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PAYSON — Have you ever heard of a woman and her dog giving birth on the same day? Well, now you have.
On March 14, Sierra Draper of Payson gave birth to her second child, and her dog Pepper gave birth to her second litter. According to Draper, it was a surprise when she realized that they would both have the same due date.
"I was not planning on my dog getting pregnant," Draper said. "Her heat came sooner than expected."
Despite efforts to keep them separated, Pepper and Draper's other chow chow, Titan, made a love connection. The rest, as they say, is history.
While mom, baby, dog and puppy are now doing well, Draper said that it was a pretty rough experience for all of them.
"Labor was hard," Draper said. "My blood pressure dropped dramatically while getting the epidural, which caused me to pass out. … My baby swallowed meconium when she was born, which caused a scare, and then she tested positive for jaundice. My husband called me to FaceTime the pups while my daughter was under the lights for her jaundice because I wanted a pick-me-up. It was then when I found out that one of the puppies hadn't made it."
Draper explained that Pepper had one litter before with six puppies that all survived, but this time there were only two in the litter, and the female puppy didn't survive.
"We had my dad take our dog to the vet when she gave birth, since I was still in labor," Draper said. "They said the two puppies were good, so it came to a complete shock when the ... little girl died."
Even with the scare and the loss of one of the puppies, Draper said they're all happy to be healthy now.
"My daughter and I are doing really well, and Pepper is doing great. Her puppy is thriving and has been enjoying time with his momma," Draper said. "And honestly, it's a blessing to have a newborn and puppy in the home. To be surrounded by so much heaven in one home is a beautiful thing."
