CGC |
| Athena, our rescue girl, came to us on July 17, 1999. We are deeply grateful to Dee and John Lehman for entrusting us with her . Below is Athena's story. |
On January 11, 1998, Dee received a call from the Montgomery County SPCA . They told her that a 4 year old female Rottweiler had
been turned in by her owner, that she was very nice and needed to go into rescue right away. When Dee questioned why, they said
she was pregnant and ready to whelp at any time. She had been bred to her father and the reason for owner turn in was that as the
whelp date got closer Athena's owner realized she didn't want to deal with it. Dee told them she would be there right away, but
they said she couldn't pick her up that night, they were closing and had paper work to do on her yet.
Dee called the shelter in the morning to say she was on her and to please have the necessary paperwork ready for her. They told
Dee that Athena's water had broken and she couldn't leave Dee kept in touch with the shelter the entire day. Athena was having a
hard time and before they closed at 4 PM she had whelped 6 puppies and was still going. Dee called the following morning to find out
that Athena had whelped 13 puppies and that 3 had died. They asked Dee if she could come right away as Athena didn't seem to
be doing well. She would nurse the puppies but just laid there.
When Dee got to the shelter, she was horrified. She went back to get Athena and she lay on the general population kennel floor,
bleeding steadily and so sick looking it frightened her. The shelter employees came out with the puppies that had survived in a dish
pan. Dee, realizing the gravity of the situation, immediately sprung into action, asking the shelter employees for a heating pad as the
puppies were very cold. She had them fill some latex gloves with warm water, got Athena loaded in the van with blankets and
proceeded to stuff the extremely cold puppies into her shirt, blasted the heater and headed back to the rescue. By the time Dee
got to the rescue, a 20 minute ride from the shelter, she lost 3 more puppies. There were 7 left and a very sick mommy.
Dee called the Doylestown Animal Clinic and they said to bring Athena in right away. While she attended to the puppies, Dee had a
friend rush Athena to the clinic. The veterinarian indicated that Athena needed immediate surgery as she was very neglected and
had a serious infection...they had to spay her and run IV's. They told Dee that Athena would be sick for a while and the puppies
would have to be hand raised. Athena was kept in the hospital for 3 days. When she came home, Dee slept on the floor with her
every night for two weeks.
There were 3 survivors out of 13 pups...two males and a female...Tucker, Moses and Kira. All were adopted when they were 15
weeks old. Tucker and Kira are doing great, but poor Moses jumped from the kitchen patio door clearing three steps, hit mud in the
yard, slipped and twisted breaking his back.
Athena was at Keystone Rottweiler Rescue for a over a year until Steven and I came along. We brought her home on July 17, 1999
and eversince she has been a very loved girl. We battled through a host of skin conditions and immune problems for a long time all
stemming back to a bad breeding , poor whelping conditions and infections from that pregnancy. We earned her CGC in 2000. We
tried her in OB and Tracking, but Miss Athena is her own way let us know that she is happiest just being a beloved companion and
gigantic mooch.
been turned in by her owner, that she was very nice and needed to go into rescue right away. When Dee questioned why, they said
she was pregnant and ready to whelp at any time. She had been bred to her father and the reason for owner turn in was that as the
whelp date got closer Athena's owner realized she didn't want to deal with it. Dee told them she would be there right away, but
they said she couldn't pick her up that night, they were closing and had paper work to do on her yet.
Dee called the shelter in the morning to say she was on her and to please have the necessary paperwork ready for her. They told
Dee that Athena's water had broken and she couldn't leave Dee kept in touch with the shelter the entire day. Athena was having a
hard time and before they closed at 4 PM she had whelped 6 puppies and was still going. Dee called the following morning to find out
that Athena had whelped 13 puppies and that 3 had died. They asked Dee if she could come right away as Athena didn't seem to
be doing well. She would nurse the puppies but just laid there.
When Dee got to the shelter, she was horrified. She went back to get Athena and she lay on the general population kennel floor,
bleeding steadily and so sick looking it frightened her. The shelter employees came out with the puppies that had survived in a dish
pan. Dee, realizing the gravity of the situation, immediately sprung into action, asking the shelter employees for a heating pad as the
puppies were very cold. She had them fill some latex gloves with warm water, got Athena loaded in the van with blankets and
proceeded to stuff the extremely cold puppies into her shirt, blasted the heater and headed back to the rescue. By the time Dee
got to the rescue, a 20 minute ride from the shelter, she lost 3 more puppies. There were 7 left and a very sick mommy.
Dee called the Doylestown Animal Clinic and they said to bring Athena in right away. While she attended to the puppies, Dee had a
friend rush Athena to the clinic. The veterinarian indicated that Athena needed immediate surgery as she was very neglected and
had a serious infection...they had to spay her and run IV's. They told Dee that Athena would be sick for a while and the puppies
would have to be hand raised. Athena was kept in the hospital for 3 days. When she came home, Dee slept on the floor with her
every night for two weeks.
There were 3 survivors out of 13 pups...two males and a female...Tucker, Moses and Kira. All were adopted when they were 15
weeks old. Tucker and Kira are doing great, but poor Moses jumped from the kitchen patio door clearing three steps, hit mud in the
yard, slipped and twisted breaking his back.
Athena was at Keystone Rottweiler Rescue for a over a year until Steven and I came along. We brought her home on July 17, 1999
and eversince she has been a very loved girl. We battled through a host of skin conditions and immune problems for a long time all
stemming back to a bad breeding , poor whelping conditions and infections from that pregnancy. We earned her CGC in 2000. We
tried her in OB and Tracking, but Miss Athena is her own way let us know that she is happiest just being a beloved companion and
gigantic mooch.
| If you are interested in rescue please see our rescue page, which is dedicated to Athena and my dear rescue boy, Haku, who left us in 1998. |
*Rottie clip art courtesy of Peggy Rose.
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