over 15 hours straight. The next morning I called what I thought was the humane society for animals. The man there told me they would come and pick the dog up. I inquired as to what they would do with her and he informed me they would euthanasia her when they got her back at the site. My heart sunk and I told him that would not be fair as she was so very far along with her pups and I felt she should be giving a chance to bring them into this world. He said that is what is wrong with this world now too many unwanted dogs. I asked him to pretend I never called, as I did not want them to pick her up.

I then called a vet who had given Giz his rabies shot and asked them how much an office visit would be, as I am on limited income. They told me for $28.00 they would see her and give me honest opinion of a prognosis for her and her pups that morning. I told Hal and he agreed that was a fair deal. The Beagle could not lead on a leash and she would not walk so I carried her to the truck for the vet visit. At the vets I had her in a blanket and carried her in. When the doctor saw her he said she was not blind and that her eyes would heal, that it was a third eyelid fungus she had. He also told me she would have her pups within a week. I asked him if I could bathe her, as she smelt terrible. He assured me I could bathe her daily if I wished. He also gave me a tube of cream to apply to her eyes. He said her pups might already be dead as he could feel no movement, but she should still deliver them naturally. He said if she had not had the pups in a week to bring her back. As I paid the bill, they asked me if I had a name I would like to give her and Chloe is what came to mind. I bought her a collar and a leash and took her home.

Once home Chloe got back in the tub, but this time not to rest, but for a much-needed bath. She was so very frightened of the bath. We let her stay in the apartment with us and I would have to pat my leg and stomp my foot as I took her out to do her business so she could follow the sound. She did pretty well in a strange home, being blind and all.

Chloe was nearly 28 inches round and about 30 pounds heavy, which for her tiny Beagle frame was a sight. As she walked her teats would drag the ground. She would waddle very slowly. A week passed and I waited two days after that to return to the vet. This time the vet charged me sixty dollars to take an x-ray of her. He told me I was going to be a grandmother as he could see definitely four pups and possibly another. He said she would deliver in up to two weeks and sold me another tube of medication for her eyes, which had only progressed slightly from our first visit. I explained to him that Hal and I had to return home to Florida the following Sunday and he said Chloe may deliver on the way home as the ride might induce labor.

We packed Chloe, Gizmo and my five chickens into a Chevrolet Tahoe and headed south. All the animals did wonderfully on the 15-hour trip. Once home, we made room for all the new critters and settled in. Chloe had a huge store breadbox to bed in and hopefully to deliver her pups safely in. We let her sleep in it in our bedroom and she did well. On December 8 around 7:30pm Chloe was miserable and I knew she had to be going into labor. We kept her comfortable and throughout the night we listened to her yelp and pant and bark in pain. She did it all night and no puppies came. At one point at about 3:00am she was so flustered that she went over to Gizmo’s bed and totally licked him clean. His being almost two years old and still much a pup acting dog, he enjoyed it very much and even lifted his legs to assist her.

By 8:00am I began to call the Emergency Veterinary Clinic and they told me they were closing and to call my own vet. I remember a wonderful clinic I had used in the past for Giz and I called them. The lady who answered the phone at the All Creatures Animal Clinic was highly concerned that Chloe did not deliver after being in labor all night and she told us to bring her in as soon as we could. Hal and I loaded Chloe in her breadbox and put her and Giz in the Tahoe and headed for the vets. Upon our arrival, we found a packed clinic, however when we went in they took us to the back immediately. They were so very wonderful through the entire ordeal. They gave Chloe a shot to induce labor and about forty minutes later Hal walked in to see what the delay was and he looked down at Chloe and I told him they gave her a shot to induce labor and he said she is having one right now. Sure enough, you could see a little pair of legs coming out. The vet, Doctor Latter came in, as did four more nurses to assist the two nurses already with Chloe. It was amazing, the vet had to pull the puppy very hard to get it out, as it was so big for such a small mother. Once the pup was out of Chloe, you could see it move and Hal and I were so elated, not only for Chloe, but for the pup as well. Chloe rested and seemed not to want to have another so she was given another shot and forty minutes

Later another set of legs appeared. It too was pulled out by the vet and was alive. A boy pup was first born then a girl pup. Another shot and then a head was near the opening for birth. This one was not coming with any ease at all and the vet could not position his fingers behind the head to help pull it out. The vet then made a decision that Chloe would have to have caesarian section in order to birth any other pups, as they were too big for her to deliver naturally. DVM looked at Chloe’s eyes and said she is blind and it could not be reversed with any eye cream. He told us to go home and come back later in the evening as they would do the surgery when the office closed at noon. I requested he spay Chloe when he did the surgery if he could, as she should never have to go through a pregnancy again.

We were told to return at 5:00pm and Chloe and the pups would be able to go home and if they had any problems they would call us. Hal and I and Gizmo went to Hal’s place to wait.

Later that evening around 4:30pm we arrived back at All Creatures Animal Clinic and DVM Latter was getting in his vehicle to leave. We approached him and thanked him for his labors. He informed us that Chloe was finally able to deliver the third pup on her own and it was a girl, but she would have never delivered the rest as they were too big. He said the fourth pup was a big boy and he was alive, but there were no legs on him so he put him down. The fifth pup was also large and a healthy girl pup. He also said he was able to spay Chloe. He told us the other doctor would be in later to give us the dogs.

We waited for another hour and the doctor arrived. Asst. Mattson told us what DVM Latter had told us and said she suspects that Chloe may have heart worms and to bring Chloe back if she had any complications. She said DVM Latter and she estimated Chloe to be between three and a half years to five years of age. We paid the bill of $340.00, which included the cost of some Advantage for fleas and left for home with our brood of six dogs.

Hal and I have no place or time for six dogs. We have thought of keeping one of Chloe’s pups as a companion for Gizmo.

Now the pups are almost six weeks old. They have been having dog food and evaporated milk for the past three weeks, as Chloe does not fill them up with her supply of milk. They are active and one third the size of Chloe, but it is evident that the second born pup a girl is blind and the one Hal and I had chosen to keep has vision only in one eye. The first-born boy and the fifth-born girl are very active, alert and precious. Their tongues and gums were very white so Hal and I wormed them with Lassie Dog and Puppy wormer this past Wednesday. I have never witnessed so many large worms in any dog in my life as those puppies expelled in their bowel excrement. I know that Chloe had survived prior to our taking her in, by eating dead carcasses as hunters had spotted her high up the mountain at the gut pile of the slaughtered deer.

Hal and I are at wits end trying to figure out what we are going to do with the pups and Chloe now. Surely, we will find a home for the boy pup and the one healthy girl pup, however we will have Chloe and two of her handicapped pups on our hands. We do not have the funds to have eye surgery done on any of the three. We don’t feel comfortable having Chloe nor the pups put down. It seems to me to be such an amazing quandary we are now in for our only trying to rescue one helpless, pregnant bitch in the deep chill of winter.

Should anyone have any clues as to how we might find some solution to this predicament, we would appreciate them. Chloe is an extremely lovable, intellectual Beagle. She listens well and rarely has any potty accidents in important places. The two handicapped or visionally challenged female pups are beautiful and love attention. They eat well on their own and wag their tails uncontrollably. The totally blind pup does crouch when she is not familiar with where she is and scurries back to her security blanket that the five sleep on.

Please put your thinking caps on and wish us well and contact us, if you desire, through E-mail at: Joyolin@aol.com or Hstata6PPC@aol.com. We humbly thank you for taking the time to read this and for any dignified clues you may supply.

Latest news 2-26-01
They all have found good homes.
Chloe will leave here in Florida, for Canada the first week in March.
Three puppies will go to Melbourne, Florida to two different homes for Beagle rescue.
One seeing male pup went to home in our county.  
I know there is a reason for everything and I am much richer for having shared in a blind dog's life.
I will never forget the love of these animals and I wish them all God's speed.   
Thank you again and thanks to the HUNDREDS who shared and cared because you gave of yourself for them to do so.
God bless you always all ways.
Joy and Hal

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