Lucky gave birth to one single little black male Chihuahua puppy shortly before midnight on Thursday, January 14, 2010

She licked and cuddled the puppy but after several hours it was obvious that the puppy wouldn't nurse.

I spent hours searching for my heating pad to help keep the puppy warm. I got out a space heater and turned it up full to make the apartment warm like a "nursery." I went out to buy another heating pad, but when I got home and went to get an extension cord to plug it in I found my old heating pad in with my power cords :(

I got some specially formulated milk made just for puppies like this one. I heated it up and slowly fed the pup a few drops at a time. The pup had become dehydrated and the milk plumped it up over the period of a few hours.

I hoped the pup would start to gain strength, and on about the third feeding it actually did suck a few times but then it went back to it's lethargic manner.

Lucky knew something was wrong. She's had successful litters before and has been a devoted mother.

She cried and whined and called to me to do something.

I tried. I made sure the pup was warm. I kept filling its tummy with warmed milk, but it started to become obvious the puppy was struggling. It wasn't eliminating and it's color seemed off and it was gasping for breath.

Lucky was distraught. And to make things worse she could hear Mandy nursing her 2 day old puppies. Mandy's puppies were making that high pitched squeaking sound that puppies often do when they nurse when the are young. Lucky couldn't stand it. She wanted her puppy to be like that.

I called the vet and made the earliest appointment I could get to take the pup in for a checkup - but the puppy couldn't wait that long.

Lucky's puppy stopped breathing a little after 7 pm.

I'm grieving, but I guess so is she. What's worse is wondering what she is thinking. She keeps licking the puppy - but it isn't moving any more. She keeps her paw pressed over the pup and holds it close to her chest - but she knows this isn't the way it should be.

I don't think I should take the puppy away from her. If I did that she would spend days looking for the puppy and I'm sure she would be stressed out the whole time.

It's sad, but I think if I leave her alone with the puppy she will come to accept it's loss at her own pace.

Lucky is quiet now. Hopefully she is sleeping. She's had a hard day. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

This gallery is in memory of Lucky Jr. born Jan 14, 2010 - passed away Jan 15, 2010

The first picture is a photo of Lucky on one of her happier days - the second photo is of the five puppies Lucky had in her previous litter. Maybe her next litter will be as beautiful as these.

I'll add some more photos of Lucky's previous litter here for you to see: (It will help me remember better days)