Tink Von Lahr

 Tink Von Lahr's story

Tink is a purebred working line German Shepherd from our D-Litter born on August 21st 2020. Her Parents, Nash Aus Dem Elbtal (Sire) and Delta Von Narnia (Dam). Delta had a total of 7 pups in this litter. 2 pups were stillborn. The other 5 puppies (Red, Green, Orange, Black, and Grey collar) were apparently healthy.

We weighed each puppy daily for the next two weeks and each was doing well with three growing slightly slower than expected (Red, Green and Grey collar). Our main concern was Grey collar, a sable male, who kept falling over, was the smallest of the litter and was not learning to walk at the same rate as his littermates. After several trips to the vet and attempts to help him gain his footing, Grey who we had named Pixie at that point, took a turn for the worse and had to be put down to avoid suffering.

Throughout their time with us, Orange and Black collar did very well and developed as expected.

Green (Sable male) and Red (Sable Female, Tink) were doing well but were not as big as their littermates and remained smaller than we expected. Sometime around 5 weeks old we began to wonder if something was off with them. They both appeared to be thriving but remained small for their age.

At 7 weeks, all the pups were brought to the vet for their final vet visit before going to their new homes. At this last vet visit, it was discovered that Green collar had a grade 2 heart murmur and Red (Tink) had a grade 3 heart murmur. This is when we began to suspect that during her pregnancy, Delta had contracted a virus or infection which caused the issues we were witnessing with her litter and the poor health of the majority of her pups. It was also discovered that Delta had developed a grade 3 heart murmur which was a concern as she had been to the vet months before and had no heart murmur. Our vet suspected that the heart murmur's were a result of the underlying cause of both Green and Red collar's lack of growth.

Orange, Black and Green were placed with families and began their new lives. We had to decline placing Red as Grade 3 heart murmur's do not often resolve them selves.

Tink had been with us since then and stole a special place in our hearts. We suspect that she had a Thyroid issue. She kept her puppy fur and although proportional, was always much too small for her age. She weighed 15lbs  at 6 months old (60lbs would be normal). She never grew much more than that. She had a big dog temperament and in typical German Shepherd fashion had no fear and carried herself confidently. She passed before her 7th month of an enlarged heart. In this case her heart was normal and her body could not accommodate it's size normal size. She now rests on our property with a head stone created by her biggest fans. She is missed and continues to be asked about.

If you have any questions or comments, please send them to Info@VonLahr.com