“Our community stepped up in a massive way” ❤️
A Heartwarming Rescue: 11 Abandoned Puppies Saved
It was around 9 a.m., two hours before opening, when the staff at Great Plains SPCA (GPSPCA) received a frantic message from a concerned community member. The Good Samaritan had found an abandoned crate at an intersection in Shawnee, Kansas, and was shocked to discover 11 puppies trapped inside.
The Good Samaritan had no idea how long the puppies had been confined, but they knew the tiny litter was in immediate danger due to the busy location and impending weather.
Urgent Action Taken
“It is a fairly busy road, and they were rescued right before we got a massive downpour of rain in our area,” said Victoria Roland-Vaughn, GPSPCA’s social media coordinator. “They had nothing to protect them from the elements. No food or water…”
Thankfully, the Good Samaritan refused to let them suffer on the busy street corner. They scooped the puppies up and rushed them to GPSPCA’s headquarters.
Shelter Staff’s Immediate Concerns
The shelter staff welcomed the puppies but had immediate concerns for their other residents. These 6-week-old puppies were particularly vulnerable, and with several sick animals living at the shelter, GPSPCA wanted to avoid exposing them to any illnesses.
“With parvo-positive puppies already onsite and ten other puppies exposed to that deadly disease, we simply could not keep more young dogs at our shelter for their safety,” Roland-Vaughn explained.
Community Rallying Together
The staff posted a plea on social media for emergency fosters and placed the puppies in a shared kennel as far away from any sick animals as possible. Exhausted from their ordeal, the young litter was ready to take a much-needed group nap.
“All of these pups are filthy and exhausted, and they immediately fell asleep once they realized they were safe,” GPSPCA wrote on Facebook.
While the puppies slept, their new friends combed their community for potential foster homes. Miraculously, overnight, 6 of the 11 pups found foster homes together. However, the remaining five puppies went unclaimed, eagerly begging every visitor who walked by their kennel for a chance.
A few hours and a couple of applications later, the rest of the pups found joint foster homes to decompress in. Finally, the entire litter was safe, and the staff at GPSPCA could breathe a sigh of relief.
A Bright Future Ahead
“Our community stepped up in a massive way,” Roland-Vaughn said. The puppies will spend the next three weeks in foster care until they are big enough to be neutered and adopted. During this time, the rambunctious babies will continue to enjoy each other’s company, whether napping or wrestling.
“Now that these pups are in foster care, they are blossoming into the happiest puppies you’ve ever seen,” Roland-Vaughn noted. “You would never know that they went through a terrifying few hours from how playful and loving they all are.”
The GPSPCA staff look forward to seeing each puppy find their perfect forever home soon. Despite their heartbreaking origin story, the puppies now have bright futures ahead of them — an outcome that GPSPCA believes couldn’t have happened without the support of their fantastic community.
“It’s thanks to their dedication and love for our shelter pets that we can see these puppies frolic and learn what it means to be loved,” Roland-Vaughn added.