When Winnipeg Blue Bombers Running Back Brady Oliveira hears about a dog in rescue, he comes runnings.
That’s how he ended up in Manitoba, Canada trying to pry little puppies out from under a shed.
“This man gave an alert [to the rescue] being like, ‘I think there are some puppies on our property,” he told The Dodo. “So, we just dropped everything and just went out there and drove to the property.”
Oliveira is a volunteer with K9 Advocates and regularly goes out on dog rescues.
“K9 is the voice for the voiceless. What I do with K9 Advocates is rescue dogs in sometimes far away communities and bring them back to be cared for or fostered. I use my platform to help K9 collect donations and raise money,” he told Pet Lifestyle Magazine.
When he arrived at the property, he found a mother dog and one of her puppies.
“The mom comes running out with one puppy and I’m like OK, maybe there’s just one puppy here?” he said.
But he soon learned that wasn’t the case. The little puppy wanted to make sure that his brothers and sisters were rescued too.
“Something was telling me just to keep looking and thank God I did,” Oliveira said. “She led me to this hole that was under a shed. And I poke my head in there and I see a bunch of puppies. The puppy wanted me to know where his siblings were living.”
If it wasn’t for that puppy, Oliveira wouldn’t have been able to tell there were more puppies to be rescued.
“There was no way that I could leave knowing that those puppies were underneath there. I’m gonna stay here all night until I get those puppies some way, somehow,” he said.
But these puppies weren’t going to make rescue easy. They had never had human contact before and were scared off by Oliveria.
Oliveria and his team brought out catch polls since the dogs couldn’t be reached, but they were so tiny they kept slipping through.
Eventually, Oliveria laid some dry food out and waited until a puppy peeked his head out before grabbing it.
The hole was only big enough for one puppy to poke through at a time so they continue baiting the puppies until they were all out.
Once all the puppies and their mom were in the truck, Oliveria gave them some more food and water, which they were excited about.
After that, it was straight to Winnipeg to meet the foster parents for the four pups and their mom at a gas station.
Oliveria had some time to bond with the final white pup before his new foster family arrived.
The poor thing looked exhausted, scared, and jilted from meeting humans for the first time and being separated from his family.
But Oliveria says he’s happy in his new home.
“He no longer has to live life like he used to underneath that shed. Now he’s living with an amazing family and getting spoiled and living the life that he deserves,” Oliveria said.
Oliveria got to see the pup again one day at the dog park.
“It was great to see him. I think he was, more so, just pumped to be free now and able to run around,” Oliveria said. “It was a super cool moment. And then the other puppies, they’re all living an amazing life.”
Learn more about the rescue of these adorable pups in the video below.
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