Project Description
Emily is an English Bulldog who had a difficult time naturally mating. Her owner, Sam, was a son of a breeder and decided to do artificial insemination. This is a tricky and time-sensitive process, so Sam brought Emily to Good Shepherd Veterinary Hospital (GSVH) for assistance through the process.
First, we needed to identify the ideal time for conception. We checked her progesterone levels over the course of a few days to identify the highest peak of conception. We then did a blood test as the first step to confirm pregnancy. 14 days later, we conducted a second confirmation through x-ray and also saw how many babies there were.
It takes 63 days for English Bulldogs to gestate and GSVH made arrangements to make sure there was availability at the hospital at the right time. Emily was due on a Saturday, so they scheduled time on the Friday before for the delivery. We blocked the whole day, and this pre-planning made everyone comfortable and well-prepared.
Of course, you know the expression ‘the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry’ so despite our careful planning, we are always poised to react. The Sunday night the week before, Sam called GSVH at 8:30 because he thought Emily had ruptured her water. This would mean that one of the babies could be in her cervix. GSVH recommended that they meet at PVS and perform this risky surgery there. However, PVS’s surgical team couldn’t get there for 1.5 hours. Emily and her puppies didn’t have that kind of time. So we met at the Good Shepherd Vet Hospital instead. We got Emily into surgery immediately and successfully delivered three healthy puppies.
After surgery, we did the suture removal and post-surgery exam, Emily is doing great and can breed again in the future. Sam tells us the babies are growing like weeds…as it should be.
