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October 6, 2011 by
We are pleased to welcome three new healthy puppies to SP Kennel.
ChaCha was bred to Paul Gebhardt’s primary leader and “super dog”, Lieutenant, two months ago. Since then, we have been waiting on pins and needles for the results.
As many folks know, ChaCha, is a healthy, happy retired “All-Star” here at the kennel. Her pregnancy seemed normal and our only worry was that she was older (10 years old).
ChaCha went into labor during the early morning – acting very restless in the house. She was moved to the whelping box. Her contractions started and all looked on schedule, but no puppies came. More time passed and no puppies came. She looked intense, but confused. Something started to seem very wrong. Through physical examination we determined that there was a puppy in the birth canal, correctly positioned, but there was no movement.
After several Vet consults, ChaCha was taken to the hospital. X-rays showed normal puppy positioning and manipulation still revealed a puppy in the canal. “It should be happening.”
After no success, the veterinarians decided that a c-section was necessary. The entire staff at North Pole Vet Clinic prepared for the procedure. Having a litter of puppies all at once needed many hands.
Aliy was allowed to stay with ChaCha during the surgery and watched as the doctor was amazed to find the problem … twins! That’s right two puppies sharing one amniotic sack and one placenta. The doctor even had a difficult time removing the larger than average “puppy package” via c-section. One can imagine ChaCha’s predicament.
All pups are home and healthy. ChaCha has recovered from surgery and besides having a shaved belly looks no worse for wear. We are however, keeping a close eye on the family.
For all of you biologists: It is interesting to note that the twins were one tan girl and one white boy. Therefore, they were not identical twins.


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12 Responses

  • great looking pups……One of our dogs produced a very planned litter at age 11….and she was a fantastic Mom who also had to have a c-section. We felt what we thought was a pup…wated a bit and more confusions and anxiety….rushed her next door to the vets where the vet grabbed what he thought was a pup….and pulled out an 12 oz tumor…Managed to save all 4 pups and Mom's life…Dee is 15 now and 3/4 pups will be on the Yukon Quest team this year….so I think that older Moms do very well.

  • concrats on a special family, I am glad that everything turned out well. Can't hardly wait to see them going down the trail. Was that her first litter?

  • This ordeal must have been very scary for you. It also must be extremely rare to have twins like this in dogs, but you DID say ChaCha was one in a million. I hope the twins also turn out to be rare in their outstanding abilities.

  • Wooohooo 8 puppies at SP – I would love to be there in about 6 weeks – it would be a blast. Way to go, they are beautiful.

  • Sounds like a marvelous combination of lineage. Power and leadership! Glad it turned out well for everyone. It must have been scary for a while.

    Greetings from Turkey…

  • Thanks for sharing this fun (and anxiety producing) news. If these ChaCha pups are anything like the car litter or the honkytonks, then I predict we'll be hearing a lot more about them in the future as they grow into stars. So you've revealed the boy-girl twins – the other white pup is????

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