When they arrived, the volunteers spotted the dog, who they named Hopper, watching them nervously from behind a fence. Her physical condition was a shock. ”She had lost almost all of her fur,” the charity wrote on Facebook. Despite being obviously hungry, Hopper refused to let anyone get near her. The rescuers set up a safe, humane trap, which she eventually walked into.
Once Hopper was safe, the team noticed that she kept looking towards a nearby shed. Following the farmer through the mud, the volunteers went inside. And there, tucked away comfortably in a pile of dry hay, they discovered Hopper's secret: three tiny puppies.
A mother's sacrifice
The rescue team was in awe of this mother's intelligence. Despite a severe skin condition that left her without fur to protect herself from the cold, she had managed to keep her babies completely warm and dry during the storm. ”This mum gave her babies everything she had,” the shelter wrote emotionally.
Back at the centre, the little family immediately received medical treatment and a lovely warm bath to clean their coats. For Hopper, this was a turning point. ”It was the first time in her life that someone had taken care of her. At first, she was nervous about being touched, but she eventually relaxed and snuggled up to us.”
A peaceful place to recover
So that the little family could thrive away from the stress of the shelter, a local animal advocate, Randy Morgan, and his wife Debi, agreed to foster them all. The three puppies were named Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail, after the famous rabbits in Beatrix Potter's tales.
In this quiet and peaceful home, Hopper can now nurse her little ones in peace. The charity, which is closely monitoring her progress, can't wait to see this brave mum get back to full health, watch her fur grow back, and see her true personality finally shine through, before she and her puppies are ready for their forever homes.