Last month, while searching for an abandoned husky, Don Boston — founder of the Abilene Stray Animal Program — came across someone he wasn’t expecting. A lone dog wandered along a dirt road, thin, hungry and clearly on her own.
Boston offered her some food, hoping to figure out who she was and where she belonged. Once she’d eaten and began to walk away, he followed her — and that’s when he saw them.
Behind a battered fence in a nearby yard were her puppies.
The yard was in terrible shape. Rusted metal was scattered everywhere, the ground was bare, and there wasn’t a drop of food or water in sight. Several of the dogs had flystrike on their ears — painful and dangerous.
“They are hungry,” Boston said in a Facebook video. “Hungry, hungry, hungry.”
The mama dog and two of her puppies had managed to squeeze through a hole in the fence, but the rest were trapped inside. Boston’s heart broke. He wanted to help them immediately, but he needed to speak with the property owner first.
“It broke my heart, honestly,” he told The Dodo.
The owner explained that the dogs originally belonged to his late brother. After taking in the mama dog, she’d had litter after litter, with no real care or support. Boston knew he couldn’t let this continue.
“I was like, ‘I have to help these guys,’” he said.
Boston convinced the owner to surrender the puppies, and soon they were placed in loving homes with fresh water, proper food and the security they’d never known.
As for their mother, Boston persuaded the owner to let him get her spayed — at the very least stopping the cycle of endless litters in unsafe conditions.
But before Boston could take her to her appointment, he received a call from animal control. The mama dog had escaped again and been picked up by an officer. They contacted her owner and got no response — meaning Boston was now free to foster her.
Soon, once she’s medically cleared, Boston will bring her home and begin the search for a forever family who’ll give her the safety and love she has always deserved.
After everything she’s survived, Boston is determined to change her life for good.
“We’re going to try to give her a happy life,” he said.
If you’d like to support the Abilene Stray Animal Program, you can donate here.
