Dr. Michael White, the director for the Harris County Animal Shelter in Texas, was shocked one morning when he turned on the news to see a reported standing outside his shelter’s gate. The reporter, Janelle Bludau from the KHOU 11 News Team, had arrived at the shelter in order to report on the Lab Mix that had been left chained to the shelter’s fence. Bludau informed the audience watching that she wasn’t going to leave the dog until someone arrived at the shelter. Naturally, Dr. White immediately raced for his shelter.
The dog that had been tied up was very friendly – wagging her tail as the news crew approached her. No one knew just how much help she was actually going to need from Dr. White.
As soon as Dr. White arrived on the scene he took the dog in for a routine exam. They were all shocked to discover that she was actually heavily pregnant with a large litter of puppies who were due at any moment. In fact, she was so pregnant that her round belly was hitting the floor!
Dr. White then made the call to bring her home with him in order to keep an eye on her until she delivered her puppies.
“I decided I wasn’t going to leave her there any longer, and I took her home,” White said. “I didn’t want her to stay up there in that condition. I hate for animals to give birth in a shelter situation.”
In honor of the news reporter who discovered her and refused to leave her side, Dr. White named the abandoned dog Janelle. After taking her home, Janelle settled in, showing her appreciation for her foster parents with lots of cuddles – big belly and all. And as everyone already anticipated, it was a short wait for Janelle to go into labor. Only a few days after arriving at Dr. White’s, Janelle began exhibiting signs of distress – indicating that labor was approaching.
She started having contractions around 9 at night. Dr. White and his wife knew they would be in for a long night. “My wife and I stayed up with her all night assisting in each delivery,” White said. “At 3:36 a.m., [puppy] number 10 was born, and we thought that was it, but number 11 was born at 6:05 a.m. It was a long night for me, my wife and Janelle.”
Janelle, the lab mix found tied 2the gate of the Harris Co Animal Shelter by r own @JanelleKHOU & @MikeBadaBing, had 11 healthy puppies this AM! Shelter Director, Dr. Michael White, is fostering the whole fam-another reminder of how crucial fosters are! Mom & pups doin great ❤️ pic.twitter.com/A4tcunGamN
— Lisa Hernandez (@LisaKHOU) June 13, 2018
Everything went well and Dr. White was able to happily report that Janelle and the puppies are doing well. Janelle is a great mom and she keeps a very clean “den” for her puppies. It’s also very clear that she loves all her babies. For now, they will stay with Janelle until she’s done weaning them, but then after they’ll be up for adoption.
