Pregnant Stray - I need advice on how to help her!

[atina33]

Hello all.

As the title says, there is a pregnant stray shepherd mix in my neighborhood. I've been leaving her food & water since yesterday but so far haven't been able to get close. She's got her tail behind her legs so she is very scared.

I'm no vet but she appears ready to "pop" any day. Do you think I'll have better luck catching her after the puppies are born? I'm thinking that IF I can find her after she gives birth, I could take the puppies and she would follow. In the meantime, I'm thinking of just trying to get her used to me.

Any advice on this horrible situation? I have very little time to devote to this mission as I have two youngs kids at home but I'm doing my best. Anyone in the mid-city area of LA willing to help out (near Pico/Western)?

Thanks.

A.

[lizbud]

How responsive is your local Animal Care & Control group? Very few people
have the time & resources to devote to helping strays, but if you have a
friend who could help you. Getting her confined to a fenced yard would be
a big help. Maybe, calling a any rescue groups to pick her up before she
delivers would be ideal. Best of luck finding help for this neglected girl.

[atina33]

Unfortunately, it appears that she has moved on. I haven't seen her for a few days now. I just HOPE that someone is able to pull and and her future puppies off the street. So sad.

As for Animal Services here in LA, they do their best but are SORELY understaffed. It really burns me up seeing our tax dollars go to...(well, I'll leave that hot topic alone as this is not the appropriate forum) but if you know LA and how it has changed over the years you know what I am talking about.

Safe travels to the little mama.

[Karen]

Hopefully someone else found her and got her to safety. Thanks for caring!

[atina33]

or actually she probably never left. I saw her today and then knocked on the door of the home where I think she is hiding out. A man answered and said he was aware of her presence and that her puppies were born maybe 2 weeks ago. She has them in the back in a little ditch (I didn't see them but he thought there might be 4 or 5).

He has agreed to let me try to get her out but given that she has puppies, I'm a little reluctant to attempt the job myself (plus with 2 toddlers at home, I'm very limited on time for this).

I've called animal services and hopefully they will get her this week. I called them today but they never did make it; will try again tomorrow. In the meantime, I am leaving food & water out for her. Why the owners of the house don't do it is beyond me. The man's wife felt sad for the dog & her puppies but she claimed that "god will provide for them." Huh???!

Wish me luck!

[Karen]

Good luck. Did it not ever occur to the woman that God may have meant for her to help provide for them?

[Lady's Human]

Agreed. God provides, but normally through mortal hands.

[Ginger's Mom]

I have just found this thread, and atina, I must say that I am very impressed by your concern and caring for this stray dog. Thank you so much for trying to help her. Unfortunately, too many people have the same feeling as the people in the house near where she had her puppies. I agree with Lizbud, in saying that if your animal control is stretched too thin, you may have more success with a German Shepherd rescue group. Good luck and please keep us informed.

[atina33]

Still calling Animal Services daily to come get here. They are just slammed with emergencies so I'll try again tomorrow (day 4). Luckily, homeowner still being patient.

I'm going to tell Animal Svcs that she is getting aggressive/protective which is what the homeowner told me. That usually gets AS out there faster.

I'm losing sleep over this situation; wishing I could do more.

Sigh,

A.

[atina33]

The dog and 5 puppies have been retrieved from the backyard of the home! After numerous calls to Animal Services, someone finally came out yesterday BUT the officer failed to catch the mom.

This was actually a good thing because in the meantime I was working the internet and got connected to a man who offered to come help out. He showed up today and I met him there, with my two-year old in tow. He got the mom quite easily and I fished the 5 adorable, chubby puppies out from a crevice against the wall. How they got around, I'll never know. Anyway, he took them off to the shelter and he's going to network with some rescue groups to get them out of there and adopted out. The mom too.

I am so happy about this ending, my heart is going to burst! The hero in this story is working on starting his own rescue group and I'm certainly going to be a donor!

Good luck to the little mom and her 5 adorable babies!

[atina33]

Remember the man's crazy wife who said God will provide for the dogs? She cursed us out and said we were going to go to hell. Ok, lady. You were the one who did NOTHING for these poor animals. Didn't even provide water.

[Moesha]

Great news! Thanks for doing what you could to help this dear one in need.

[lizbud]

Great news. I'm so glad you did all possible & followed through to get
help for the momma & the puppies. Good job.

[clara4457]

I was fearful that if you told Animal Services the mom was getting aggressive that they would immediately euthanize the mom. Like what mom wouldn't be aggressive if they thought their babies were in danger

Good JOB!!!

[lizbud]

I was fearful that if you told Animal Services the mom was getting aggressive that they would immediately euthanize the mom. Like what mom wouldn't be aggressive if they thought their babies were in danger

Good JOB!!!

I had the same thought, but I'm happy it all turned out well.