After adopting a puppy from a local rescue, a woman from Tennessee took her newest family member to get spayed, but was left in shock by what the veterinarian discovered.
In a Reddit post published on Friday under the username u/Pipsmagee2, Haley Houghmaster shared an X-ray of Salem, her Australian shepherd/border collie mixed dog, with what looks like a very small puppy growing inside of her.
“Found out at spay appt [appointment] that my new rescue dog is pregnant with one puppy,” a caption shared with the post explains.
Houghmaster told Newsweek that she and her family adopted Salem on October 26th, from a rescue in Memphis called Happy Tails Canine Rescue, which is run by a group of local women with a passion for helping animals.
u/Pipsmagee2
“We think she is around 2 years old and a border collie/Aussie mix. She is doing well and has adjusted nicely in our household,” she said.
As per routine, Houghmaster took Salem to be spayed a little over a week after being adopted, but after the vet put her under anesthesia and made the initial incision, they discovered she was heavily pregnant.
“They asked me if I wanted to spay abort but she is so far along it would have been extremely risky to Salem. Since it’s just one puppy, I chose to keep it and let her try to deliver the puppy,” Houghmaster said.
It is not known how far along Salem is with her pregnancy, or why she’s only expecting one puppy, although she is expected to deliver any day now.
“We are very excited and praying for a healthy puppy and an uneventful delivery,” Houghmaster added.
In an article shared by pet advice group Vet Advises, Dr. Harunur Rashid says that while rare, single litter puppies do sometimes happen, and there can be several reasons behind this, including the age of the dog, the breed and their unique genetics.
External factors like stress and their environment can also contribute to this rare event. While a single puppy litter doesn’t always mean bad news, it can sometimes be cause for concern.
Dr. Marty Greer says in an article for pet health supply company, Revival Animal Health, that one of the most common problems caused by singleton puppies is the need for their moms to get a C-section instead of a natural birth.
This happens because, puppies usually induce labor not the mom, but when it’s only one puppy in there it may not produce enough cortisol to start the birth process, and so the mom may be left needing surgery.
A dog’s placenta is only made to last about 63 days, and if by day 65 the puppy still hasn’t delivered, a veterinarian may have to intervene.
Moreover, puppies born with no littermates may have problems socializing, and may not get to have their mom’s first milk, because often, a one puppy pregnancy is not enough to produce any.
One user, lilmanfromtheD, commented: “Yay congrats, if it’s just one pup you should deff [definitely] consider keeping it!!”
User HalosXO issued a word of warning for Houghmaster: “Just FYI the vet told us our dog had 2 puppies and there was 8…”
Another user added: “She is one happy momma-to-be. Congrats. Enjoy mom and pup.”
PrettyTraining5786 said: “What a surprise! We had a similar experience with our rescue it’s a big adventure.”
The post quickly went viral and it has so far received over 12,000 upvotes and 335 comments on the platform.
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