They needed help.
Late last month, Fresno Humane Animal Services animal control officer Priscilla Wolcott got a call about a family of golden retrievers who needed her help. She learned that two adult dogs and a litter of puppies had been abandoned by their owners in an empty house when they moved out.
When Wolcott arrived at the property, the two adult golden retrievers greeted her, tails wagging. One was clearly the mama dog and the other pup was a younger female. Wolcott was amazed they were in such good spirits, considering the conditions they’d been surviving in for two weeks.
“[T[here was no water on the property,” Wolcott told The Dodo. “There was no food on the property.”
It wasn’t immediately obvious to Wolcott where the puppies were. Wolcott decided to follow the mama dog and just see if she would lead the way.
“She immediately brought me to where her puppies were,” Wolcott said.
In the corner of an old chicken coop, there was a pile of eight tiny babies. Through everything, their mama had managed to take good care of them and keep them nice and chunky.
Some people might be surprised to learn that it’s not uncommon for animal control officers to rescue abandoned golden retrievers, but Wolcott encounters them fairly regularly. In this case, though, even Wolcott was taken aback to see ten golden retrievers left behind by their family. She suspected that the property owners had been doing some backyard breeding.
“[T]his was the first time that I had a whole family of golden retrievers abandoned on a property,” Wolcott said.
All ten of the dogs seemed to sense that Wolcott was there to help them. They walked themselves right into their crates and didn’t protest at all when Wolcott lifted them into her vehicle.
“They were immediately jumping all over me, like, ‘Take me with you,’” Wolcott said.
Shortly after Wolcott rescued the family, they were transferred to Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue & Sanctuary. The Homeward Bound team confirmed that the younger adult, named Kayla, is the 9-month-old daughter of the mama, named Tabatha.
“The puppies are now five weeks old and showing their true personalities,” Audrey Farrington, Homeward Bound board chair, told The Dodo. “Tabatha is a devoted mom who only leaves their side for brief breaks for naps in the sunshine.”
All of the puppies, their mama, and her older daughter already have adopters lined up. It won’t be long before all of them settle into their forever homes and their abandonment will be nothing but a distant memory.