A woman was out for a walk in Athens, Texas, when she heard tiny cries coming from behind a building. Concerned, she followed the sound and made a shocking discovery: a bunch of puppies crammed inside a tiny cage, piled on top of each other, with no access
to food or water.
She called Athens Animal Services immediately, and two rescuers rushed to the scene. The puppies had been left directly in the sun and needed help fast.
“As soon as we saw them, we knew we needed to get them out as quickly as possible,” Kansas Scriven, manager of Athens Animal Services, told The Dodo. “We grabbed a kennel and began removing the puppies one by one. In total, there were 16 puppies, clearly from multiple different age groups.”
The puppies were skinny and very hungry. Two of them needed urgent veterinary care, so rescuers rushed them back to the shelter. Sadly, one of the puppies was too far gone and didn’t make it. The staff members were worried the other sick puppy might suffer the same fate, but he miraculously pulled through.
“We began syringe-feeding him, and the change was incredible,” Scriven said. “You could literally watch him begin to come back to life. He started perking up and responding, and it was an amazing thing to witness after seeing the condition he was in when we found him.”
The odds were stacked against all of the puppies the moment they were abandoned, but once they were safe, they began to thrive. The shelter was able to secure a rescue to take in the puppies, Pets Fur People, and all 15 are now in foster-to-adopt homes.
“What started as a heartbreaking situation ended with these puppies being given a second chance,” Scriven said. “We are extremely thankful to the woman who heard their cries and took the time to investigate instead of simply walking away. Her decision to make that phone call truly saved lives.”
