Everyone was excited that a van full of stray puppies from Louisiana was on their way to California where they’d find their forever homes but then came shocking news.
The 38 puppies that were on their way from the Heart of Louisiana Animal Center were heading to the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe, California when they were involved in a terrible accident.
Their transport van hit a center divider while traveling through Longview, Texas and the initial report of the accident was met with shock. The van had overturned at 12:30 am and rescuers feared the worst.
Firefighters, police, emergency veterinarians, and staff from the Heart of Louisiana Animal Center rushed to the scene unsure of what they’d find. They feared the worst but thankfully, most of the puppies survived.
While the first responders provided aid to the terrified puppies, Woodward Animal Center got the call to prepare to receive 38 surviving puppies who would be on their way as soon as they were able.
Once the puppies arrived, Woodward Animal Center began assessing them. They began to immediately decide which ones were healthy enough to be adopted out and which puppies would need more extensive medical care.
Despite the horrible tragedy and losing two of the puppies, there was a bright spot because things could have been much, much worse.
Jessica Gercke, Woodward’s Communications Director said,
“It’s kind of a little holiday miracle to me. It was just a lot of people coming together to make sure that as much care was taken and make sure that these animals survived.”
Thankfully, the driver of the van only had minor injuries and most of the puppies also were not seriously hurt. One puppy had a broken leg, another a minor head injury, and some had eye injuries but those would heal with time.
They were able to put 20 of the puppies up for adoption right away while 18 needed more treatment before they could go to their forever homes. Kendall Schulz, Woodward’s Adoption Services Director said,
“We are incredibly moved by the severity of the accident and the miracle of how many of them not only survived but were safe from injury. We put all of our hearts into looking after orphan pets but I sincerely feel that something greater was looking out for them this morning.”
This is not the first time the Woodward Animal Center has helped the Louisiana shelter. Over the past two years, they have taken in over 2,000 dogs who were scheduled for euthanasia.
More than 95 percent of the animals that arrive at Woodward, a no-kill animal shelter, come from other parts of the U.S.
“Spay and neuter laws are not in place in a lot of the places that we pull from, which means that a lot of dogs are out on the street and they’re procreating,” said Gercke. “They go into shelters and there’s no room, and so for shelters, their only option is to euthanize.”
Thankfully, there are places like Woodward but dogs all over the United States are not so lucky and need our help. We hope you enjoyed reading about this miracle and how many puppies were saved. As always, please feel free to share with your friends.
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