Nine puppies nearly got swept away by a storm but were saved thanks to their brave mama and a compassionate animal rescuer.
Alice was sitting in a parking lot waiting for her husband, Jeff, when a friend’s husband approached her. He asked if she was Alice and told her he’d seen a white shepherd on his logging trips two days in a row.
Alice, who runs Southern Pup, immediately recognized the location he described: a remote, wooded area outside her small town in Mississippi. The region spans 1,100 square miles but lacks both a shelter and animal control services.
Alice and Jeff decided to investigate. They drove to the area and soon spotted the dog on the side of a gravel road, deep in the woods. Upon closer examination, Alice could tell the dog had recently given birth. Her teats showed signs of nursing, but she was emaciated and not producing enough milk to feed her puppies. “There are no houses for miles and miles,” Alice explained. “This is gravel roads, woods, and hunting land.”
Alice offered the dog some food, which she devoured. After eating, the dog walked toward their truck and appeared to want them to follow her. AlAlice wasn’t going to pick up the mama if there were babies near by so they began to follow her. The dog didn’t want them to leave and started walking and kept looking over her shoulder to make sure they followed her.
The mama was clearly exhausted but she kept walking and walking when all of a sudden after about a mile she broke into a run. When Alice caught up, she discovered nine tiny puppies huddled in a ditch.
The mama was clearly relieved and so was Alice. Heavy storms and flash flooding were in the forecast, and Alice realized the urgency of the situation. “Within an hour that ditch would have filled up with water,” she said. They had found the puppies just before the heavy storms would have washed them away!
A few days after bringing the canine family home, Alice shared that their “Marathon Mama” remains “grateful” for her new lease on life.
And a few weeks after that Marathon’s pups are starting to play.
Southern Pup, a 501c3 registered charity, will look after Marathon and her puppies until they are old enough to be adopted.
Below is Alice’s full video of her rescue of Marathon.
Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links.