The kind and caring humans who devote their lives to helping animals have a huge responsibility. They’re there 24/7, rain or shine, for any animal in need. It isn’t just their job, for many people, it’s their lifelong passion.
When the state of Michigan was slammed with storms, two Michigan Humane Society workers got an alarming call about eleven puppies in danger. They streamed the rescue on Facebook Live in hopes to shed light on the grueling work they do, but this rescue ended up being more than they bargained for.
helping animals
Working as a rescuer for the Humane Society isn’t an easy job. Sure, you’re surrounded by like-minded animal lovers, but at any second you could be called on duty. A few rescuers recently learned this the hard way…
Two workers, Chris and Pam, of the Michigan Humane Society were used to facing tough situations. But they all paled in comparison to the most intense rescue of their lives in 2017.
Michigan Humane Society
Michigan had experienced unseasonal rainfall that summer and it caused state-wide flash flooding that crippled the state. Humans and animals alike needed all the help they could get.
So when the rescuers received a call that 12 dogs, 11 puppies, and their mother, endangered by the raging storms, they had no idea what to expect when they arrived on scene.
They chose to stream the rescue on Facebook Live as a “unique opportunity to show people what their support makes possible, and what [they] do every day.”
Michigan Humane Society
When Chris and Pam got there they couldn’t believe what they found. The mother had been separated from her puppies, who all needed immediate assistance if they were going to survive.
The 11 puppies were stuck inside of a hole. It appeared that there was no foul play involved and that the mother simply placed them there to protect her puppies from the storms.
YouTube
Unfortunately, in doing so, the mother unknowingly put her babies in danger since the rising flood water eventually entered the hole. The rapidly moving water was now posing a threat to drown them all.
Chris and Pam quickly set a trap to distract the mother so that they could get clear access to the hole. Chris immediately got down on his hands and knees to see if he could find the puppies…
They could hear the puppies, but upon further inspection of the hole, the rescuers realized the puppies were deeper in the ground than they had thought.
Chris was able to easily rescue the first three puppies as they seemingly moved to the front of the hole, but the rest of them were out of reach. Pam took the three puppies to the van, while Chris thought of another plan.
Michigan Humane Society
Chris began to dig his way into the hole. He was careful not to dig too fast since that could accidentally injure one of the puppies, or cause the hole to cave in. However, Chris needed to act fast or the rest would drown.
As Chris dug further he tried to talk to the puppies to coerce them out. Chris can be heard in the Facebook Live video saying, “Hi guys, it’s your Uncle Chris, come out and play.”
Michigan Humane Society
Chris attempted to lure the puppies out with food now that the hole was widened. Luckily this enticed five of the puppies to peep their heads out to take a whiff, allowing Chris to grab them. But what about the rest?
There were still three chatty puppies stuck inside! Chris went head deep into the hole as an attempt to grab the three remaining puppies. Finally, Chris was able to rescue all 11 puppies from underground.
Michigan Humane Society
The mother sensed that these kind humans had saved her puppies and allowed the team to rescue her along with her babies. All twelve were taken to the shelter to be warmed, cleaned, and vaccinated.
Michigan Humane Society
Word of this Facebook Live video quickly went viral. People were dying to know what happened to these stormy puppies and applications came flooding in to adopt them and their mother.
Michigan Humane Society
Twelve lucky families were soon selected to adopt the pooches! It only seemed fitting that adoption day was filmed, just like the day they were rescued. It was the perfect epilogue.
Michigan Humane Society
All of the families were seated in a room and handed a piece of paper with a number on it corresponding to the order they got to pick their new family member…
Michigan Humane Society
One by one the puppies met their “furever” families to start their new lives. The mother, Raina, was adopted also that day, proving that it wasn’t just the puppies who touched the rescuers.
Michigan Humane Society
The Michigan Humane Society felt it was important to share this rescue story with the world to shed light on the amazing work they do and that none of this would be possible without their loving community.
Michigan Humane Society
It’s important to support your local animal shelter because without it, rescues like this wouldn’t be possible. Remember to adopt, not shop.
Share this puppy rescue story with your friends.
