Surprises are right around every corner when working with the community. Last Monday, volunteers were almost finished making their scheduled stops, when they saw a very pregnant female dog on the side of the road. They slowed down and tried to coax her to the car. She was skittish, and started walking away, almost getting hit by another car. They knew then and there that there was work to be done to make sure mama got home.
The volunteers started following her, and finally got her attention enough to pour some dogfood on the ground. While she ate, they worked to find the owner of the dog. With the help of some neighbors, they found him.
As soon as the mama dog saw the man, she started moseying home. He explained that her name is Jada. He loved her, and she had belonged to his late wife. He just noticed she was pregnant the week before, and he was worried about her. Last litter she had fourteen puppies, and he didn’t know what he would do with them. Plus, she kept escaping his yard, and he didn’t know how to keep her contained to give birth safely. After explaining our mission, the volunteers asked if he would like help with Jada and her puppies. He enthusiastically said yes.
The man agreed to let Gateway Pet Guardians take Jada and help her give birth to her puppies, and we would return her weeks later spayed so he would no longer need to worry about puppies. The volunteers loaded Jada in the car (no small feat, given she was huge!), and took her to the vet. Her ultrasound showed at least five puppies. She then went to a special foster home that would help her give birth.
A week later, Jada gave birth to seven beautiful babies. At this point, all are healthy and beautiful. Things can change in a heartbeat, though, which is why we are thankful she is able to give birth in a foster home where she can receive help if needed.
The most amazing part of this story is the fact that through our actions, we eliminated the existence of eight unaltered dogs in the community. Left on their own, these eight dogs would have created dozens, even hundreds of additional puppies. Instead, one mama that is very much loved will return to her dad spayed, and the puppies will be spayed and neutered and adopted into homes that are ready and prepared to care for a dog. It really couldn’t get any better than that.
If you would like to learn more about our work with the Metro East community, visit www.gatewaypets.com/community-programs/.