A new year of dog rescue is off with a bang! By the looks of it, this is going to be one busy winter. Dog abandonment is a year-round problem in Siskiyou County but we face a huge surge of dumped pups every winter. Just days into 2026, we’re already bursting at the seams with abandoned stray puppies. We’ll keep making space for every stray puppy that comes our way–it’s our life-saving mission after all!
The winter surge
There are no holidays in dog rescue. In December alone we took in a whopping total of 77 stray dogs and puppies. These included 11 different litters, 3 with nursing mothers, and one injured solo pup.
Why is there a winter surge? It’s mostly due to the seasonal pattern of illegal marijuana grows in Siskiyou County. Itinerant farmers rely on dogs to protect their crops, and when they leave for the winter, the dogs are left behind to fend for themselves. Essentially, they’re thrown onto the responsibility of the county as unwanted strays. Abandoned dogs survive as they can, begging, scavenging, or hunting livestock and wildlife for food. These dogs are intact, so females often appear on nearby properties to give birth or with litters of young puppies.
Some of these abandoned dogs are trusting and easy to catch. Take Ruffles, for instance. The week before Christmas, a beautiful stray dog repeatedly visited the community mailboxes in the Shasta Vistas to beg for food. Word went out that she was accompanied by a litter of puppies, so our team sprang into action.
Fortunately for us, Ruffles was used to getting handouts and came right up to rescuers during their first reconnoiter. However, she was accompanied by just one puppy. Rescuers scooped him up but had to leave momma free and wait patiently for her to return with the rest of the litter. Luck was with us: momma circled back in the afternoon with seven more pups in tow. Our team slipped a leash on Ruffles and carefully rounded up her family. By nightfall, Ruffles and pups were safe at the Sanctuary.
New year begins… with more stray puppies
On New Year’s Eve we were out in the field with a county officer working to trap more stray puppies. Animal Control received a call about several dogs subsisting on an abandoned property in the Hornbrook area. The county officer was able to trap one adult but needed help rounding up the rest.
It took teamwork and repeated visits to trap the rest of the family. Together we rescued two adult females plus five 7-week-old pups. The pups are timid and don’t know what to make of their warm whelping shed. For now, they prefer to huddle just outside in a small dog house. Momma Truffle and the second adult, Matiake, are shy but approachable. With time, this family will begin to associate humans with care and kindness.
The same day, our partner Karen Topping was returning home when she saw a stray momma and puppies scavenging just around the corner from the Sanctuary. Karen jumped out and caught the puppies, but momma proved too skittish and disappeared onto a neighboring property. These pups have not had much human contact, so caregivers are taking turns cuddling them to help them gain confidence.
It was just the beginning: The following Monday brought us seven more stray puppies! They included four 7-week-olds found in a sealed-up box and three 12-week-old pups. Both litters came from the Vistas area.
A few days into their quarantine, one of the box puppies was rushed up to the emergency vet clinic for a prolapsed rectum. Apparently he has rocks in his stomach and will probably need surgery. We’ll know more soon.
Hope for abandoned stray puppies
This is what a pet overpopulation crisis looks like. We’re doing all we can to keep up, but for every pup that gets adopted, another litter of stray puppies arrives at our door. It might feel overwhelming, but change starts with individual powerful actions. These include things like donating an old blanket to keep shelter pups warm, joining the Kennel Squad monthly sustainer program, or helping a neighbor sign their dog up for the Rescue Ranch Alter Assistance Program.
We’re determined to keep making a difference but we can’t do this alone. Join our life-saving mission today!
