Scott Swanson
Of The New Era
The motherhood of Roxie, her Queensland red heeler dog, came as a bit of a surprise to Teri Perkins of Sweet Home.
The extent of Roxie’s motherhood was an even bigger shock when she had her first litter – 15 pups.
“The vet told me the largest litter she’d ever seen was 16,” Perkins said.
She said she purchased Roxie from a police officer who lives in Lebanon, who, she said, told her the dog was fixed.
Turns out she wasn’t, as a visiting black Labrador discovered after Roxie arrived at Perkins’ home on Fern Ridge.
By the beginning of June, Roxie was getting gigantic and Perkins realized this might not be a run-of-the-mill pregnancy.
“Two weeks before she was due, she was huge,” Perkins said. “She was so huge, she couldn’t hardly walk during the last week.”
On Father’s Day, Roxie gave birth to seven females and eight males, all of whom took after their dad in appearance. Most are jet black and have distinctive Labrador appearance, though a few have splotches of their mother’s white-with-red-spots. Three of the pups were stillborn or died shortly after birth. Since then, three more have been taken, leaving nine for whom Perkins is trying to find homes.
She’s asking $25 each, but she said her priority is to get them placed.
Last week the 6-weeks-old pups tumbled over one another as their owner served up a little afternoon snack next to the kennel where they and their mother spend most of the day.
“This is probably the longest they’ve been out,” she said as the babies growled and wrestled, climbed up the side of a small inflatable pool to slurp up some water, and ran helter-skelter around the yard as some visiting children tried to herd them together. Roxie, who’s 1 1/2 years old, crunched on some pellets of dog food and kept an eye on her pups. Stocky before, she’s lean now.
Bruce Smith, who also lives on Fern Ridge Road and who breeds Pomeranians and Papillons with his wife, Sharon, said a normal litter for a dog like Roxie is generally five to six pups.
“Usually, larger dogs are more inclined to have gigantic litters,” he said. “They have more room for them.”
Smith said a canine mother with a huge litter can run short of nutrition herself, in addition to the problem of some pups getting more than others in the competition to nurse.
Perkins said Roxie had some problems trying to feed her huge litter. “She almost died,” she said. “We had to get supplements and protein for her.”
Eventually, Perkins’ mom, Tana Rickard, took four of the pups and bottle-fed them. But now they’re all back together and Perkins said she’s going through 40 pounds of dog food a week.
She’s making plans to help Roxie avoid this experience again.
“She will be fixed,” Perkins said.
Perkins can be contacted at 367-2321.