There are few gifts that can compare to the gift of a great community. Chace Hunton, a police officer from Little Rock, Arkansas, and his wife, nurse Hannah, were about to realize this within just a few days.
During one of Chace’s routine trespassing checks, he unexpectedly found himself on a rescue mission when he stumbled upon eleven newborn puppies huddled together. With their mother nowhere to be found, Chace immediately sprang into action.
However, the rescue itself wasn’t easy until his incredible neighborhood decided to step in.
The Power Of Community
Not wanting to leave the pups behind, Officer Hunton placed them in a cardboard box and rushed to a local Arkansas shelter. Sadly, due to overcrowding, these newborn babies couldn’t be taken in.
Officer Hunton then thought of another strategy.
Rather than leaving them behind, he took all the puppies home.
His wife, Hannah, and Chace soon realized they couldn’t care for such a big number of furry babies alone. Hannah and her sister, Natalie, who works at Best Friends Animal Society, quickly devised a plan to involve more people in the process.
“I need emergency bottle feeders in West Little Rock. Eleven pups. Supplies have been sponsored and can be delivered with pups,” Hannah wrote on her Facebook.
“Pups are maybe 2.5 weeks old and we could really use some bottle feeders to help temporarily,” her sister Natalie added.
To their surprise, the Little Rock community responded remarkably!
People reached out to help, including Hannah’s neighbor, Laura Jones, who immediately took a couple of puppies for fostering.
The three set up a neighborhood group to arrange bottle-feedings, baths, and flea treatments among the volunteers.
And, thanks to Best Friends Animal Society, all the supplies, including bottle-feeding supplies, vet visits, and foster supplies were covered in advance.
The outcome, unsurprisingly, was better than expected!
Nine babies were nursed back to health and grew into fluffy pups. Two, despite all the veterinary efforts, sadly crossed the rainbow bridge.
Positive Outcome
By the end of the nursing process, Hannah and her team of amazing volunteers were rewarded with the best news!
All nine puppies found their forever homes. Seven of them stayed with their new forever families in Little Rock, Arkansas, while two were transported to BFAS’ partnering organization in Chicago, where they eventually found homes.
And, thanks to his new mom, Laura, Winnie has found his eternal happiness!
After his initial adoption fell through, his foster mom decided to keep him in the family for good, which turned out to be the best decision ever.
“I was not too terribly sad that it fell through because we absolutely fell in love,” Laure told THV11
Now, Winnie shares a home with a beautiful family and another dog, Kallie. Needless to say, he’s happier than ever. He gets endless cuddles from his human siblings, goes on exciting walkies, and has adorable playdates with Kallie.
It is safe to say that Winnie has found everything he has ever needed, just like the rest of his siblings.
Thanks to this amazing Arkansas community, all puppies get to live a happy, carefree life, far away from that abandoned house. This noble act sets an example and proves that, indeed, it takes a village to raise a baby. In this case, a baby dog!