When I was pregnant with Esteban, we went over to Ma’s house to hang out, eat, talk, etc. one day. She was in the kitchen watching TV, and she turned the channel to Animal Planet. Obsessed as I was of all things birth, it was interesting to see this show about veterinary obstetrics.

There was a small young dog in labor. The family brought the dog to the vet, concerned about her *failure to progress.* I watched incredulously as the Vet said things like, “she’s in distress,” and “her hips are not wide enough to support birth. . .”

Ma squawked. We watched as they gave the dog a private room to let her labor progress. And it did. Then, they pulled back the curtain and pronounced the dog as a failure to progress, and they had to perform a c-section to save the dog and her puppies.

They blathered on and on about inexperienced dogs and birth. “They’re not going to cut that teeny tiny dog open!” Ma exclaimed.

We had to turn our heads as they performed the surgery. Not all the pups survived, but the Vet talked about what a good outcome, and how necessary the intervention was. The bewildered little girl, the dog’s owner tried to grab her precious pet and run.

Now, dogs give birth on the side of the road everyday without the help of a Vet, but if you decide to get medical help for dog birth, you get a c-section. hmmmm. . . interesting.