As we rushed into the veterinary hospital it was approaching midnight. Rob led Ivy and I held the puppy pads with the blood tinged fluid, in cases they were needed by the staff. Ivy seemed much more comfortable when we arrived and quickly passed urine and feces in the hospital bay. The vet on staff assessed her condition and asked me if I was 100% sure of her breeding date. I assured him I was and he confirmed my worst suspicion, that he did not think she looked pregnant. I explained to him I had just had our farm vet out three days prior and he confirmed her pregnancy. He performed an ultrasound to understand what the cause of her symptoms were.
Her ultrasound was concerning. He could not find any live fetuses in her abdomen and he thought this meant the kids had passed in utero and were not sending the correct signals to induce parturition. He suggested that they observe her overnight and in the morning she would be reviewed by the reproductive specialist, where they would either induce her or perform a C-section.
It was after 1 AM when we left the hospital and went to our hotel room. We slept fitfully, and were back at the hospital by 9 AM the following day. The situation had not progressed, and they recommended we leave her at the hospital. Sadly, we packed our bags and headed home. On our drive we called to see if we could cancel our anniversary trip we had planned to Ashville. Unfortunately, we would have lost all of our money, so we decided to go home, unpack, repack and head to Ashville. Around 2 PM that day we received a shocking call from the vets at OSU. Ivy had absolutely no fetal development inside of her! Rob and I literally could not wrap our heads around this! We had three ultrasounds confirming pregnancy and one just a few days ago! How could this occur? The vet had showed me heart beats just days before.
Thankfully, the veterinary staff at OSU was very patient and explained that Ivy
likely had what is called a cloudburst pregnancy. This is when a doe conceives and the fetuses die very early on. For some reason, she then carries the fluid filled sacs to term and when it is time for her to kid she only has fluid. I questioned extensively, why we would have seen heartbeats and I was told that heavy breathing can make the sacs look like they are beating.
For us this was best case scenario, Ivy was healthy from all accounts, and we could pick her up any time and breed her in the fall. Her early pregnancy loss did make sense, because we struggled with pneumonia in the winter of 2017. The only problem was we were nearing our destination and would not be back to pick Ivy up for five days. OSU agreed to board her at their hospital until we could come back to get her.
Fast forward the worst vacation in history (primarily because of all the stress leading up to it) We left Ashville at 5 AM to head for Columbus. When we arrived Ivy was so happy to see us! She yelled excitedly and almost climbed over the backseat of my husbands car for tortilla chips! Finally after a harrowing seven days we arrived home with our healthy albeit not pregnant doe!
Thanks for reading, come back next week for more Udderly Wicked Farms adventures!