Pregnant doggo dumped by lake, rescued by heroic hooman who turns to canine community for help after finding and rescuing , with an unexpected litter of puppies. says: ‘She may have been dumped because she was pregnant’

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Jan 26, 2025 5:00 PM EST

Canine rescue really is a matter of not knowing what you are getting yourself into. Sometimes you might think you are saving one dog and you end up saving a whole family. Other times you might think you are saving a dog, but it actually turns out to be a cat. You can never truly know how the situation is going to unfold. You can only hope that by going in with a pure heart, the universe will not throw anything at you that you cannot handle. And that certainly was the case for this heroic hooman who found an abandoned doggo, ditched by a lake, and brought it home to help it heal from its ordeal. But upon doing so, this rescuer found out that she had bitten off a little more than she could chew, as the doting dog she saved presented with a belly full of puppies. 

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  • 01
    'Newly found dog may be pregnant.'
    via u/raveturkeyyy

  • Feeling overwhelmed by the realization that she now had the lives of several small puppies in her hands, she turned to the internet in hopes of help. Luckily the intrepid veterinary experts of the internet were on hand to give our hero all the information she needed to make an informed decisions about her rescued canine’s health. It is in these moments that we must acknowledge how lucky we are to have helpful hoomans hanging out on the internet.

  • 02
    About a month ago (27 days to be exact) we found a dog that was seemingly dumped in our rural area near a lake. She was very sweet, looked to be around 3 years old, and had enlarged ns from what seemed to be a previous pregnancy. We
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 03
    decided to take her in to look for a microchip and check if she was currently pregnant. Long story short, there was no ultrasound technician at our vet in Nashville and they were booked for quite some time going further (they only do ultrasounds one day a week). We decided to just get her
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 04
    vaccines taken care of and then schedule a spay appointment at another vet closer to the area we found her in. The county provides vouchers for stray dogs to be brought in and spayed.
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 05
    However, over the last week while we were waiting for our voucher to come in the mail and then schedule the procedure, I've noticed a weight gain and a firm belly. Now theres really no doubt
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 06
    in my mind that she is pregnant but I'm calling tomorrow (Monday) to see if I can find an ultrasound technician ASAP to confirm.
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 07
    The point of this post is for advice, really. I've taken care of many dogs in my life, but never puppies. And never a pregnant dog.
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 08
    Is an ultrasound able to identify the age of the puppies? Will they have an accurate timeline of when she will be close to labor?
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 09
    Does the mama need a special diet going forward? Her exercise has been regular. We hike/walk with her daily, usually twice a day if not more.
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 10
    The Internet has expensive whelping boxes on Amazon, but if anyone has any suggestions on how to create a safe/CLEAN whelping area, let me know. Do we just use a tarp, blankets, and puppy pads or is a whelping pad the best idea?
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 11
    After the puppies are born - how much care and attention do they need from us? Is the mama allowed to still go on walks? Can we leave the puppies alone for certain periods of time? I read somewhere that a heating pad can help keep them warm - if there are any product suggestions for this as well.
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 12
    I think at this point I'm just overwhelmed. We've grown quite attached to this dog (we named her Lady) and it was always in the back of our mind that she may have been dumped because she was pregnant, or the fear of pregnancy, but she was so skinny when we found her that I thought the odds were low. But, she could have mated a day prior to us finding her. Who knows.
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 13
    ANY ADVICE will be helpful. I was writing to gather some knowledge from people who have gone through this experience before.
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 14
    Cheezburger Image 10459433984
    via u/raveturkeyyy

  • Well, this is truly a shocking one. As if it is not jarring enough to unwittingly come across a canine in need while out for a walk by the lake, but then to discover that said canine is pregnant, and that you did not just save one delightful doggo, but a whole litter as well. Well, that is a lot to stomach. Thank goodness they did not spay her straight away.

  • 15
    grannyskyrim22 Vet tech - impossible to tell from the pic. If she is indeed a stray and an adult, she is likely intact and the n¸¸s may be more developed because of being intact, previous pregnancy or current pregnancy.
    via u/grannyskyrim22
  • 16
    A spay/abort is an option, but it depends on the vet. Much like human medicine, people tend to have strong feelings about this, so not all vets will do it. Obviously if she is pregnant, the sooner
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 17
    the better if you want to do this before her uterus becomes more engorged with blod making the surgery a bit less safe.
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 18
    Canine gestation is about three months. If you can get her to a vet and have them confirm the pregnancy and want to go on, ok. Ultrasound isn't really good at determining age and number, it is used as more of a spot check to see if the puppies are alive. Xrays give
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 19
    you a pic of the entire abdomen and you can get a puppy count/approximate age. If you are going to let her carry to term you need to have xrays done to know how many puppies she is going to have and it can help tell if they are going to be of a deliverable size if done close enough to parturition. Not all GPs have
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 20
    an ultrasound machine in house, but the xray will give you good info. If you find out she is pregnant and you are going to carry out the pregnancy, yes she should ideally be put on a higher calorie diet meant for puppies/pregnant b es. It will be more
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 21
    evident after birth when she is producing milk for them all how easily she can lose weight, that is the most important time for extra nutrition.
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 22
    The downside to going through with the pregnancy is that if she has difficulty and can't deliver v lly, she will need an emergency c-section which is several thousand dollars. There is a
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 23
    chance if she is having trouble she can be helped with injections of things like Oxy but it isn't a sure thing at all.
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 24
    So plan to take her to the vet and have an x-ray done to confirm pregnancy and then decide what you are willing/able to do. Google can tell you the rest if you decide to go ahead.
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 25
    Cheezburger Image 10459434240
    via Ermolaev Alexandr via Adobe Stock

    Disclaimer: This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Now, this is what the internet is all about. Hoomans helping hoomans with no need for payment or retribution. Simply for the good nature of helping one and other. This vet tech has sure given our hero a lot to think about with the various options available to them now. And as we know information is power, we hope that our hero uses this power to properly care for this cute pupper momma.

  • 26
    ParsleyLongjumpi... This same situation happened to me as a kid, a neighborhood dog had been following me and my siblings around and we eventually convinced our mom to let us take her in.
    via u/ParsleyLongjumping70
  • 27
    She was pregnant, potentially why she was trying to find shelter / solace. in us so bad, and ended up being one of the best dogs we ever had. I hope everything works out here for you and this gal!
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 28
    Cheezburger Image 10459433728
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 29
    kdobbers Canine gestation is around 60 days, so it's very possible she's about to have those puppies soon.
    via u/kdobbers
  • 30
    This sounds very similar to the situation of the dog we adopted in April - they found her emaciated and chained to a fence with indications she'd had a previous litter. Fosters (prior
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 31
    to us) took her in and she started getting plumped up, which they were happy about considering how skinny she was and assumed she was just eating finally. Turns out she was pregnant again. They called the rescue
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 32
    to ask for a whelping bed (plastic kiddie pool) just in case and the next day she had 8 puppies. They had no idea up to that point as she was young and wasn't exhibiting the telltale signs of dog pregnancy. I don't
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 33
    have any advice on the process because we adopted her after she birthed and raised the litter for 8 weeks, but the story just sounded so similar (plus, she's black with some brown brindle areas like on Lady's legs) I wanted to comment. You may want to
    via u/raveturkeyyy
  • 34
    call a local rescue and ask if they have any advice as they've likely been through it! Good luck :) If you do keep her, just make sure to get her spayed before she's due to go into heat again! 5-6 months give or take.
    via u/raveturkeyyy

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