Squirt, Alive & Thriving Through Sheer Determination & Commitment.

Meet Squirt, the teeny tiny pup that stole the hearts of the PetRescue.com.au team on Monday.
Squirt was welcomed to the world on Thursday 28th January by loving volunteers from Staffy and Bully Breed Rescue Inc. in Western Australia. They rescued mum-to-be, Jada, when she went into labour on the floor of a pound and helped her give birth to two healthy pups. Soon after, little Squirt arrived.
It was clear that something wasn’t quite right with Squirt’s birth. To begin with, she was not born in a sack and was struggling to breathe when she took her first breaths. Quick-thinking volunteers were straight on to it and resuscitated her, but they weren’t in the clear yet. As Squirt lay clinging to life, Jada had to be rushed to the vet for an emergency cesarean to save the remaining unborn puppies. Two more healthy and happy pups were born, taking the total to five tiny newborns.
Jada, Squirt and her siblings were taken into foster care where four of the puppies started to thrive. Squirt, however, was having some troubles. While her brothers and sisters were feeding and growing stronger, she was falling behind. Squirt needed assistance feeding from her mum as she wasn’t strong enough to do it on her own.
Soon after, Jada was rushed back to the vet as she started bleeding from her cesarean birth and the volunteers stepped in to help care for her pups. Little Squirt was hand fed every two hours, and after a long eighteen hours, they were all back at their foster carers home, ready for some rest.
Squirt continued to be assisted with feeding from her mum, but things quickly went downhill – her carer found her lifeless and struggling to breathe. Back to the emergency vet they went and it was decided Squirt was to be hand raised to give her the best chance of survival.
With a possible liver shunt, prolapsed anus and distended legs, little Squirt is well behind the growth of her siblings. At 13 days old, she weighs just 185 grams, while her siblings are well over 700 grams. Her wonderful foster mum is hand feeding her every two hours, 24 hours a day. Yes, that means she wakes up during the night to do it too!
Although she has faced some big challenges for a tiny puppy, Squirt is a determined little girl. She loves to cuddle and settles immediately with her human foster sibling – she’s getting all the love and care she could ask for.
PetRescue will be following Squirt’s journey as she grows stronger and bigger, so be sure to look out for the next update. A huge thanks goes out to the wonderful carers at Staffy and Bully Breed Rescue who have been working around the clock to ensure Squirt, Jada and the rest of the pups are getting the best possible care they could ask for.
(A big thanks to K9Kate Pet Photography, PetRescue’s photographer extraordinaire, for capturing these beautiful images).

More info: Facebook