VEGAS
A big congratulations goes to a very special, loving and brave mum named “Vegas”, a four-year old American Staffordshire.

She came into the McLaren Vale FamilyPet Vet clinic on a Tuesday afternoon after she was having some difficulties delivering her second litter. That morning she delivered 3 puppies at home, however it had been a couple hours since she had pushed the last one out which became a worry. When she arrived at the clinic, Dr. Greg performed a comprehensive examination on her, he could feel that there were more puppies still to come. As this is a common concern in whelping females, he decided to give her an injection to strengthen contractions encouraging a natural delivery. Vegas however continued to experience difficulties and returned to the clinic later that afternoon. At her second visit, Dr. Bernie Freytag took x-rays of her stomach which confirmed that she had multiple puppies left inside. An immediate decision was made to perform an emergency caesarean section (C-section) to deliver the remaining puppies safely. It was a nervous two hour wait for Vegas’ family as two nurses, Morgan and Tayla, assisted Dr. Bernie Freytag with the procedure. A C-section is a complex procedure that needs a well communicated team to work together to safely deliver the puppies. It is a surgical procedure in which the surgeon removes the unborn puppies directly from the uterus in a timely matter, which are then passed to the surgery nurses who perform an array of procedures to clear their chests of fluid and encourage them to take their first breaths, this being one of the most magical and memorable moments for staff within the veterinary industry. Shortly after the emergency procedure, we welcomed 5 more beautiful new puppies which were then united with the other littermates and Vegas after she recovered from her anaesthetic.

Since Vegas’ litter were introduced into the world, and we are pleased to announce that with all the love and support from her family, Vegas and her eight healthy puppies recovered well and have settled in at home. Vegas and her owner visited us at the clinic a couple days after the surgery to get her stitches removed, and they informed us that she has become a loving and wonderful mother to her eight strong puppies that are growing into beautiful and playful characters.