A newborn puppy is helpless, trusting his doggy mom to shelter him. But when three tiny 10-day-old puppies were tossed into a bag and thrown into a dumpster, it took a kind human to rescue them. Meet dog foster mom Claire Fowler, who took the baby puppies into her heart and into her home, reported KVUE News .
Fowler is a volunteer with DFW Rescue Me, located in the Dallas area. The all-volunteer non-profit organization seeks to give dogs of all ages a new leash on life by fostering homeless animals and seeking good homes.
While Claire has volunteered for the organization for only two years, she has fostered more than 96 puppies. And when she agreed to become the human mom for the 10-day-old puppies, Fowler vowed to do all that she could to enhance their physical and mental health.
And to those who think that this is a once-in-a-lifetime tragedy, Claire has sad news.
“These are not our first dumpster puppies,” she said.
Abandoned dogs and cats of all ages are typically brought to the Dallas Animal Shelter in Claire’s area. However, because these puppies were only 10 days only and the shelter lacks an overnight staff, someone needed to bottle-feed them every two hours.
Alerted that the tiny puppies would lose their lives unless a volunteer offered to become their human mommy, Claire instantly said yes. Because they were so small, she took all three (one boy and two girls) so they could stay together for companionship until adopted.
Not everyone is up to the challenge of raising newborn puppies, emphasized the DFW Rescue Me. But warm, soothing baths, like the one shown in the video that the rescue group created, help.
“It takes a very special person to foster bottle babies. It isn’t just a matter of feeding them every 2 hours and keeping them clean. You pretty much have to do it all. We try to make it as close to a mother’s care as we can get. Never a replacement, but as close as we can come. Warm baths help.”
And the baby boy puppy looks ecstatic over his bath time. Just like typical little girls, Claire admitted that his baby puppy sisters are more demanding during their baths.
The nonprofit DFW Rescue Me emphasizes that it is not a shelter and runs only on donations. They also have a Web store to help support themselves.
Hoping to find “furever” homes for the holidays, many pet rescues have joined together for the annual Home for the Holidays pet-adoption drive , reported the Queen Anne News .
The pet adoption event began in 1999 with the Helen Woodward Animal Center in California and 13 other animal shelters. Since then, more than 9.3 million families have adopted pets during the holiday season.
Some nonprofit pet adoption groups and humane shelters also are holding events where pet parents can bring their dogs and cats for photos with Santa Paws.
“People just love getting a photo of their pets with Santa,” said Woods Humane Society Executive Director Cory Karpin. “It’s amazing, we have a line out the door all day long.”
[Photo By China Photos/Getty Images]