A SECOND OPINION
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I Coulda Been a Dog Doula by MARY BARRY , MD
As a junior student , I was awed by human Labor & Delivery : the mothers ’ struggles and pain , the earthy expertise of the L & D nurses and the soaring joy and relief at a healthy newborn ’ s cry . I was astounded by C-sections . Intellectually I knew there was a baby in there , but only when the OB had made the incision and pulled out a little girl , did I believe in that baby . Once , the momma was 18 , it was her first and she was overdue and overweight . Her BP had gone up while her contractions had slowed . We sped her down the hall at General on a rackety stretcher that jounced her back and made her holler . She had lost her sense of humor entirely by the time Anesthesia calmed her down and got her ready . The L & D nurses made short work of the betadine and drapes and behold ! Baby Emmaline , in all her glory , cried weakly while the nurses worked on her . She had all 10 toes , all 10 fingers and a little mewling voice .
Around the table we couldn ’ t stop grinning . The new baby business was terrific from the student standpoint . I just did not ever want to be in charge of it .
But puppy-mommas are just my speed . My first was Misty , a large and in charge Great Pyrenees , rescued from the farmer whose chickens she had killed , instead of guarded . We did not initially realize she was pregnant when she came to GRRAND ( Golden Retriever Rescue and Adoption of Needy Dogs ). I did note that her eyes looked tired . I did not know initially what that meant , but I filed away that gaze . She liked being in the cool weather outside ; in daylight she grazed on a long steel tether , so she could not attempt the fence . Our two goldens , old Finnegan and young Murphy , gave her a wide berth despite her enticing smell . She ’ d turn that acid gaze on them , and they would simply back away .
When it got dark , we kept her in the breezeway , blocked off from our dogs , and I slept next to her and admired and coddled her . She woke me in the wee hours with rapid panting , and boom – three pups , whom I named Pavlo , Yeva and Oksana in honor of the valiant Ukrainians . Immediately , she had torn open the membrane around their heads for the first two . But for the third , she started at the butt end , so I opened the head end and thankfully , she let me . Everybody breathed right away ; I did not have to do mouthto-mouth . She was fanatically clean with these pups . She ate every placenta and every bit of excrement , and I changed her towels and blankets whenever she stood up . We understood each other well . I was scared when I saw her black stool , until I remembered she ’ d eaten the placentas . After a week , she left with her pups to the real foster parents . I was so grateful to her for showing me the ropes and being my role model for all future mommas .
Next came Ms . Daisy , a young Golden who looked pregnant on arrival to us . I fed her lots of yogurt and cheese . “ Quite pregnant ” is a relative term in rescued dogs . You just eyeball them , try to count skulls with a plain film or an ultrasound and watch ‘ em like a hawk . She proceeded to give birth to eight puppies just as we were leaving to drive home to Louisville from Hebron , during the time my husband worked up at St . Elizabeth in Edgewood . She began turning rapidly in circles and we said , “ Whoa !” and hustled her out on the deck . In short order , eight pups – who looked like Goldens but had curly hound tails – were born . When I could no longer hear any fetal heartbeats inside her , we decided she was done . We bundled everyone up in a big cardboard box with blankets in the back of my Forester , and I drove a sedate 60 mph all the way home .
On inquiry , there was Daniel the bloodhound from the farm Daisy had lived on : that explained the tails . As a dog , Daisy is pure sweetness and light , adored by her adoptive parents and everyone who meets her . As a mom , Daisy was a dilettante . She was a goodtime girl , going out at all hours ; I had to lure her back inside to the hungry babies . I always imagine her lounging on some veranda with a smoke , a martini and a dude in a tuxedo .
30 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE OPINION