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The tale of the cave puppies

About 5 weeks ago some people in the village of Roda de Ter told Natalia, one of the volunteers at the shelter, that they had seen some very young puppies, looking really starved, wandering in the woods near the village. Natalia immediately got things going and this is an account of the rescue and care of the cave puppies.

Week 1

The volunteers have seen the puppies and have followed them to this cave where apparently they live, there is no sign of the mother.

Paco, Natalia’s husband, gets ready a trap to catch the puppies as they wont let the volunteers get near and retreat to the end of the cave. It took five days to get them all to come out.

They are starting to come out. They are scared, extremely thin and full of parasites. They have been eating the remains of a rabbit, already rotting, which must be the last meal their mother brought them. Still no sign of the mother and the volunteers start to think she must be dead.

Hunger eventually bring them all out of the cave and into the trap. Here Raquel picks up the latest one to come out.

Finally they managed to get all 6 of them. One went straight into an adoptive home, the others were taken by Natalia to be looked after.

They are in the temporary shelter and we can have a good look at them. Their ribs show through the skin and their tummies are bloated with internal parasites. The first meal is total chaos!

Natalia and Beatrice after getting the last puppy out. A job well done!

Weeks 2 to 4

These are weeks of intensive work for Natalia, the primary carer. As the puppies start to eat and get stronger everything seems to come to the surface. As well as the internal parasites they have scurvy and a yeast infection. They are depressed and confuses, they have to have endless visits to the vet and take medicines that they don’t like at all and every day they have to have cream spread over their bodies to heal the skin problems. Without Natalia’s dedication they would not have made it.

What a difference!

Relaxed and playful, they are extremely happy when visitors come to see them. They love to be picked up and petted.

Although they still take medicine, they are completely recovered and it is just to strengthen them. This is practically the end of the treatment and soon they will be ready for adoption.

They play and are happy, they will be perfect for families with young children.

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Week 5

This boy, the first one to come out of the cave, is completely recovered and looking forward to a new home.

This little one was the last one to come out and is a few days behind the others. Although he is completely recovered his fur still hasn't totally grown back and looks a bit patchy.

We hope these beauties find a good home and can forget the bad start to their lives, they deserve it.

When bedtime arrives they go happily into their shelter. They are almost obedient!!

Gender: Male and female

Breed: cross greyhound and pointer

Age: will be aproximately 3 months olf when they are ready to adopt.

Size: médium/large

For more information on the cave puppies please send an email using the link at the top of this page.