13/06/2026
Ok, so here goes, this is going to be a long story.
You all have probably seen the post about Poppy, who we picked up from Tain. A juvenile having seizures.
Now we all thought Poppy was a juvenile because of her size and only weighing 52kg.
Well Poppy is not a juvenile, she is a pregnant mom who gave birth to her premature pup this morning. Now some people may say why did you uplift a pregnant mother. We didn’t know she was pregnant and that she must be 3 years old at least. When looking at her size and weight.
After controlling her seizures, getting litres and litres of electrolytes in her, because she was hypoglycaemic ( very low blood sugars) and severely dehydrated and underweight, about four days into her being here, I was listening to her heart and lungs to make sure she was ok, and I noticed something move in her belly. It also had a strong heartbeat. Only then it hit me like a bomb. We have a pregnant female in our hospital.
Our initial plan was to get some weight on her and release her so she could have her pup in the wild. But Poppy had a different idea. This morning, very surprisingly, she had her pup. Poppet is premature but very bright and alert. She has suckled already, but I am a bit concerned as to how much milk mom has.
So our priority right now is to get mom’s strength back up, she is absolutely exhausted right now, so she can produce enough milk.
I guess our first success was we were able to get mom feeling strong enough to have her pup, and to have it in the hospital, even though that wasn’t the plan. The second success is that mom and pup are fine and are bonding well.
From here on in, we just have to keep them both alive, keep things as natural as possible and REALLY hope for the best.
Looking after a premature pup is hard enough, but now we also have a very weak & exhausted mom. The pressure is unbelievable and I am just hoping we can make this a happy ending for both of them.
As to what I’m going to do come the natural weaning time, when mom would leave her pup, in the wild, I don’t honestly know yet.
Had we not taken in Poppy, mum and pup would have died that day. If she had of survived she would have given birth to a premature pup in the wild, and its chances would have been very slim.
If you can find it in your hearts, please say a little prayer for mom and pup, and me. We all need it.
If you would like to donate to the birth of baby Poppet, please go to our just giving page.
Thank you to my hospital staff, especially Summer, Lily and Holly, who have had to deal with a frantic grandmother, me.
