Animal rescue group K9 Crusaders knew that a dog named Noelle had a tragic story when they took her from a kill shelter where someone had dropped her off, claiming they had found her as a stray.
She had obviously just given birth even though she was emaciated. “She had obviously been feeding her babies, but nobody had been feeding her,” the Canadian rescue K9 wrote on Facebook.
The question was, where were her babies? K9 Crusaders set out to work with the local animal rescues to try and track down the puppies.
K9 Crusaders wrote: “On December 7th, Noelle’s profile came to us from a QC gas pound where she had been surrendered by someone who claimed to have found her as a stray. She was fully engorged and still producing milk and it was obvious this poor Mama had clearly been ripped away from her babies in a big hurry. She was so distraught, her haunting eyes and sad plight left very few unbroken hearts among those of us who read her story.”
“She arrived to us the following day and she was skin on bones…weighing in at just over 30lbs, at least 15-20 lbs shy of a healthy weight, and every single rib was easily visible. She had obviously been feeding her babies, but nobody had been feeding her.”
K9 Crusaders
“Noelle’s sweet and gentle disposition immediately won over everyone she met, from the shelter staff to the transport drivers, to the medical staff, our own volunteers and of course her foster family. We all felt her pain, every single time we looked into her eyes and there was no question that she was missing her babies.
“Of course many of you expressed concern for the puppies, wondering if they had been discarded, and whether they were safe.
“Well the amazing folks who work in rescue were all quietly on the same page, and thankfully, on December 12th, Noelle’s story took a very dramatic turn when a highly suspicious ad was spotted on a buy and sell page, which included a photo of Noelle and her puppies.
The poster claimed that Noelle had passed away since giving birth, and that they were now trying to find homes for her puppies, but of course the truth was far more sinister, as the profile of the person selling these pups was the very same person who had left Noelle at the shelter to die.”
K9 Crusaders
“Our phenomenal rescue coordination team in QC sprung into action, contacting us immediately to confirm that the photo posted was in fact our Noelle…and without a doubt, it was.
“Together, we worked through the night to save them all, by negotiating a mass purchase of the remaining 8 of her 9 puppies that had not yet sold. They were estimated to be barely 5-6 weeks old, far too young to be separated so suddenly from their mother. The owner’s of course, had no idea who we were, they just saw dollar signs and agreed to let us buy them up all at once with no questions asked.”
K9 Crusaders
“Following the advice of the authorities we successfully completed the purchase, and thanks to one very special volunteer, Noelle and her puppies were reunited only hours later. It was a moment NONE of us will forget.”
Below is a video of the heartwarming reunion.
The puppies, Annabelle, Mia, Oliver, Leia, Jake, Caro, Joey and Holly have all gone on to forever families as has Noelle! Noelle ended up with her foster family. The group says, “It seems she has wiggled her way into their hearts…so much so, that they have no doubt she is right where she belongs!”
What an incredible story. Share Noelle and her reunion with her puppies with your family and friends!
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