Paramore & Her Puppies: A Mother’s Journey to Safety

Sometimes, all it takes is one person who stops.

One morning, a gentleman was driving to work when a husky suddenly appeared in the road. He nearly hit her, but thankfully stopped just in time. When he pulled over, he noticed something unusual: she had a puppy in her mouth.

Curious and concerned, he wondered if there were more.

There were.

Paramore led him straight to a culvert along the roadside, where her tiny puppies were waiting. Their eyes weren't even open yet. They were only about two or three weeks old.

Normally, Hands N' Paws primarily accepts animals through Animal Control because of our small facility and limited resources. But we couldn't leave a young mother and her newborn puppies on the side of the road.

We didn't have a plan.

We just knew they needed help.

A Protective Mom

From the beginning, Paramore made it very clear that her puppies were her priority.

She was never aggressive, but she was very concerned whenever someone handled her babies. In the beginning, she would simply take them right back out of our hands, which made things like weighing them a little difficult!

But as she settled in, we learned more about this sweet girl.

Paramore loved other dogs, just not when they were anywhere near her puppies. She seemed to understand that she needed to protect her babies while also making time for herself.

She was a good mom.

But we also knew something important:

A shelter wasn't the place for a mother and newborn puppies to grow up.

Finding Their Next Step

We searched.

And searched.

And searched.

Fosters, especially fosters willing to take on a large dog and a litter of puppies, are incredibly difficult to find. And without one, we had nowhere to send this little family.

After several weeks with no luck, we reached out to our friends at NOAH in Stanwood.

They said yes.

NOAH was able to take Paramore and her puppies into their program and place them with a foster family where they could grow, thrive, and eventually find their forever homes.

Nearly four weeks after Paramore first appeared on that roadside, Heather made the long drive west to deliver this little family into the capable and loving hands of NOAH.

For the first time since someone spotted her carrying that tiny puppy through the road, Paramore didn't have to figure everything out on her own.

She had a safe place to raise her babies.

Her puppies had a chance to grow up somewhere warm and cared for.

And Hands N' Paws had once again been reminded why rescue partnerships matter so much.

We can't do this alone.

We are incredibly grateful for the rescue partners who step up when we don't have the space, fosters, or resources to help an animal ourselves.

Because sometimes saving an animal doesn't mean keeping them at our shelter.

Sometimes, it means finding the person who can help us take them the rest of the way.

And because of that partnership, Paramore and her puppies got their second chance.