Being a stray dog and finding food and shelter just to survive is no easy task. But Navalina had to feed herself as well as her newborn kittens.
She had no choice but to leave her newborns alone one day so she could find them food.
While she was gone a group of children found the 5-day-old kittens and assumed they had been abandoned. They didn’t know that their mom would be right back.
The kids tried to bottle feed the babies for two days but eventually agreed with Hope For Paws to return the babies back to the area near the construction site where they were found.
“I am so thankful to the kids who did the right thing and brought the puppies back so this Hope For Paws team could rescue everybody! We hoped their now missing mom would come back to the spot she last saw them,” Hope For Paws said.
They decided that they would catch the mom while she was looking for her babies. They brought the babies back to the spot where they were found inside a portable tent.
When mom showed up she was immediately protective of her babies. After all, they had already disappeared once before.
She growled fiercely at the rescue team. She bore her teeth and even tried to snap at them a few times.
They had to carefully get a leash around the babies next. They tried to give her some food to calm her down. And even though the mother was starving, she was too anxious and afraid to be tempted with food.
“We were in a tight spot and feared she would make a run for it,” Hope For Paws said.
They slowed lured the momma out with a leash by making sure her babies followed close behind.
This seemed to calm her. She seemed more at ease once they stopped and she was reunited with babies. She even let the rescue staff pet her. The staff picked up one of the babies and put it right next to her momma. This allowed the mom to calm down enough to finally relax and eat something.
Since the family was found on property that used to be a citrus grove they were named “the Citrus family.” The mother was named Navalina and her puppies were named Valencia, Bergamot, Ponderosa, Satsuma, Mandarin, and Celementine.
Three weeks after their rescue, Navalina looks as happy as can be. She and her puppies were both safe and healthy.
“Too many abandoned and abused pets are on the streets or in shelters. Please neuter and spay your pets,” Hope for Paws said in their video. “The Citrus family is thankful to you.”
The Citrus family’s rescue was watched by more than 11 million times on YouTube.
“She’s a good mum tho, very protective or her puppies. But I’m glad she and here pups are safe now,” wrote one YouTuber.
“This channel makes me cry just how much people care about animals,” says another YouTuber.
Hope For Paws’ mission is to end pet homelessness. Their YouTube channel raised more than $282,000 to help other dogs in trouble like Navalina. Navalina and her babies will be cared for and receive medical attention before they are adopted into loving forever homes. Learn more about Hope For Paws at HopeForPaws.org.
Watch the rescue in the video below.
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