Choosing the Pooch
A couple living outside Cleveland decided to add a new member to their huge family, so they headed over to the shelter. They knew the best way to make a new friend for life was to adopt one in need, but this last adoption was tricky, since the dog in question had a serious medical condition. They wondered a bit what to do, but as the pooch got closer and licked the woman’s hand, looking at her with pleading eyes, it was decided.
Chris Hughes and Mariesa Caliguire wanted to adopt a dog and went to a few shelters to look for one. Mariesa knew it was difficult to pick just one pooch, since they were all sweet.
Then she saw a heavily pregnant mother dog looking at her with pleading eyes and she knew what to do.
The dog got closer to Mariesa and started licking her and Chris’ hands. Her tummy was swelling with pups and the couple knew giving birth in a shelter was not a good alternative.
When they learned about the dog’s story, they decided to take her in. What happened to her?
Aside from being one of the thousands pit bulls abandoned at the shelter, this dog, named Storie, had an owner that knew she was pregnant. She was kept for backyard breeding, and then her owner realized it was expensive and difficult to care for Storie and the pups.
So he took her to the shelter…
Chris and Mariesa knew that Storie needed a safe place where she could deliver her pups. But when they saw the vet, things got very complicated!
You see, at home, the couple had 10 other dogs. Here you can see 8 of them.
To show you how much this couple loved their furbabies, we present you the “megabed”! In an interview with TODAY, Chris explained that “At nighttime all of the dogs want to sleep on the bed and sometimes it becomes too cluttered, and we end up being pushed off of the bed or sleeping on the couch.
So we built the megabed.” This monster of a bed measures 7 feet wide and 14 feet long!
The staff at the adoption center told the couple that Storie should have given birth to her pups by now. She looked like she was about to pop!
Storie had to be checked by a vet asap and any wasted moment could endanger her and her pups’ lives!
Mariesa knew she was going to bring home not just a pup into her family, but more, if we were counting all the puppies that were about to be born.
It was a big challenge, but they couldn’t walk away thinking Storie would remain in the shelter…
The couple talked about it and found a solution to help Storie and care for all the other 10 dogs and her pups when she delivers them. It was the best idea ever!
Chris suggested they could foster Storie and the pups for almost three months and then ask the animal rescue team to look for homes for all the pups. But Storie still hasn’t given birth to her pups yet…
It was all settled, but problems started to appear. Something was wrong with the pregnancy. Storie should have already given birth to her pups, and she still showed no such sign.
She was about to pop! The couple looked for some answers online and then headed to the vet for ultrasound.
Chris and Mariesa were fostering a pregnant dog for the first time and had no idea why Storie didn’t want to give birth to her pups. So they started looking for some answers on the internet. They found out that a traumatized dog may not want to deliver her pups.
It was describing Storie’s situation. So they took her to the vet to find a solution…
The couple took Storie to the vet for ultrasound. They wanted to make sure the babies were healthy and learn how they could make Storie comfortable enough to give birth to her pups.
If she refused to deliver them, she would put herself and the pups at risk. The vet was shocked when she saw the results!
The vet began the ultrasound scan on Storie and began counting. She shook her head in disbelief and counted once again.
The results came back the same. What the vet saw would make the couple wonder what was wrong…
The vet tried to hide her shock when she told the foster parents the news… She began explaining why Storie was about to pop.
The couple told the vet they were expecting around six pups, but the vet told them they couldn’t be more wrong!
In front of the couple, the vet counted the outlines of the unborn pups. That’s when Chris and Mariesa had the shock of their lives.
They were told at the shelter that Storie would be pregnant with six puppies, but in reality, the ultrasound revealed something else…
Mariesa counted again with the shocked vet and realized that indeed Storie was not pregnant with six pups, but with twelve! That was twice the number they were expecting!
But was Storie going to be all right giving birth to so many pups?
The vet told them the puppies looked fine on the scan and the best thing the couple could do was go back home and wait for Storie to give birth. They were also told to come back for further examinations if she had not given birth 48 hours later.
Storie had a reason why she waited so long…
When they first looked for reasons why Storie didn’t want to deliver, Mariesa read that the dog must feel safe and stress can interfere with the delivery.
So she went to the spare bedroom, placed blankets and pillows for the pooch and made sure the room temperature and light were right for the dog mommy.
Chris and Mariesa did their best to make Storie feel like she was at peace. The room was comfy and quiet and the couple called it a night.
The headed off to their megabed and wished for the best. What they didn’t know was that Storie would surprise them in the morning!
That night, Storie had given birth to all of her twelve pups and when Mariesa and Chris entered the room, they saw all the little pit bulls making noises as they were looking for their mom.
The couple cried when they saw they were all fine and couldn’t believe Storie just delivered the pups that night!
It looked like Storie was a great mom. Even though she had twelve pups, she made sure they were all cleaned and fed!
The couple announced the rescue team about the successful delivery and they started looking for adoptive families.
The fostering couple would take care of all the pups and the super mom for 10 weeks and then the pups would be ready to get to their own homes.
Meanwhile, the pups grew and goofed around the backyard with their mom always around!
Chris and Mariesa loved each and every puppy, but they knew thirteen more pups over the ten they already had was a massive addition to their family. They had to give them all up for adoption.
It was heartbreaking, but the families found for them were perfect.
Storie’s ordeal was posted on Facebook and it went viral. Chris and Mariesa thought Storie would continue living with them until a man contacted them to ask them if he could adopt Storie.
He fell in love with her and wanted to give the lovely pooch a home.
The man loved Storie when he saw her and decided to take her home! She was spayed to prevent such massive pregnancies in the future.
Without Mariesa and Chris’ intervention, Storie’s fate would have been very different.
We can all agree that this is a great story! The heavily pregnant pooch was finally able to give birth to her pups once she felt safe in her foster parents’ home.
Unfortunately, there are many other dogs out there in shelters that need a home. The couple has founded a nonprofit organization to look for elderly and sick dogs, providing the dogs that are at risk of euthanasia a chance to find homes that offer care and love.