Noah’s Hope: The Puppy Dilemma

When the calendar says January in Iowa, you know there’s a lot of winter still to come, but this past mild week has given us a touch of spring fever. It’s also due to the puppies that have been born in the rescue recently. Nothing says spring like newborns, and we now have three nursing mamas and thirty-six pups!

One of the mothers, a stray in rural Nebraska, came to us last Thursday evening. She went into labor Friday morning, delivering nine pretty babies by nightfall. We were delighted to get her in before she had her puppies. Often when dogs have litters outside, many if not all of the pups die from exposure and predators.

Of course we’re always happy to have puppies, but they make us a little sad, too, because many perfectly wonderful older dogs will be passed over for homes as a result of the puppies.

People often think they want a puppy. They walk right by the older dogs to get to the cuties when sometimes these people would be happier with an older dog. We see it happen all the time: a family gets a cute little puppy. She grows up and loses some of her cuteness. She might even be ill behaved because nobody has trained her. So the family puts the dog on a chain in the back yard. Or worse. They dump the dog on a country road, or surrender her at a shelter where overcrowding may force the operators to euthanize her.

We have even seen people turn in an older dog to a shelter and leave with a new puppy. They seem to think it’s like trading in a car. Not long ago we watched as a man came into Petsmart with his new puppy, the cutest little lab you can imagine. He was so proud of his pup. He bought him a collar and food and took the dog home.

About a year later we got a call about this dog. When he grew up, the man lost interest in him. He wasn’t as cute any more, and he tied him up in the back yard and forgot about him. He also forgot to change his collar. His puppy-size collar dug into his neck and left a raw, gaping wound that looked like a bloody necklace. (This lab is fine today, thanks to our vets and volunteers who nursed him back to health and found him a good home.)

Yes, puppies make us joyful and sad at the same time. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t have any unwanted canine pregnancies. All dogs would be adopted and loved. All puppies would grow up in warm, loving homes where they would be valuable members of the family. Even when they were very old and white-whiskered, they would be loved unconditionally. And when it was time to leave this world, the people who loved them would hold their paws as they crossed over.

No, it’s not a perfect world. But we can work toward it every day.

By the way, we need puppy food. We’re really low. And puppy pads (what goes in must come out). Donations can be dropped off Thursday through Saturday.

Noah’s Hope Animal Rescue (and Thrift Store)
2601 Myrtle St.
Sioux City, IA 51103

712-253-8394

Or visit our Facebook page or website for more information:

https://www.facebook.com/NoahsHopeAnimalRescue

www.noahshopeanimalrescue.com

Noah’s Hope Animal Rescue is an all-volunteer, 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. We rescue the underdogs: the old, the sick and injured, the used-up by breeders, the forsaken and misunderstood. We nurse them, bring them back from the brink, and give them another chance. We believe they make the very best pets because somehow, they understand and are grateful.