It has been a while since the previous blog post. Most of the readers will have followed the story on Facebook or Instagram.
When the puppies were one week of age, we decided to start supplementary bottle feeding as the day-to-day gain in body weight was fairly low. Outside temperatures were such that you didn’t like to go outside, so we figured this could have also decreased Fluffy’s milk production.
Only a day after the first bottle feeding, one of the puppies (the black male with red-black collar) started to show signs of not feeling well. General weekness, lack ot attention, loss of appetite… The next day we attended a vet, got general support, but sadly, in the afternoon the little fellow took his last breath.
Our hearts broke, we were very sad, felt ourselves weak and helpless. And kept questioning about the reason. Was it caused by the bottle feeding? Not very likely, we’ve been experienced with that, but you never know.

With our moods already in graveyard mode, four hours later we’ve disovered that another puppy developed just the identical symptoms. At seven o’clock on a Saturday evening. At two in the morning the third puppy. On Sundy morning, all puppies and Fluffy were rushed to the emergency vet. The second puppy died on the way to the vet, the third was given antibiotics, painkillers, glucose for energy. And he seemed to get better instantly.
All other puppies were checked upon but found nothing wrong with. Fluffy passed all checks, our suspicion of toxic milk syndrome being rejected by the vet.
Sunday evening all the strength vanished from the sick puppy again. Monday, all the puppies went to our vet again. The suspicion then was pneumonia. When being prepared for the X-ray of the lungs, the sick puppy died. The third dead puppy in only three days.
Devastation hit us.

All seven remaining puppies were X-rayed, too, and did not show any sign of pneumonia. Yet, any moan, any shriek or other sound the puppies made raised and still raises panic.

We’ve buried the puppies under a young oak tree in our garden. In autumn, we’ll plant tulips and other spring flowers, and we will always remember those three little cuties.

Pneumonia was confirmed in the third puppy and samples sent for further analysis. Currently, it seems the pneumonia was definitely not caused by inhaled milk during bottle feeding but by amniotic fluid having gotten into the lungs of the puppies during birth.