Winter is the hardest period of the year for all the stray dogs living outside. With no shelter and quality food to help them cope with freezing temperatures, many of these four-legged furballs end up fighting for their bare lives.
One such case comes from St. Louis, Missouri, where a group of giant-hearted rescuers heard about a whole family of doggos hiding in an abandoned house.
Being cut off from normal living conditions, this momma dog and her babies were facing the point of no return. Freezing, starving, and with no proper roof above their head, all this family wanted was a warm, cozy place to stay.
The Last-Minute Miracle
Donna Lochmann, a long-time dog rescuer of Stray Rescue of St. Louis, got notified from one of the locals about a pregnant dog living in an abandoned house nearby.
“We followed paw prints through the snow to an abandoned building where a Good Samaritan said they saw a pregnant dog. The single digit freezing temperatures were dangerous and would be deadly to newborns,” Stray Rescue of St. Louis wrote on Facebook.
Donna and the team immediately headed to the said place. After a thorough search through an abandoned house, they finally spotted a dog curled up in the corner – with her six puppies!
To their shock, this kind momma already gave birth and she somehow managed to keep her babies warm in the freezing cold.
“Our fingers and toes hurt from the cold, we can’t believe this resilient little family survived as long as they did,” they added in their Facebook post.
All the puppies were shivering and trying to warm themselves with their momma’s body, but the house was just too cold.
Off To A New Start
As they had planned, Donna and the team leashed the mom first, so her babies would follow. Even though she was quite scared and reluctant at first, she eased up the moment she realized she and her pups were safe.
The momma, later named Grammys, was successfully pulled out of the house with her six tiny, award-winning babies who were symbolically named: Emmys, Oscars, SAG, Golden Globes, BAFTA, and Tonys.
After the initial checkup at the vet, the entire family was sent to a foster home where they received all the care they needed.
Once they set their paws into a warm place, the family immediately warmed up and started coming out of their shell. This was the first moment ever these poor lovebugs felt the coziness of a loving home – and they just loved it!
“Look how cozy and spread out they are now that they are safe and warm in a foster home. That abandoned house they were in felt even colder than the freezing air outside,” the SRSL team wrote on Facebook.
The foster family will make sure to provide the dogs with as much TLC as possible. After all the hardship they have been through, there’s no doubt that it will take some time for them to learn how to trust and behave around humans.
Once they are completely recovered and strong enough, Grammys and her pups will be available for adoption.
Hopefully, their very next destination will be a wonderful family and a forever home filled with lots of love and endless adventures!