The Maltese bitch could not be tubed

"67th day pregnant?" I checked with the breeder.  Most bitches give birth between 59 - 63 days after breeding.  There are always exceptions to the guideline.  The one-pup mother might have a longer gestation period. The puppy may die if the days stretch past 70 days as a guide line.  "Only one pup," the breeder said confidently as he felt the abdomen of this Maltese. She had been straining this morning but no puppy was born.  A solid twenty years of breeding experience made his prediction correct. "There may be another one further up," I said although it was a very small lump, thirty times smaller than the big lump. The Caesarian Section was quick as there was only one puppy. Almost blood-less except for the passing of fresh blood from the vagina after the operation. I pulled out a weak large puppy.  "It's a dead puppy!" the breeder said matter of factly. Death means nothing to the breeder as he had seen them all. But it means a lot to the operating surgeon. Death on the operating table was very emotional.  "No," I said. "There is a small squeak of life." The experienced breeder would take over as he would know what to do from then on. This was a large puppy. It was nothing unusual. What was unusual was that the mother could not be intubated. I tried to pass an endotracheal tube into her lungs to provide oxygen and anaesthesia gas. More than ten trials. I reduced the sizer of the breathing tube to size 4 which is meant for 2-month old Maltese puppies. Yet, I could not intubate. What was wrong?  I sprayed local anaesthetic into its larynx to release the laryngospasm which happened sometimes.  Laryngospasm caused the opening to the lungs to be constricted. I could see the swellings of both sides of the vocal folds. Still the opening was around 5 mm.  Time was running out. "This Maltese is from Taiwan. It could have been debarked," the experienced breeder commented. This explained the difficulty as scar tissue would have obliterated the opening to the lungs.  A gas mask was used to provide the anaesthesia as there was no choice. The mother was all right. "The bitch needs Vitamin K," said the breeder.  This was a knowledgeable breeder. All bleeding needed Vitamin K.  But this bleeding was the result of the detachment of the large placenta and is common in Caesarian sections. Usually, it is harmless and will stop. The next day, the vaginal bleeding stopped.  The mother jumped towards me and was fiercely protective of the sole puppy when I visited her in Pasir Ris.