Tuesday November 28th, 2023. Baltimore, MD.
The state of Alabama has one of the highest dog euthanasia rates in the county. Due to these high rates, North Alabama and surrounding areas are overwhelmed with abandoned, abused, and neglected animals. Public shelters are overrun and without no-kill shelters like HASRA to fill the gap, these unhoused animals would have little to no chance of survival. Heart of Alabama: Save, Rescue, Adopt (HASRA) is a 501-c3 non-profit rescue organization that has been working tirelessly since 2009, to help reduce these euthanasia rates. HASRA often takes in dogs that would typically end up in animal control facilities and are often the hardest cases, but they greet each one with open arms. To date, HASRA has saved 13,500 dogs and over 832 in 2023!
HASRA is committed to save as many animals as possible in Northern AL. With the help of partner rescues located nationwide, the animals they save become loving family members for humans all over the country. Unfortunately, HASRA recently lost their grant writer and donations are down tremendously. It's no exaggeration to say that the dedicated staff at HASRA have had a rough year. That is why it was a no-brainer for us to step in and make our next $5,000 donation on this Giving Tuesday to HASRA on behalf of our amazing Puppie Love Customers.
Upon hearing the news of this donation, Debbie Rappuhn, Founder and President of HASRA replied: "I am elated. At this time, we are all pretty down, so you have given us HOPE. This is so appreciated... I am just so thrilled about this and cannot wait to share with all of our team." Messages like these remind the Puppie Love Team of exactly why we do what we do, and again how truly grateful we are for all the support provided by the Puppie Love Pack!
HASRA shared a sweet story about a mama pup called "Winnie" and her determination to protect her babies at all costs. You'll want to grab the tissues for this one!
Winnie’s Story
HASRA’s real life “Winnie the Pooh” litter.
“During a recent cold snap with temperatures dropping into the teens, a “pregnant” mother was found stray in a neighborhood and brought to HASRA. A quick examination determined that she was not pregnant but had obviously recently delivered her puppies. The lady who found her had kept her inside the previous night. Given the extreme cold temperatures, we had little hope of finding any puppies alive, even if we were able to locate them.
We immediately followed the lady back to her neighborhood and she took Winnie for a walk, hoping she would lead us to her litter which by this time had been alone for at least 24 hours in during below freezing temperatures. Unfortunately, Winnie wiggled out of her leash and escaped. We quickly lost her in the high grass and trees despite searching for several hours as it grew dark. At this point, we were in despair and felt things had gone from bad to hopeless.
However, the next morning we spotted Winnie just as she apparently dove into the base of a tree trunk! As we inspected a small hole just below ground level of the hollow tree, we could hear puppies nursing! A flashlight revealed our happy mother nursing her babies in the only warm and protected area available. Winnie came out for a snack, and we easily secured her. The puppies were beyond our reach, but we were able to gently and safely retrieve all eight healthy puppies with a grip extension. They were in amazingly good shape thanks to their very resourceful mother! Our now safe and happy family are currently living their best lives with their forever humans in the Chicago area.”
Below is a Photo Of Winnie and her Pups as well as 2 video links to her Rescue Story and Update <3
As always, THANK YOU TO OUR CUSTOMERS for being on mission with Puppie Love and helping to save dogs across the globe.
THANK YOU TO HASRA for your continued work to help animals in need and being the voice for those who do not have one!
To learn more about HARSA and the amazing work they continue to do, check out their website and social media links below:
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