Dear friends, family & pet lovers

One week ago, my dear friend Ann and I, together with Tallie; were put to a test to attempt to rescue a terrified, abandoned little dog!

 At a first glance, life has not always been kind to the tan mama Chihuahua, now named Stella. Highly pregnant, malnourished and frightened, she frantically ran through a cold parking lot, which was packed with moving cars; most likely searching for the perfect place to nest! By chance and with a lot of effort, we were able to stop her and offer her shelter. Upon closer examination, Stella was visibly pregnant and without a collar or microchip!
We decided to foster her for a few days, and look for her owner;  but without any luck!  

Less than 36 hours after fostering her, on early Monday morning, Stella went into labor and delivered three healthy puppies! Everything seemed fine until two days later. Unfortunately, early Wednesday morning, it was obvious that Stella was in a lot of pain, and had strong contractions, which brought out a small part of her unborn puppy. Stella was showing signs that she was in serious trouble: vomiting and unable to deliver a breech, stillborn birth.This caused a trip to the 24 hr. Vet Hospital and in order to keep her alive, a prompt emergency procedure to remove the stuck puppy!
Unfortunately, in addtion to this, we were told Stella would require an extensive emergency surgery to remove her infected  uterus.


It’s been just one week since we found this helpless once family owned pet. Maybe lost, or maybe purposely abandoned, she was left out to face the cruel and cold outside environment, facing the inevitable end to her life, as well as a certain death to her unborn puppies. Stella, and now her tiny family of three one-week-old cutest little puppies, got a second and third chance at life.

It’s been all accomplished due to a team effort and my dear friend Ann’s noble act to provide and rack up her credit card in order to save these four innocent lives. The medical expenses for the emergency procedure and the emergency surgery, as of today, are $3000. This is an unaffordable expense, although at the time we felt that these lives deserved to be saved.  I have gladly assumed the volunteer position of stay home foster care mom, making sure that our furry friends will get a brighter look at life!

Also a huge thank you goes to the wonderful Vet doctors and Vet professionals in both the VCA & Mercy Pet Hospital  in Fair Oaks where Stella was promptly treated!  You truly are amazing!

 Now my new mission is to help my generous friend Ann to recover and promptly pay off all the astonishing medical expenses and erase this credit card debt she accumulated in a blink of an eye, as we tried to help and ended up saving a vulnerable mama dog and her puppies.
 I would like to thank you for sharing and giving Stella a much-needed voice. I do believe that together we can achieve wonderful things, and thorough small daily actions we have the power to bring a little sunshine to someone’s less fortunate life!  

You are welcome to read the whole detailed story below and ask questions!

Thank you ... with love,
Jana

The full version:
The Story of Stella - the little “Christmas” star!

Stella is an adorable Chihuahua doggie that was spotted last Saturday December the 5th by three “crazy “dog/pet-loving ladies (Tallie, Ann & Jana) as she aimlessly wandered a busy parking lot, on a chilly winter afternoon. As we noticed her wobbly - frantic run, tail tucked in and her folded floppy ears it was obvious that she was lost & might be in a need of immediate attention. What was supposed to be a relaxed Saturday afternoon turned into a community rescue mission!

Jana: “Ann and I, plus Tallie with her family have parked our cars. We felt a little victory, as we were able to stop frightened Stella in a small enclave behind the Baskin Robbins store, facing extremely busy traffic on Sunrise Boulevard. Tiny Stella laid on the cold ground as she allowed me to pet her velvety soft head! Little did we know that the adventure just began! “

As Tallie touched her belly to see what was wrong with this cutie pie, it was obvious that she was uncomfortable and most likely expecting a family!

 Ann: “She was visibly pregnant and her abdomen was tender to the touch. We wrapped her in blankets and waited for Tallies husband who got a leash from the vet. Later we put her in my car and drove to the nearest vet office to have her scanned for a microchip.
There wasn’t a microchip or collar.”
 What are we going to do with a very pregnant Chihuahua mama? Our new acquaintance, Tallie and her family, had plans to leave the town for the weekend and they have few rescued pets at home. Jana, who recently lost her beloved dog to cancer doesn’t own her own place and as a result she is limited to make a decision such as sheltering a lost/homeless dog! “
Jana: ” Ann is caring for her once rescued senior doggie with health care needs. So it was clear! In order to save Stella, I had to try and get an approval to shelter her for a few days and hopefully quickly find her owner! “

Ann: “I promptly made signs, posting at least 15 of them around the block in which she was found. We also searched & advertised online and Tallie posted on social media, etc… but sadly we haven’t received any response from Stella’s real owner.
As a result, Jana and I made a Veterinary appointment for the pregnant Stella for Monday; shortly after lunch, to assess her pregnancy and health status.”

It got postponed as Stella went into labor in the early hours of Monday morning! 

Ann: “ We were really surprised when she delivered three darling puppies on Monday, December 7th, around 5 am. We didn’t expect that it would be so soon! It’s likely that this dear mama dog was not feeling her best on the day she was found.
All appeared to be fine after the birth of these sweet, adorable puppies until two full days later in the early morning hours of Wednesday, December the 9th.
I received a phone call from Jana, telling me that our mama dog was trying to deliver another puppy and she required an immediate visit to the Vet emergency! Stella was in distress and her respirations were very labored, she vomited and the partially visible part of a breached puppy was stuck! It was heartbreaking! We suffered for her when we saw what was happening. I raced to pick up Jana and our dear mama dog and her newborn pups. We had to get her help immediately or she would certainly not make it! "
We located a 24 Hr pet hospital off of Bradshaw Rd and arrived there around 5:30 am. They assessed Stella by taking some X-rays and doing some basic blood work.

 The doctor came in and gave us the bad news!

 First, it seemed that there were two still puppies stuck in her birth canal, since it appeared on the X-ray that there were two spines. We were told that the surgeon would most likely do an episiotomy on her, in order to deliver these puppies.
 Second, Stella’s uterus would also need to be removed, because of a dangerous infection.

Ann: “ I gave consent to begin the procedures necessary to save her life. Not only for her, but also…there were three hungry and healthy puppies waiting to nurse.”

A sweet young vet, our intake doctor, used much effort and expertise and was able to deliver/remove the stuck puppy through a less invasive emergency procedure than the earlier suggested episiotomy. This stuck puppy initially appeared as two because unfortunately, it was folded in half in Stella’s birth canal. Luckily, there was only one puppy!
This was a very dangerous, breech-stillborn delivery; complicated by the length of time the puppy had been deceased within Stella and by the infection she had developed.
This dear mama dog continued to nurse her puppies and care for them with the greatest tenderness even through her agonizing pain. Stella and her puppies remained hospitalized for ten hours at the emergency department!

While waiting to proceed with the next step-surgery/the removal of the infected Uterus the ED informed us that due to the high level of emergencies the emergency department was now dealing with, Stella was moved to a lower priority.

 The veterinarian stated, that Stella only had about 24 hours before the surgery must be done. 

In addition, the sober awakening that our total expenses were now at around $1,800 we’ve decided to move this sweet Stella to a more affordable but also closer to us pet hospital to have her needed surgery.

We went directly from the VCA hospital to the Mercy Pet Hospital In Fair Oaks for an assessment. The young, top notch veterinarian examined her and scheduled her surgery for the next morning. We were grateful that the 3 day old puppies would only be without their furry mom for a total of up to six hours! We purchased a bottle and puppy formula to prepare for the following day.

Good news! Stella made it through the surgery and her puppies survived the 6 hour long separation! Stella’s newborn puppies were not willing to drink from the bottle, so we were relieved to reunite them as soon as we could. The surgery was not a moment too soon. The uterus was very infected and the antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and strong pain medicine that Stella is taking, will hopefully complete the healing process for her.

Stella’s treating doctors and the whole medical team have commented on what a fabulous dog this little Stella is! She’s such a patient, attentive mama with a grateful heart! Stella is a survivor and has such a strong will to live; we believe this is driven by her strong desire to care dutifully for her puppies. As a result, she deserved every bit of the support and all the care needed to fully recover!

Ann: “ The challenging part of this story is the steep amount of expenses that I inherited while helping to keep Stella and her puppies alive. The total expenses to date are $3000.00 for the two facilities covering the stay and the lab work, X –rays, sedation, anesthesia, emergency procedure, keeping her puppies in the incubator while at the emergency department, more lab work, an extensive abdominal surgery, completed by spaying.  I’m disappointed that there isn’t more available to help homeless pets. We know for a fact that she would not have had a chance at survival without this intervention.  This amazing dog deserves a medal for her bravery and her sacrifice for her pups. We would do it all again!”

From the bottom of our heart thank you for your support.  We do appreciate any help you can provide; so we can promptly pay off this unexpected medical expenses. In a mean time, we will provide the much-needed care and build a better future these four babies do deserve.
All the proceeds will go to cover the medical expenses of this cute Chihuahua family!

Ann & Jana

P. S. A thought for the soul:
Ann : ” The Vet wanted us to have a name for our dear heroine mama, for their chart. Jana decided on the name “Stella” because it means, “star” and we thought that perhaps Stella was sent for a purpose or as a message to others.  The day we found her, we had just come from a brunch, which had a message of celebrating the true meaning of Christmas-even if it means to have a different kind of Christmas – such as helping those in needs, by selfless actions making a positive change in someone’s life … The brunch reminded us of interruption in life and how disruptions and a change to our plans can sometimes be part of a much greater set up, much needed change etc.  Could this interruption be a message to us or to others? Stella’s story has some remarkable parallels to the Christmas story. She, like Mary, was looking for a place to deliver her newborn, was without shelter and was completely at our mercy.”

AN UPDATE:
Ann: “Sadly, the puppies are absorbing some of the drugs that Stella has to take, but we were assured they’ll be fine. At the post-op check-up on Friday, December 11th, Stella received a positive check-up! We are so grateful for all the support, answered prayers, first donations and also so grateful to Jana for her superb care of the pups and Stella. “