Last year, a man named Jake was walking along the edge of a canyon in Mission Viejo, California, when he heard an odd sound echoing from an abandoned pool on the side of the path.
“Even upon hearing the little puppy grunts I didn’t immediately put it together,” Jake told The Dodo.
Approaching the pool, Jake saw 10 fluffy faces inside — a pile of puppy siblings abandoned in the wilderness. The area was right by the City of Mission Viejo Animal Services Center, which couldn’t be a coincidence.
“I was initially angry, but also relieved they were dropped here so that we could find them and the permanent staff could care for them,” Jake said.
Rescuers gathered the puppies and took them to the shelter. They couldn’t believe how small they were.
“It was immediately obvious that the pups were too young to be away from mom,” City of Mission Viejo director of animal services Brynn Lavison told The Dodo.
The rescue team knew the puppies would be happiest with their mother, so they set out to find her. Eventually, they located the person responsible for abandoning the 10 puppies and the owner of their mom. They coordinated for the mama dog’s release and reunited her with her grateful babies. Together again, the whole family moved into a foster home.
“They did quite well while in foster care,” Lavison said. “One of our longtime fosters and her two adult sons cared for the family until they were old enough to be adopted.”
It didn’t take long for each pup to find a permanent home. These days, they’re lounging on couches, playing in backyards and soaking up lots of love and affection from their new families.
Lavison hopes this story encourages folks to look out for needy animals in their area and to aid animal rescue groups in any way they can.
“Community members can support their local shelter by donating, fostering, or volunteering,” Lavison said. “Every little bit helps! And everyone can make a difference!”
