Miracle Puppies Saved By Forsyth County Animal Control

On Friday, June 29, Forsyth Animal Control Officer D. S. Ashley, received a call that four newborn puppies had been found near a road off of Hwy 369. He met with another Deputy who was with the couple who had discovered the puppies. The woman holding the puppies was visibly upset, so Deputy Ashley remained calm and reassured her that he would seek help for them.

Unfortunately, a search by Deputy Ashley for the mother dog turned up empty. After placing a phone call to the Forsyth County Animal Shelter, Deputy Ashley transported the puppies to All Pets Emergency Hospital in Alpharetta. Once the puppies arrived, doctors discovered that they were covered in maggots and there were many open wound injuries to their tiny little bodies.

It is estimated that the puppies were only one week old when they were abandoned. It seems they had laid alone for approximately 48 hours in the heat, with no mom, no shelter, no milk to nourish them. The emergency staff worked feverishly through the night to save the puppies, but sadly, one did pass away. Saving three puppies who would have only survived a few more hours outdoors, was indeed a miracle. How they ended up outside alone in an unpopulated area, we will never know. But once Deputy Ashley arrived, he knew he had to take immediate action to save them.

Cari Shuler, Hospital Administrator at All Pets and Angie Imsand, recently founded Transitions Pet Rescue servicing Northern Georgia. They did not hesitate to take the puppies into their rescue to feed them around the clock and provide medical care. Ms. Imsand has cared for them in her home since they were stable enough to leave the hospital. They are now thriving, playful, healthy six week old puppies and no longer have signs of the trauma they endured. All three puppies will need surgery for hernias caused by the stress of being outdoors, but should recover nicely.

A few days ago, Deputy Ashley received a phone call from Ms. Imsand, and was asked if he wanted to meet the puppies he had rescued that night. Deputy Ashley was very happy to learn that the puppies did indeed survive and were doing quite well. He met with Ms. Imsand and the three puppies, Duke, Duchess and David, whose name came from the story of Goliath because his battle was the most severe.

Deputy Ashley says that "At first, I wasn't sure what to do with these puppies because they were in bad shape. But after calling someone at the Animal Shelter, I knew I had to get them to the hospital as soon as possible."

As for these little puppies, it indeed took a village to turn their lives around to give them the best life possible. There were many neighboring people who fell in love with them keeping up with their progress through Nextdoor and Facebook. Their story is one of care, love, and miracles from people with huge hearts for animals.

Officer Ashley's intervention definitely saved their lives as well as the couple that called 911 that day. Animal Control Officers are vital to our community, not only going on several calls a day to locate pets who are lost, abused or neglected, but also saving those who can't save themselves. And because of Deputy Ashley's active role in protecting and saving animals, these little puppies now have a chance.