The lives of 11 dogs have been saved thanks to some inquisitive teens who saw someone dump a garbage bag at the end of their long, Arizona driveway. The dogs would have quickly suffocated, but the boys brought them inside and called Animal Rescue Friends. Now two adult dogs and nine puppies need forever homes.
“On Sunday night, our director Debbie Yarbrough received a call from a family near Tonopah [Arizona] that had 11 dogs that needed immediate placement…an older Lab/border collie mix Mama, her 9 five-week-old puppies and a very thin one-year-old Chihuahua. Once we heard the story we knew we had to take ownership of all 11 dogs and get them vetted and to safety,” said Lisa Walter, Assistant Director of Animal Rescue Friends.
“The family, who lives in a very rural area, said their teenaged sons were outside in their yard when they witnessed an older pick-up truck slow at the end of their long dirt driveway….they then opened the truck door and rolled out what looked like a large trash bag and then drove off. The teens went down to investigate, saw the large tied up trash bag and opened the bag and found the mama dog, her nine puppies and the little Chihuahua. All were alive, but obviously very hot, dehydrated and scared and confused.”
The family brought them inside, gave them food and water, and called ARF.
“I think you really have to have a sick mind to do that, I can’t ever imagine doing that,” said Debbie Yarbrough of ARF. “We took care of getting them bathed and started on the vetting process with them with shots today and deworming.”
“Mama dog, Cookie, appeared lethargic, dehydrated, still bleeding from her delivery of her puppies weeks ago and reeked of infection,” Walter said. “The puppies appeared underweight and a bit dehydrated, but all in all, pretty healthy looking and happy. The chihuahua appeared in fair condition but very, very thin.”
“Our director, Debbie Yarbrough and a volunteer Michelle Meyer, immediately took puppies and the chi to safety and rushed mama dog to the Animal ER where she was rehydrated, given antibiotics and pain meds, and she had NUMEROUS tests and lab work done that evening. She is still undergoing care for her infection but is resting comfortably in a temporary foster home at this time. We are still investigating the cause of her systemic infection, there is a possibility of kidney issues but not certain at this time. Further vetting will hopefully help to determine what all of her medical needs will be.”
Volunteers are fostering all the puppies, but each of the dogs needs a home. One of the puppies has a birth defect, and will require surgery and special care.
“One puppy, the smallest of the bunch named Lucky Charm, does have a birth defect…her right front leg is severely deformed with a very small, nonfunctional fifth leg growing from it,” Walter explained. “This leg will require surgical intervention, and quite possibly an amputation, but down the road when she has gained weight, grown and is at 100%. She will require a very special adoptive home that will understand she is special and will require maybe a bit more care than a “normal” puppy/dog. We anticipate her vetting for her leg will reach into the thousands.
“As you can imagine, this is a large undertaking for our rescue but one we are very happy to help with. We can always use foster families, adopters, volunteers and donations. (We are an approved 501(c)3 organization and all donations are tax deductible). Pictures of the dogs and updates are available on our Facebook page. Anyone interested in applying to foster or adopt any of the dogs, or any of our other ARF dogs, may do so on our website.
