Owning a pet should mean a lifelong commitment, but sadly, not everyone sees it that way. Despite shelters working tirelessly to provide resources and help, some people still choose the cruelest option of all: abandonment.
In Ridgeway, Virginia, rescuers were left stunned when they discovered not one, not two, but eleven abandoned puppies.
Two separate litters had been dumped on the roadside and left to survive on their own. If it had not been for compassionate rescuers, the outcome for these fragile pups could have been tragic.
Left To Survive Alone
According to a Facebook post from the Henry County Animal Shelter in Virginia, animal officers were called about a group of puppies running loose on the road in Ridgeway.
Just hours later, another call came in about more puppies only a mile away.
“These 2 different litters deep in the woods scavenging for food. Only 1 mile apart from each other. Coincidence? We think not,” Henry County Animal Shelter said in their post.
The puppies were starving, frightened, and desperately searching for food. Officers spent the entire day working to rescue all eleven pups who had been abandoned in the woods.
The German Shepherd puppies were in heartbreaking condition. They were malnourished, crawling with ticks, and some tested positive for worms and parasites.
Two of the rescued pups were adopted right away, while the remaining nine were transferred to Virginia German Shepherd Rescue. Several foster families stepped in to care for them.
Six puppies were placed in one home, two in another, and one more went to a third. For a moment, it seemed like they were finally safe. But soon, difficult news followed.
A Fight For Their Lives
Within just a few days, five puppies tested positive for parvo, a dangerous and often fatal disease. They were rushed to the hospital for intensive treatment.
“If you end up getting a dog that gets Parvo, it’s going to be vomiting, having diarrhea, it needs to go into having emergency care 24/7, and there’s lots of dehydration and medications for pain. They have to be fed via tubes for nutrients because they’re not going to be eating. It’s a lot of day-to-day care,” Monja Vadnais, Virginia German Shepherd Rescue volunteer and foster, told WDBJ7.
The rescuers spent anxious days praying and fighting for the puppies’ survival.
After weeks of medical care and thousands of dollars spent, the pups finally began to recover. They were released from the hospital and started gaining strength again.
The next step is to help them grow healthier, put on weight, and prepare for adoption. Their rescuers are hopeful that from now on, their story will be filled with nothing but wagging tails and happy endings.
Once the puppies are completely healthy, they will be available for adoption through Virginia rescue.
Despite efforts to find whoever abandoned them, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office was unable to identify a suspect.
“If you’re going to own pets, you need to be responsible. They need to be cared for adequately. They should be treated more like a family member than just an animal to be dropped in the woods. Please don’t abandon your pets,” Sheriff Wayne Davis with the Henry County Sheriff’s Office told WDBJ7.