Hope for Paws is willing to save needy animals out there, regardless of the risk or circumstances. Their rescuers were at a funeral for their friend Lisa M. Ashe when they got a call about puppies trapped in a cave. In honor of their friend’s love of animals, they rushed over to their location to save the dogs.
They even traveled 18-feet into the earth during the process.
The dogs had been spotted in the area before but were impossible to catch.
“If you make any move towards them, they run across the railroad tracks and disappear,” Rescuer Eldad Hagar told The Dodo.
Rescuers tried to lure some of the puppies out of the cage with pieces of a cheeseburger. The puppies were starving and came out to eat the food that they were given, but were still wary of the humans. When Hagar got hold of one of the puppies, the rest of them fled back into the cave.
That’s when things got a little difficult.
The cave was too small for Hagar to fit through so he had to dig out space for him to try and slide in and pull the little babies out. One-by-one, Hagar pulled out three terrified little puppies who cried and cried as they were being rescued.
“They don’t understand what we’re doing there, for all they know we’re predators trying to hurt them,” said Hagar.
The rest of the dogs were too far deep into the cave for Hagar to reach, so they had to get back to digging.
“It took hours and hours because we had to go slow and try not to shake the earth,” said Hagar. “At the end of the rescue I was almost deaf in one ear from all the dirt falling into it. Every time a train went by you could feel the whole ground shaking. It was a pretty scary experience.”
Eventually, the rescuers had dug out a big enough space for Hagar to pull the rest of the dogs to safety.
Hagar had saved eight dogs and was about to leave the area when he decided to take a second look in the cave. It is lucky that he did because he heard the “runt” of the litter. Thankfully, he was able to save the runt and he did not leave her there.
The entire rescue took a total of seven and a half hours. The puppies were cleaned up and taken to foster homes.
“The puppies are doing amazing, it’s ridiculous,” Hagar said. “They’re just so happy, they’re the happiest dogs in the world. They’re also the quietest pack of puppies, as if their mom had tried to tell them, ‘Be quiet, there are coyotes around here,’ back when they lived in the cave. They’re very stealthy.”
Each of the puppies was named for each letter in Ashe’s name to honor her and were set up to find forever homes. If you’re interested in helping Hope for Paws with their work you can visit their website here: hopeforpaws.org and watch their intense rescue of the nine puppies below.
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