Rescuers follow stray dog to a hollow tree — and realize she's not alone
In January, a very pregnant bright white dog wandered through the woods of central Georgia. She needed a warm, safe hiding place for the puppies she knew were coming soon.
Just before a cold snap, the resourceful dog found a hollow tree stump and set up a makeshift den.
By this point, the dog had survived the wilderness for weeks — maybe months — thanks in part to the kindness of an animal control officer who left food out for her.
The officer reached out to Therisa Ingley, CEO and president of Sweet Onion Animal Protection Society (SOAPS), hoping she could take in the pup if he managed to trap her.
“He'd been telling me about this dog,” Ingley told The Dodo. “‘She's very skittish and she won't let me near her,’ he said. ‘But I’m keeping an eye on her.’”
Ingley told him the mama and her puppies were more than welcome. Shortly after, the officer spotted the dog again — but this time she wasn’t pregnant. Concerned the puppies wouldn’t survive the freezing temperatures, he tracked her to the stump deep in the woods. Seven healthy puppies lay curled up together for warmth.
“He tried to get to her and the puppies,” Ingley said. “She would not come to him, and he knew he couldn't take the puppies without her. They were just days old.”
Instead, the officer spent two nights packing the stump with straw for insulation. Then, one day his significant other came along to help. Mama trotted right over to her. Ingley thinks the dog may have been traumatized by a man in her past, and felt more comfortable having a woman help her babies.
The pair secured all eight dogs and transported them safely to SOAPS.
“She was absolutely a sweetheart,” Ingley said of Mama. “She never showed any aggression, any timidness. She came right to us and wanted to be loved on. She was very willing to let us take care of the puppies. She was a really good mama.”
Recognizing this large family needed more than Ingley could give, she reached out to Dari Oglesby, shelter director at Nate’s Honor Animal Rescue Center, a rescue partner in Florida.
Oglesby happily accepted Mama, later named Snow White, and her seven puppies, each of whom was named after one of the Seven Dwarfs.
Nate’s Honor Animal Rescue Center’s puppy team took over caring for Snow White, whom they estimated to be about 2 years old, and her babies.
Of course, as soon as her adorable pups were weaned and vaccinated, each one was quickly adopted. Even Happy, a bright white puppy with a speckled nose, who turned out to be deaf, found a loving forever home.
Yet Snow White sat in the shelter for weeks, waiting for someone to choose her.
“She's just still a very scared dog,” Oglesby told The Dodo. “Shy, but not a mean bone in her body at all. Very, very, very sweet.”
Then, finally, an experienced dog owner came into the shelter hoping for exactly that: a sweet dog to join her and her husband at home.
After a few days hiding under the bed, Snowy, as she's now called, is getting more comfortable sleeping in a big, cozy crate and stretching out on the couch. She's spent a full week playing in the fenced-in backyard and exploring her new house.
"She's got tons of toys," Snowy's new mom told The Dodo. "She's definitely going to be spoiled."
Whatever happened in this princess's past, her future is looking very bright.
