Anyone who rescues dogs, or simply adores them, knows that you never really plan the moment when compassion pushes you toward a pet who needs help.
Donna Lochmann, Chief Life Saving Officer at Stray Rescue of St.Louis, Missouri, understands that feeling better than most.
While she was out driving with her team, her attention locked onto a painful sight, a mother dog curled tightly against the ground, trying her hardest to keep her puppies warm.
The tiny family pressed their bodies together next to an abandoned house, quietly holding on and waiting for someone to notice them and bring them out of the cold.
A Shivering Family Hoping For Help
Donna and another team member pulled over without thinking twice.
The freezing weather made it clear that this mama could not keep her little ones protected much longer, no matter how hard she tried. Nobody could tell how long they had been stuck outside, exposed to the wind and cold beside the empty house.
The rescuers placed a humane trap nearby and set out food, hoping the smell would encourage the mother to walk in.
From a little distance, they watched hunger slowly win over her caution. Shivering and starving, the mama stepped into the trap right away, and with her finally secured, Donna and her team turned their attention to the babies.
The pups had squeezed themselves into a low crawl space, which made reaching them a bit complicated.
Still, Donna’s team had done rescues like this many times. She carefully pulled each puppy out, making sure they stayed calm, then carried them one by one into the warm car where their mom waited.
The trio of boys looked surprisingly plump and healthy, and they seemed relieved to be gathered up at last.
Meeting Chipmunk And Her Three Little Boys
Everyone immediately noticed how round the pups were, laughing as they pointed out their huge bellies. The family soon received names, the mother was called Chipmunk, and her boys became Alvin, Simon, and Theodore.
From the start, the Stray Rescue team could not help spoiling them with attention, giving the happy newcomers gentle squeezes and endless affection.
The rescue story got even sweeter.
Soon after being pulled from the cold, Chipmunk and her pups were moved into a foster home, where a kind foster mom was already prepared to care for them around the clock.
“We got the whole family out of the freezing cold, we had a foster hero ‘on deck’ ready to take them in – and these are the cutest, fattest puppies in the world! Meet Chipmunk and her boys, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore,” the Missouri rescue wrote in a video.
Now that they are cozy and cared for, Chipmunk and her babies are starting their new indoor life together. When the time is right, each pup and their brave mom will be searching for a permanent family.
For now, everyone can simply enjoy how charming they are, especially those chunky pups and their determined mother who won so many hearts the moment they were found.