Here’s why vets say you should vaccinate your pets

Montreal -

A Quebec veterinarian is reminding people to get their pets vaccinated, fixed, and dewormed after a two-year-old dog marched into her clinic with Lyme disease, heartworm, and pregnant with five puppies.

At the Centre Veterinaire Laval, ICU Doctor Kelly Faubert cares for their worst cases: like that of Rowdy -- a young German Shepherd who arrived with exceptionally complicated needs.

“She'd been hit by a car and wasn’t eating," said Faubert. "She was limping, She had pretty bad wounds on her paw.”

That was just the beginning.

“We did some tests and she also had Lyme disease and heartworm.”

The news was overwhelming for the family, who decided to surrender Rowdy. After that, “we brought her in, we did x-rays looking for a fracture,” she said.

“That's when we saw she was pregnant.”

Rowdy was pregnant and expecting a litter within weeks.

The medical team nursed Rowdy back to health, and Faubert brought her home to have her puppies in a quiet place.

“Quiet,” in this case, being a relative term -- Dr. Faubert and her husband Sean have three sons under the age of 6, a 13-year old English Mastiff, and a cat named Bentley,

The family made a whelping box: a box for Rowdy to give birth in.

Later that night, Rowdy's contractions begun.

After hours of natural labour, Faubert says Rowdy’s instincts served her well. She’s now a mom to five healthy puppies -- with a family of five humans to help.

“It's a lot of work, but it's worth it,” said Faubert.

“There's a lot of love in the house right now.”

After three weeks of nursing, the pups grew some teeth. They're now on solid food.

Faubert’s sons Brody, Aidan and Casey are helping to socialize the pups now that they’re 8-weeks-old. Soon, Rowdy and her pups will need to find homes of their own.

Before moving out, Rowdy will be sterilized and vaccinated.

Faubert says Rowdy's case is a reminder that prevention measures for your pet are important. “You're going to need on your tick medication, heart worm medication, de-wormers and get (your pet) sterilized,” she said.

“By doing good family practice, you avoid ending up at the emergency needing bigger care,” which could make for much more invasive, and more expensive, treatment for your pet.

Dr. Faubert says if you want to help - donate to any shelter. “The SPCA is always looking for money and hands, there's Gertie’s Rescue and Rosie Animal Adoption...so many people that do this every single day.” Says Dr. Faubert.