Donna, representing Stray Rescue of St. Louis, possesses a wealth of expertise when it comes to aiding animals in distress.
Nonetheless, she occasionally encounters situations that require her to exercise patience to usher the animal to safety, and this was precisely one of those instances.
Rescue Mission
Donna observed a mother dog meandering near deserted homes, even while she was still expecting.
Given that she was due shortly, Donna proceeded to set traps around the houses, wishing that the mother dog would inhabit one and get safely ensnared.
Considering the extremely frigid season, Donna and her team remained hopeful that they would catch the dog soon, but regrettably, that was not the situation.
After failing to capture her for some time, they understood that she must have given birth in one of the homes, prompting their investigation.
The rescuers felt a wave of relief upon spotting the dog through one of the windows, knowing the puppies were also there, ready for rescue.
However, they swiftly recognized that they could use her puppies instead of food to entice her into the trap.
They arranged the trap, placed two of the puppies within, and awaited the mother’s return.
Unfortunately, their strategy did not unfold as they had hoped.
“We left for, I don’t know, it felt like an eternity to us, and returned to find – absolutely nothing. She still wasn’t even motivated enough to enter the trap for her puppies,” stated Donna.
Even though their hearts were heavy upon realizing they had to leave the puppies in the cold once more, they understood the importance of their actions.
They also made the choice to leave some nourishment and water, along with surveillance cameras, enabling them to monitor the mother.
Change Of Plan
After noticing that not only the mother tended to the pups, but the father as well, Donna was aware that they needed to devise a more effective strategy to rescue this small family.
As the apprehensive dogs became aware of the rescuers’ regular visits, they learned to recognize the sound of their vehicle, prompting them to flee and hide.
We even returned on a day when it was sleeting, believing the sleet and wet ground would obscure our approach, yet it still proved ineffective.
Donna subsequently formulated a plan to transform the entire house into a trap.
They sealed any potential exits the dogs could utilize and installed a door attached to a rope that would be pulled to shut the door.
Thanks to the camera set up, they discovered that the dogs’ parents were inside around 7 AM, prompting the rescue team to rise early and head to the house.
I returned to the front again, reached for the rope, pulled it, and they began barking. Thus, we knew we had finally contained them inside the house.
Upon entering, they found the two dogs cowering in the bathtub, trembling from fear.
They gingerly extracted them from the house and into their vehicle. They returned for the two puppies who were ecstatic to see the rescuers once again.
The puppies were quite sociable, as they had been handled by the team since they were approximately a week old.
New Life
Although they found themselves in a more temperate setting, the mother and father remained quite frightened. It was evident that they had not previously interacted with humans.
Nevertheless, Donna and her team at Stray Rescue of St. Louis were committed to conveying to this small family that humankind does not intend to harm!
Once they build their confidence, the team aspires to discover a caring forever home that this little family genuinely deserves.
No matter how long it takes, we will ensure that they find the appropriate home eventually and won’t have to live in fear on the streets any longer.