Last week, a cold snap in Cokato, Minnesota, brought frigid weather to the city. As temperatures dropped to minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit, Cokato homeowners noticed two puppies hiding under their porch, seeking shelter from the cold.

The homeowners had spotted two stray German shepherd sisters in their neighborhood earlier that week but hadn’t been able to catch them. They were shocked to discover the same puppies huddled under their porch days later.

Worried that someone might be missing them, they posted a photo of them on Facebook. Kendra Plaschko, development officer at Ruff Start Rescue, happened to see the post about the puppies and immediately rushed over to rescue them.

Despite Plaschko’s best efforts to lure the puppies out from under the porch, they were too terrified of people to budge. They planted themselves in the very middle of the porch, completely out of reach. Plashcko and the homeowners left the puppies with blankets, food and water, planning to return as soon as possible.

The next morning, Plaschko and Meg Larson, Ruff Start Rescue’s intake manager, returned to the puppies, this time armed with a secret weapon: rotisserie chicken.

The smell of the chicken was so tempting that it ended up overriding the puppies’ anxiety. They finally approached Larson, and she was able to grab them and load them into her car. As much as she wanted to warm them up right away, she had to do it gradually. Drastic temperature increases can be dangerous for dogs who’ve been living in extreme cold.

While the homeowners who spotted the puppies initially thought they were 6 to 8 months old, after examining them, Larson realized they were tinier than expected under their fluffy coats and were actually just 12 weeks old. The dogs had frostbite on their toes, noses and tongues but were healthy otherwise. 

Larson decided to foster the puppies herself. When they first arrived at her home, they were extremely skittish. Larson suspects that they were born outside, maybe in a horse stall, and then driven to Cokato and dumped.

The puppies have been in Larson’s care for only a week, but in that time, they’ve already been growing and coming out of their shells.

“Even though they’re terrified every day, they’re making progress, starting out with eating out of my hand and letting me touch them,” Larson told The Dodo. “The first time they let me really rub their faces, I definitely got teary.”

Larson decided to name them Delta and Cleo, short for Cleopatra. Larson has been loving getting to know their unique personalities.

“Cleo is the littler one, [and] she’s actually the bossy one, which is cute,” Larson said. “The big one is Delta. She’s just kind of a goof.”

Cleo and Delta will stay in foster care for another few weeks so they can continue getting stronger and building confidence. Once they’re fully healed, vaccinated and spayed, they’ll both be available for adoption through Ruff Start Rescue.

In the meantime, Larson will continue enjoying the pups’ company.

“[T]hey make such huge strides every day,” Larson said.

Kayakers Find Box Buried In Mud — Then See Something Moving Inside

“We were so shocked to see anything alive in there at all.”

Follow us to see more useful information, as well as to give us more motivation to update more useful information for you.
Source: The Wall Street Journal