MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI – When Twin Lake citizen Anna Hollar and her family opened their door on a cold and snowy January day, they were amazed to see a dog and its little puppy huddled on their patio.
Hollar had actually seen the dog around her house for 4 days, shivering in the cold, prior to the puppy all of a sudden appeared Jan. 27.
She wished to help, however the roaming dog was skittish and kept up the puppy. It took staff with Pound Buddies animal shelter to confine the brand-new mama, discovering her and the puppy with umbilical cable still connected.
Hollar stated the story for MLive.
On Jan. 24, Hollar discovered the cams on the exterior of her house went off, notifying the family that something was prowling through their yard.
Usually, the cams go off when the school bus rounds the corner, however it was method too early, she said. Jumping up from the convenience of her bed, Hollar hurried to inspect the electronic camera video simply as sharp wails started to fill the air.
“I went to the front door and looked through the glass, and she was standing there with a hat in her mouth,” she said. “I bent down to see if I could see if she had a towel or anything like that, but she lunged at the door and growled. She took off right away, and I was like, ‘Oh, that was weird.’”
Hollar said the dog returned the next night, and the next and the next. She wasn’t coming near the patio once again, however still set the cams off all week, she said.
The week was a snowy one for West Michigan, with a number of inches of snowfall.
On Friday, Jan. 27, Hollar said her partner was leaving after working from home all the time when he saw the dog laying on their patio with a little puppy tucked under her.
“She had taken two pillows from the chairs and put them together and laid down on top of them, putting her baby right under her so she could keep her warm,” Hollar informed MLive/Muskegon Chronicle.
Hollar said she had actually been talking with Muskegon animal shelter Pound Buddies all week, going over whether to have the dog got.
After viewing the dog entrust her puppy towards the woods, Hollar said she was worried and called the non-emergency number for 911 after not having the ability to reach Pound Buddies.
“It was so cold and snowy that week,” she said. “We knew that we were going to have to tramp through the woods or something. I’m sure she had other babies, but we were just concerned for her. If we couldn’t save any of the babies, at least for her.”
Hollar said she was stressed the puppy wasn’t even alive. Once Pound Buddies chose them up, she said they contacted us to assure the puppy was undoubtedly alive and safe with its mama.
Lana Carson, executive director of the shelter at 3279 E Laketon Ave., said as soon as staff got to Hollar’s home, the dog was grumbling a little in the beginning.
“Not aggressive in any way,” Carson said. “But she had her newborn baby, so they gave her some treats. Next thing I know, they are sending me pictures of her and the baby in the van.”
Carson said the dog is presently going through a refeeding program to gain weight due to the fact that of serious malnourishment. The puppy, when discovered, had the umbilical cable still connected, she said.
“It was probably a day old maybe at most, and it’s just the one puppy,” she said. “Her emaciated state was not only just from being a momma, but a lack of nutrition. It would be very unusual for her to leave them without taking the others, so we assume that they had already passed.”
Pound Buddies chose to call the dog Olive and her puppy Uno due to the fact that she was discovered with simply one puppy out of the litter.
Carson said Olive appears like a mix in between a Mastiff and a Rottweiler, while Uno is all black with a bit of a tan on it.
“She is so sweet and taking great care of her baby,” she said. “She loves attention from people, and she is just by all means a really great dog and mama.”
The next actions are to continue to keep them in observation for a minimum of 8 weeks, Carson said. Olive still needs to get purified, vaccinations and blood work done given that she is still underweight.
“We just need to get the momma stress-free, get her weight up and keep her relaxed so that she’s comfortable with us handling her and her baby,” Carson said. “We’re kind of in it for the long haul on this one, but that’s okay. We’ll make sure she’s good and healthy.”
After Olive ends up nursing, Pound Buddies will deal with separating Olive from Uno as another part of the procedure prior to opening them up for adoption.
To remain upgraded on their development, see Pound Buddies’ Facebook page.
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