Imagine giving everything you have to protect your children, even endangering your own life to ensure that they will live. That’s the true test of a good parent. And Squad Dog Taffy more than passed the test. She is a shining example of what it means to be a good mother. Here’s her story.

Recently, ADS volunteers traveled to an animal shelter in a rural area of eastern Georgia. They were on a mission to rescue three young black Labs that had been put on the urgent list. As volunteers often do, they walked the shelter with the employees to see all of the dogs who needed to find a permanent home. On this particular Sunday, the shelter was overflowing because more than 30 dogs had been surrendered or collected by animal control in the past two days. It was a very bad week – and all too typical.

As the volunteers were ending their tour (after seeing more than a dozen other dogs they would have liked to have pulled), the employee took them back through the shelter’s laundry room. Sitting in the middle of the floor was a crate with a yellow dog and several small pups. It was clear that the pups were only 2-3 weeks old. The employee explained that this poor dog had been a pregnant stray who had wandered up to an older couple’s home. They tried to help her after she delivered six yellow pups – but it was just too much for them. They decided her best chance for survival was to go to the shelter, along with her remaining five pups. One little pup didn’t even make it to the shelter.

The ADS volunteers immediately fell in love with this retriever mix, who was so emaciated that she could barely stand up to leave the crate. It was easy to see that she had once been a beautiful Lab or Golden mix. Although her face had traces of white, it seemed this was a sign of a stressful life rather than a sign of old age. The miracle was that her pups all appeared to be happy, healthy little bundles of joy. Following her maternal instincts, she had somehow been able to feed the babies even though she was literally starving. The ADS volunteers left the shelter vowing to find a way to help this wonderful mother and her pups.

Fast forward two weeks. With the support of an awesome couple who offered to foster the sweet mother and pups, Taffy and her little ones are safe and happy in a loving home. Her foster parents named the mother Taffy, because she is so sweet and had been pulled in so many different directions over her brief life.

Update:

We’re happy to report that Taffy is finally starting to put on a little weight and has begun to relax a bit in her new home. The pups are definitely feeling fantastic – getting into everything like all good retriever pups do. Watch the ADS site for their photos very soon, as they will be ready for adoption in just a couple of weeks.

Although Taffy is back on the road to being a healthy dog, she’ll have to go through heartworm treatment once the pups are weaned and she can physically undergo the treatment. ADS is committed to helping this dog who survived so much to give her pups a better life. If you are interested in helping sponsor Taffy on her journey to becoming a healthy dog, please consider a donation on her behalf through PayPal or by sending a donation to Atlanta Dog Squad at PO Box 767188, Roswell, GA 30076.

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