Continued from Story of Izzy – Part 1

We never saw much of Izzy after the O’s were caught; it was more than a year before I got another call from a neighbor. She heard a distinct sharp yelping in the arroyo in front of her house. When she went to inspect, there were two very young pups stuck in a thorn bush. Above them was a den carved out of the rocks on the side of the hill. The ledge was narrow and the hill steep, so they must have misstepped and fallen down the hill. There was no mama to be found, so we weren’t sure at the time that it was Izzy. These two, Sasha and Sara were blonde and identical, mini-labs around 5 weeks old.

It was early February so they occupied our spare bathroom so we could keep them warm at night. It was 2 weeks later when the neighbor called again to say “there is another puppy!” They saw Izzy going back and forth from the den to her food stops. Then one morning when they looked out, the saw another blonde pup on the ledge. That is how we got Sally.

Knowing this had to stop, how could we catch Izzy so we could prevent yet another litter? But in early June, we saw her protected by two males and knew she was in heat again. I still had Sasha, one of the pups from her last litter.

My friend and one of our behavior specialists, Isaac, came and we walked the arroyos to see where they travelled. We tried to see where she might create her den for the birth of her babies. We even thought of getting a drone to see if we could spot her. Another neighbor who walks his dogs said he saw Izzy’s companion; the grey dog and he was by himself. That could only mean one thing, she was getting ready to have her babies.

We promote responsible pet ownership including spay and neuter, not only to stop having unwanted puppies born but to relieve the suffering that females like Izzy, undergo when they have litter after litter ravishing their bodies.  Your donation today will help to get some of these puppies into our Adoption Program and into loving homes.

To see the end of the Izzy story, mark your calendar to watch our Facebook Live event on November 19^th  at 11am MST, and see how Izzy’s life in the desert comes to a happy ending.

As soon as they were vaccinated and spay/neutered, we put them up for adoption. Before long we had applications for all of them. It is a bittersweet moment for rescuers when they watch the dogs that they raised, trained, and loved to go off to their new homes. But it makes room for the next litter…And as long as there are abandoned dogs like Izzy on the streets, there is always a next litter.

Puppies we rescue cost an average of $575 each. Some of the ways you can help include:

• $10 USD – vaccinates a dog;
• $25 USD – will spay or neuter a dog;
• $50 USD – feeds 3 dogs for a month;
• $100 USD – pays for needed surgeries

We are hoping to take in more rescued puppies this winter and need your help!

Watch for the next episode of Izzy’s adventures.