Title: Winter Home
Artist: Donna Lochmann
Medium: Digital Photograph with Repurposed Wooden Window Frame
Dimensions: 19" x 24"
I had been seeing this male for a bit when I went to feed. He was not in bad shape and because there was no space at the shelter, I really needed to keep an eye on him until I could rescue him. Pretty soon, I realized he had a female friend with him. She was already looking a little "round" so trying to figure out a rescue plan needed to happen sooner than later. Part of the problem was that after I started to see them together, they weren't super consistent about where they would pop up, so I wouldn't see them on a regular basis.
I got word that she had actually had her puppies, but we didn't know where. A community member had said that both dogs were coming to her house every morning, and she would feed them. So, we sat at her house one morning and sure enough, they showed up like a happy couple just going for morning breakfast.
After she finished eating, she trotted off down the road, so we trailed behind. We made sure to stay far enough back that we didn't spook her. She walked down the road, crossed a busy street, and kept going until she cut through a couple houses. I got around to the next street over and there she was, heading back to a very familiar abandoned house. Through the years, I had pulled a few litters out from under this house. The problem became that the guy who lived next door was not a very nice man. And he definitely didn't like me because I had taken "his puppies" from under this house before.
I could hear her barking at me when I went to the opening of the crawl space, but she sounded so far away. I figured she just had them way on the other end of the space under the house. The other obstacle to overcome was dad. He would sit near the house and bark to protect mom and puppies. I was able to set my trailcam up under the house so I could keep track of mom and dad coming and going.
I knew the puppies were under the house, so I set two traps and got lucky enough to get both parents quickly. We loaded them into our cars so they wouldn't bark and because the temps were freezing. I maneuvered into the crawl space and made my way to the farthest part (which would have been the front of the house). There was no sign of the puppies, and I never heard them crying. I crawled from one end to the other searching under that house. I started thinking I had been wrong about the location of the puppies. But if I was, why was mom always going in/out from under the house? I searched everywhere and even found some small tunnels, but still no puppies. I went back towards the front part of the house and finally noticed a hole in the floor leading up into the actual house. I squeezed through and saw the front room of the house full of insulation and building supplies. Mom was smart!!! It had been some of the coldest temps this winter and mom had the puppies in a cocoon of insulation. I peeked inside, and there were the puppies. Finally! I pulled them out one by one and put them in a small carrier. Mom sure had done a great job feeding and taking care of them!
With puppies in tow inside the carrier, I crawled back to the opening and headed for the warm jeep. Mom and puppies were reunited and went to a foster home. Dad only spent a couple days at the shelter and left for foster as well. His foster family fell in love and adopted him. Mom and all puppies have since been adopted, too.
Local Pick Up Only
