A four-year-old pit bull arrived as a stray at Louisville Metro Animal Services on May 27, and employees soon discovered she was pregnant. With 18 puppies. By July, LMAS clinic coordinator Brenda Keel says, “The poor thing” — nicknamed Clover — “looked like everything was gonna burst out of her.” Adds LMAS animal care specialist Jade McLean: “She literally had to waddle to walk — like she had a watermelon for a stomach.”
Clover delivered at McLean’s house in Shively off Dixie Highway, not far from LMAS. “The kennel is definitely not a good place for the babies, who can get sick,” McLean says. At 3 p.m. on July 17, Clover began what turned out to be about 24 hours of labor. She delivered in a plastic pink baby pool. “At one point I nodded off, and she had another puppy in that time,” Keel says. “She was nursing while other babies were still coming out.”
Hand-In-Paw Rescue (Louisville Magazine business manager Heather Dougherty is its founder and director) secured foster homes for Clover and her puppies, all of whom lived. “Clover shouldn’t have had to go through all this,” Keel says. “People need to spay and neuter their pets.” Hand-In-Paw typically uses the same first letter for each puppy in a litter. Having already gone through the alphabet twice and not wanting to come up with 18 more names that begin with A, the boys were named after trees, the girls after flowers. So far, nine have approved adoption applications. The other puppies, and Clover, are still available.
Four of Clover's pups, Tulip, Sycamore, Petunia, and Peony, are still available for adoption. Visit Hand-In-Paw Rescue's website for more information.
Images: Hands-In-Paw
This article is courtesy of the October 2015 issue of Louisville Magazine. To subscribe to Louisville Magazine, click here.
Cover Photo and Slideshow Photos Courtesy of EM Dash Photography
