Emaciated dog safe with litter of 6 pups at Rescue Ranch Sanctuary

On Monday, I drove out to the Rescue Ranch Sanctuary to meet an emaciated dog who had come in with puppies a few days before.  Operations Manager Laura Finley took me to one of the new whelping sheds. Staring back at me when we opened the door was, Hope, a friendly white pitty mix with black patches. She had obviously been through the wars: her coat was dull, dirty, and covered with scabs. She was also shockingly thin. There’s no doubt she was close to death when she was rescued.

Valiant momma dog chooses right place to give birth

We pick up Hope’s story exactly one week before, when she wandered into a shed and whelped seven puppies. Lucky for her, the land owners actively spay-neuter feral cats and are inclined to help animals in general. Sara reached out to Rescue Ranch and  County Animal Control.

On Wednesday, she met up with Rescue Ranch Executive Director John Golay. He transported the dogs to the Sanctuary where Laura and Courtney Casson began to assess the situation. The puppies were hypothermic. Courtney revived one pup four times, but he was too far gone and didn’t make it. Happily, his six siblings survived.

Hope was starving. She was so weak, she couldn’t even step over the whelping box threshold. After consulting the vet, Laura decided to leave the puppies with mom. Whenever possible, nursing is the best option. Initially, Hope was receiving subcutaneous fluids, a full liter at a time. She’s drinking on her own now, but Laura is still feeding her every five hours. When I visited, she was going to switch to a somewhat richer diet the next day. Hope is starved for affection, as well as food, and taking pictures was a bit of a challenge. She wanted me to pet her instead. It was a challenge I could live with.

At feeding time, Hope showed just how cute and well-mannered she is. While Laura changed the puppy pee-pads in the small space, Hope stared quietly at the waiting bowl of food, gently wagging her tail.

Abandoned emaciated dog and family get second chance

For Hope, it’s too early to tell what, if any, the long term physical effects of malnutrition and living rough will be. We’ll just have to wait and see. Her broken teeth are in such bad shape, it’s hard to tell how old she is. Our best “guesstimate” is three or four years old.

This isn’t her first litter. She should weigh around 65 pounds, but she’s nowhere near that. Despite her condition, however, she’s producing enough milk to feed her brood. The three girls and three boys are bit small but appear healthy. That being said, we’ve seen puppies fail to thrive at different points in their development, even in ideal conditions.

Time will tell, but we’re cautiously optimistic that Hope and her beautiful family now have a chance at a real future. We’re grateful that Sara and her family cared enough to help.