When animal control officers found Magnolia, fondly called Maggie, in the streets of Fredericksburg, Texas, the Shepherd mix was already heavily pregnant. Hill Country SPCA, a local animal protection organization, decided to take her in and place her in a foster home, where she could deliver her pups safely.
That was when Aubrey Morgan and her family came into the picture. In the beginning, Aubrey was hesitant to care for Maggie as she didn’t have prior experience caring for a pregnant dog before. But after doing some research and collecting whelping supplies, she and her husband eventually agreed to foster her.
They didn’t regret the decision, though, as Maggie was nothing short of gentle and affectionate to Aubrey’s two young kids. The couple also grew close to the expectant mama dog and looked forward to helping her give birth. However, things didn’t go as smoothly as Aubrey’s family hoped.
You see, just before Maggie went into labor, a huge winter storm swept over Texas and cut the power out in their neighborhood. The fur mom knew this wasn’t good as she read that newborns needed to stay warm to survive. So as a workaround, she brought Maggie into a bathroom and turned on the hot shower to keep her warm.
Aubrey’s husband also began to boil water and put them in bags for the pups to lay on. However, despite their efforts, they realized that it was still too cold for the newborns and decided to move Maggie into their car outside. The couple took turns in monitoring their two kids in the house and Shepherd mix in the car.
Eventually, Maggie gave birth to a little of seven puppies. They then tried moving back into the house and using a generator to warm a room, but it was still too cold even for the kids. So although the road was still a bit dangerous to drive on, the couple decided to pack their things and move to Aubrey’s parents’ house 45 minutes away.
They returned home several days later when the power was restored. Thankfully, Maggie’s pups survived and were growing as healthy as ever. She and her litter would all be up for adoption come April, but until then, she would stay with Aubrey’s family. Watch Magnolia’s eventful delivery here.
@raisinghiswildflowers
Courtesy of Aubrey Morgan