On a typical morning in October a typical call came in. Two dogs had been abandoned in a town about 30 miles from the Shelter. They were staying at their vacant house, without food or water for days, waiting for their family to return.

We gathered fresh water, treats, and food and started out in the shelter van, apprehensive as always over what we were going to find at our destination.

As we pulled into the rock driveway of a small, older house with all the windows broken out, there was not a dog in sight. The minute we stepped out of the van we heard a weak whimpering coming from under a bush by the driveway. To our amazement there was a tiny newborn puppy under the bush. We wrapped the precious little thing in a blanket and carried it to the van.

The mother dog had to be somewhere very near, and we soon found her under the front porch lying in a bed of broken glass that had sifted through the old porch slats from the broken windows.

A very pretty gray Husky-mix looked back at us from under the porch. Her frightened eyes told the story of her suffering. She had delivered one more pup, and others were on the way.

We inched our way under the porch desperately trying to think of how we could move this mother dog through broken glass. Finally, with treats and coaxing Monica moved within our reach, and we were able to carry her to the comfort of the van. She nestled into a large, soft blanket with her two babies and took a long drink from a bowl of fresh water.

After a brief moment of relief and gratitude for the safe rescue of mother and babies, we began to search the yard for the second dog.

Stepping over piles of rubbish, we made our way to the back yard and noticed a chain running from a post under an old shed.

Much to our horror we found a dog under that shed – a fluffy little black girl, stiff and cold, dead days ago. The chain was wedged so tightly around a concrete block support that we could not budge it, and it was cut so deeply into her neck that we could not remove it. Grief and outrage overwhelmed us as we knelt over her little body.

Engrossed as we were, we sensed something moving behind us. We turned to see a male dog about the size of Monica, a handsome fellow full of life and zest. He quickly made up to us and agreed to ride back with us in the van.

Monica gave birth to four more beautiful babies. They grew into the plumpest, prettiest pups one can imagine. We spent hours cuddling and admiring them. Monica is becoming more and more beautiful by the day. The gauntness is gone and her coarse hair is becoming soft and lovely. Micah is our joyful fellow. We love to watch him run and play in the Shelter fields without a care in the world.

There will always be a shadow of grief over the rescue of Monica, Micah, and the puppies. It is for the little black girl under the shed. She has a special place in our hearts, and we will remember her with love.