Ah, the first days of spring.
Nature begins to stir again, slowly waking a little more with each sunrise. Before long, the days grow longer, the air feels warmer, and anticipation returns.
Spring breathes life into everything, from plants to animals and even people.
The season’s earliest blossoms, brave and determined, start to peek through the last traces of melting snow.
But what is that?
Another patch of snow?
Wait, no… that looks like a flower.
Except flowers do not look back at you.
They do not shiver in the cold.
And they certainly do not plead for help.
That morning brought an unexpected discovery for a woman in Malvern, Pennsylvania.
Karen began her day with no idea she was about to find something unusual in her yard.
Not A Bloom After All
It felt like any ordinary morning.
A quiet cup of coffee, a gentle start, a quick run through of her to do list.
Everything seemed routine until Karen noticed a strange shape in one of her bare beds.
It did not resemble a flower, not this early in the season.
When she stepped closer, the visitor lifted her gaze and met Karen’s eyes.
Curled tightly beneath the shrubs was a stray dog, trembling in the crisp March air.
Karen hurried out with a blanket to warm the shivering pup and brought a bowl of chicken soup. The dog was soaked and dusty, and Karen knew she needed more help than she could provide alone.
She called Nicole Asher of Buddha Dog Rescue & Recovery. Asher advised her to keep offering food so the dog would feel safe. No rushing, no sudden attempts to catch her.
The pup had to feel secure before anyone could approach.
“Karen calmly and quietly putting out food and leaving her be allowed [the dog] to feel comfortable enough to return.”, said Asher.
Their hope was that the nervous dog would step into the crate Asher had brought.
And she did.
The pup walked into the crate, and the women quickly transported her to Buddha Dog Rescue to scan for a microchip.
A Name, A Chip, And A Long Journey
The scan revealed a chip.
She belonged to a foster program through MatchDog Rescue. Her name was Ella, and she had been missing for two weeks. What stunned everyone was that her foster home was twelve miles away.
Ella had traveled all that distance to arrive in Karen’s Malvern garden.
“We were beyond thrilled,” Asher wrote. “I immediately contacted the number, and after they got over the initial shock, there were lots of happy tears and cries of joy. The president of the rescue came and took her back to her home to decompress and rest from her traumatic time on the run. She settled right in and has become a big couch potato.”
Ella is thriving now. Not long ago she was a frightened pup hiding beneath a bush shortly after giving birth. Today she is relaxed, loved, and safe.
At last she can rest, regain strength, and enjoy all the good things that were waiting for her.