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| New Mom, Philly and pups in Maternity Ward at Austin Pets Alive! |
Celebrity Pug, Phoebe Rose took the opportunity
while still visiting Austin, Texas, to peek in at the newborn Collie-mix pups
and their Mom, Philly, at Austin Pets Alive! (APA) Maternity Ward.
APA’s website explains
that “The idea for a maternity ward came from the need to be able to
immediately save a pregnant mom or mommy dog and her babies at a moment’s
notice.”
Operations Manager,
Faith Wright, a former paralegal and APA volunteer, gave us a warm welcome and
tour of The Maternity Ward, sponsored by a private donation of $1500 that led to
the conversion of one of the former administrative offices into two condo-style
runs prioritizing safety and privacy.
The softly lit space is
kept calm and den-like with background music to drown out some of the unavoidable
shelter sounds and get the animals used to noises, explained Faith.
The air-conditioned
space also has its own stash of supplies to keep these families comfortable
while they wait for foster.
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| Phoebe Rose peeks in on new Mom, Philly in Maternity Ward |
Ms. Wright explained that solely volunteers run
the Foster Program, as no funding is available. “There can be up to 300 dogs in foster homes
on a given day,” she said.
At least 60 dogs were "saved" in the
last 7 days by APA, according to Ms. Wright, a canine Mom to 6 pups, who
regularly takes home bottle babies for their 2 hour round the clock feedings.
The Staff check on Mom and babies 4X
daily, provide dry and wet food at all times and ensure that the ward is scrupulously
cleaned.
Philly (still very shy and withdrawn) had given
birth in an Austin shelter prior to being rescued by APA - 48 hours from being
euthanized. The pups were quietly
nursing as Philly rested in a plastic swimming pool that accommodates her
babies-6 girls and 1 boy, while waiting for a foster home.
We joined Ms. Wright in her office - to watch the bottle
feeding (and burping) of 2-week-old puppies. Their Mom had died the day before
and they were abandoned at a shelter in Bastrop.
For more information:
What a great idea, Austin! A maternity ward totally makes sense.
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