Poppy was already pregnant when she first came into her foster family. Saving Grace NC had rescued her, and even though no one knew where she came from or what she had gone through, her foster mother, Carter Cifelli, had a hunch that she had given birth in the past. She made the adorable puppy as comfortable as she could wait for the time when she would likely give birth to her babies.
“She mostly just wanted to rest, and I focused on letting her adjust to her space and get some good nutrition into her,” Cifelli said.
A few days later, Poppy woke and went about her daily routine.
Nothing seemed unusual in any way. Cifelli anticipated a day that would be largely unremarkable because there were no indications that Poppy was ready to give birth yet.
“Typically when a dog is about to go into labor, they will not be interested in food and they’ll start nesting,” Cifelli said. “Poppy had a huge breakfast and was resting just as she had the day before. She wanted to spend a lot of time outside and was resting in the sun before the day got too warm.”
Cifelli closely observed Poppy and tried to get her back inside, but she was content to lounge in the sun. She once sat down on the terrace in a chair.
Initially, Cifelli left her alone for around ten minutes before deciding that it was unquestionably time for her to enter the house. As soon as she arrived, she wanted to take a photo of Poppy since she was so adorable. After taking a few pictures, she abruptly noticed something was not quite right.
“She’s hard to get a picture of because she likes to be right next to me,” Cifelli said. “I thought it was strange that she wasn’t moving! When I was close to her, she turned her head and was licking at something on the seat of the chair. That’s when I noticed there was a puppy there!”
Poppy decided it was time to start giving birth right then while relaxing on the terrace outside, shocking her foster mother.
Cifelli moved the puppy inside after giving it some time to understand what had just transpired, and Poppy followed her inside with joy. After she had the couple settled in, Poppy went on to give birth to six further puppies.
“She was so incredibly calm,” Cifelli said. “I am sure she has had puppies before and she seems like a seasoned mom. She was very calm during labor and knew exactly what to do. There were no complications and all of her puppies were healthy!”
Much to the relief of her foster mother, the rest of Poppy’s birth went without a hitch, and her puppies are the cutest things ever.
All seven of the puppies, together with their mother, are doing well at the age of three and a half weeks. All of them, including Poppy, will be prepared for adoption at some point in August, and everyone is eager to place Poppy in a home where she will experience the comfort and calm she deserves.
