She's the 'Christmas miracle' dog, abandoned pregnant and frail with her life and that of her nine puppies at grave risk.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Aptly named Mary by her rescuers from Yass Valley Council and Labrador Rescue, the abandoned dog is recovering after nearly dying twice in two weeks.
“She was found inside the fence of the Yass Valley Vet Clinic a couple of days before Christmas,” Yass Valley Ranger Sarah Barnes said. “She was so pregnant and malnourished, we only had her one night before she went into labor.”
Mary gave birth to eight healthy puppies, and one still born, on Christmas Eve night.
“I have no doubt that had we not intervened, Mary would have lost her life and those puppies would have died,” she said.
Mary was rushed to the vets when one of her puppies appeared stuck. Undergoing an emergency c-section, the $3000 operation saved her life.
Katherine McDonald from Labrador Rescue said she had no choice but to intervene, despite Mary not being a Labrador. Pleading with the organisation’s Facebook followers, within three hours the $3000 was raised.
Appropriately named Adam, Eve, Pip, Sonic, Drummer, Lady, Ivy and Noah, the pups were safely brought into the world. Yet, both Labrador Rescue and the council ranger still want to know who would ditch a dog and why?
"She was left with no information, no note, nothing,” Mrs Barnes said. “We tried to get in contact with anyone that could identify the dog, hoping that she had just run away, but no one came forward.”
Mary is about six or seven years old and has given birth twice before.
“There's thousands of dogs dumped every day across Australia. Although there aren't that many in the Yass Valley, the Yass Buy Swap and Sell Facebook page gives dogs away every day.”
*Warning: the video contains graphic vision of a puppy’s birth.
Mrs McDonald says people no longer see dogs as a lifetime commitment, when their circumstances change, dogs are either re-homed or abandoned.
“Ninety-five per cent of the dogs that are dumped are not desexed or house trained. If Mary had been with her old owner, I’m confident she wouldn’t be with us today.”
Mary has just been released from the vet clinic in Canberra after a mastitis infection. She cheated death for the second time in two weeks but cost Labrador Rescue another $3000.
