A couple weeks ago I was enjoying a nice quiet, for once, Saturday afternoon when my phone started blowing up from three different people begging me to go check out a situation with numerous puppies in poor living conditions. I was originally told there were likely over 30 puppies in need of immediate rescue. I immediately thought that's way beyond what I can handle by myself and was going to suggest reporting it to animal control and let them handle it. Well, not more than 30 minutes later and after talking to a couple people, curiosity got the best of me and I agreed to just go check things out. I told myself I was just going to look and see who I can refer them to, to get the proper help. Driving down a dirt road by myself, nearing dusk, following someone in a car ahead of me I didn't know, I kept thinking what the hell did I get myself into! After 10 minutes there I said I would be back on Monday morning to take them all! While I have seen worse living conditions, this was still no way for 23 puppies to be living.

Things quickly got out of hand when the owners three females got pregnant by one visiting male dog resulting in three litters with over 30 pups, some had already been given away. Rescues can't stress enough the importance of spay and neuter. While the owners had no intentions of breeding or having puppies, it goes to show how quickly things can get out of control. Luckily the puppies were all well fed and  friendly, they just never experienced the world outside this property.

Once back home I quickly got on the phone with Alyce and a plan was made. In 24 hours she was able to secure enough foster homes and drove 3.5 hours north early Monday morning to meet me in Tehama Co. After a long day and night of continuous rain on Sunday we were nervous as to what the conditions would now be. We showed up to puppies shivering and damp, huddled into the corner of their outside kennels covered in mud and their own feces. Thankfully things went as smooth as we could have hoped and in one hour we had successfully removed 23 puppies ranging from 3 - 4.5 months old off the property. 

Back in Redwood City, Karen jumped in to help and our assembly line was formed. Vaccinate, photograph, clean up and pass onto to their eagerly awaiting foster. All 23 pups, litters A, B and C are all doing amazing. Each one's personality is shining through, they are loving the attention and constant cuddles. Many of the fosters have reported the same things - they love to play fetch, super gentle and love affection. Most are now available for adoption and you can see their current progress in their albums.

Now that the pups are all safe and doing well, we can focus on the important task of spay and neuter. We have been working with animal control on the situation and covering the costs to alter the three moms as soon as possible. Having a portion of our yearly budget go to community assistance is such an important part of rescue and we are happy to jump in to help private citizens when we can.

We decided to try something a little different here and give everyone a glimpse into our daily lives of rescue. It's not always puppy kisses and playtime. We hope to share the good, bad and ugly with you all. Our days start from the minute we wake up to usually the minute our heads hit the pillow. From hundreds of emails a day, medical emergencies, daily care of our own fosters, there is usually never a dull moment. We hope you enjoy some of the stuff you generally don't see or hear about and get a better idea of the rescue world.