A few days a go we responded to an emergency call on our hotline. A pregnant pit, who was taken in and being cared for by 18 men at a SLA transitional house, went into distress and we were called to help. She had prematurely given birth to three tiny puppies but the third was born dead. We raced to the location and rushed mom and her two remaining pups to the vet hospital. Tragically the second puppy died soon after. Now only the one little girl remains and she is in critical condition. Mom, who we are calling Cleo, is exhausted and because she was so greatly disadvantaged from being so malnoutrished living on the streets, she is not producing enough milk for this puppy. It is an absolutely heartbreaking situation. This little mouse of a pup weighs only 4.5 ounces but she is fighting to survive. Mom and pup are on 24 hour, constant medical attention and we urgently need funds to help them. Any amount of donation can help this effort. Thank you for taking notice of Cleo and her tiny baby and helping us fight for their chance at life. UPDATE: 05.10.08 I finally have a moment to say write an update. It has been absolutely a non stop fight to save these two...especially this tiny baby who we are now calling Charlotte. She is not out of the woods yet but things are finally looking more positive. Twice last week the vets approached me to consider putting her down. The tips of her toes had stared to show signs of necrosis. The tissue was actually dying off and turning black. None of us could figure out if it was a result of bacterial infection or damage caused due to the lack of oxygen or heat for the hours after her birth. She had so many disadvantages..she was in the birth canal for hours since the pup before her was born at 1AM and they reported that she did not appear until around 5AM. Then she and the first pup were without any attention because Cleo was in such distress with delivering the third puppy who then died right away. So little Charlotte was without warmth and then never received the advantage of her mother's antibodies. So when the necrosis started to spread it was ominous. Spots showed up on her ears and several of her toes started to turn black. Then by the time two of her toes started to sever the vet approached me more strongly to consider letting her go. We decided to at least give little Charlotte one more night. Amazingly, it was that night that the necrosis did not progress further. Then the next day again it stayed the same. As long as it did not progress we figured she could live without a few toes or even without an ear. Then she started to pick up weight which was a great sign. During all of this she was still on 24 hour emergency care...constantly being checked and being housed in incubators and being tube fed every 2 hours. Then a few days a go the black spots on her ears started to slough off and revealed new tissue underneath! This is huge! She is still not out of the woods and we are swimming in vet bills. So thank you to everyone who has participated in helping us with her medical care and for all the well wishes and prayers for her to survive. Things are looking more positive though. Cleo is doing much better. She is still not back to her full strength but her appetite is good and the mastitis is clearing. And little Charlotte is just now 11 days old today and we will continue to fight for her to make it. If you know anyone who may want to contribute to Cleo and Charlotte's medical fund please pass this page on to them. With much gratitude, Julia (A Dog's Life Rescue)