An Easter Surprise... Not From "The Bunny"

Happy Easter!

This has been a very unusual, but fun weekend.

On Thursday evening while I was at activity days, I opened my phone to see that Ryan had tried calling me twice. I thought that was odd since he knew I was there and knew I couldn't answer. But I noticed he also sent a picture message.

"Found six puppies in the middle of the woods. What do we do with them?"

My heart jumped to my throat. Ryan and my brother Philip, (pictured above) had been out hiking around taking wild life pictures. The area has limited road access as there has still been snow up there. Whoever left them there was clearly not leaving them for a nice sunny day in the woods. It was an execution sentence.

I typed my response as quick as I could, "Don't you dare leave them there! Bring them home and we will figure out what to do!" I am positive that if I hadn't responded at all, that's still exactly what Ryan would have done anyway. There is no chance he would have left them to fend for themselves.

As soon as I was able, I called Ryan on my way to teach a dance class. Before I could even ask what he decided to do, I was answered by six shrieking, barking, and yelping puppy voices on the other end. Ryan and I yelled back and forth a few sentences trying to communicate where we were and when we would see each other. I gathered they were on their way home and they would set up camp there.

Later I learned that Ryan and Philip had been hiking along when they started to hear a puppy bark. They thought it was just a single dog, and they thought it might have been coming from a house a few miles away. But then they began to hear more than one and realized that they were much closer than they originally thought. They hiked down to find them pended off, no food or water, but with a box and a jacket or blanket of some sort. At first glance it looked like maybe someone had just put them there for a little while and were coming back, but then the evidence sunk in. The cardboard box had already been warped from rain and re-dried, so they had been there at least overnight. Again, no food, no water. No cars anywhere near by. No sign that anyone had an intention of returning for them. And all the roads up in that area were closed off.

Ryan called the local PD, telling them about the situation and asking for advice. They sent him to the County Sheriff Department, as apparently the area was in their jurisdiction. Sadly, they told Ryan that this sort of thing happens quite often and that with everything he described, these dogs were definitely abandoned. At that point they told him that he had two choices: 1. He could take them home and they would become his property, or 2. They could come get them and take them to the pound.

For us the answer was easy. What wasn't, was how to get the puppies to the car. They tried to carry them, but they were too excited and wiggly. So they tried walking, but kept kicking them as they swarmed their feet. So they ran to the car, all six happy little puppies following behind.

When I got home from dance they were all settled in to the garage. They were thrilled to see someone again, and Ryan came out to join me, along with my sister and brother-in-law to play with them for a while. As for breed? They were definitely part Blue Heeler. The other part we weren't sure. After some searching on the Internet, we decided the puppies that looked the most like ours were Blue Heeler/Border Collie mixes. Fantastic dogs. Loyal, smart, hard working, amazing... Why would anyone just dump something like that?! Put them in the paper or online listing. Sit outside of Wal-mart. Take them to the pound if you have to, but don't just leave them to die. I imagine they probably put the pen up in hopes that someone would find them, but at the same time, it prevented them from trying to find food or water, limited as it may have been. It's hard to believe that anyone would do that...

The next day Ryan and I both had to work all day. We asked around our co-workers if anyone wanted a puppy and Ryan got a for sure yes from one of his co-workers, and I got a probably yes from one of mine. Ryan then posted the puppies to KSL, listing them as free puppies for Easter. The calls started pouring in - even before we could get the pictures to upload properly. Ryan spent a good chunk of Friday taking calls, texts, and emails and arranging times to meet. He set up the first five "for sure" meetings, and then started a waiting list.

Early Saturday morning, while Ryan was at work, I started meeting with the people he had set up. First was his co-worker. She brought her youngest son and a few other boys, (I am not sure if they were related or not) and they picked out one of the boys. (In my opinion, he was the pick of the litter. He was an angel. Beautiful coat. Sweet temperament. He follows you around and sits on your feet and just looks up at you. Good, good dog!) The next two people were no shows. Next came a cute couple that is moving to a pet friendly place in three weeks and offered us $20.00 to hold onto a puppy for them. We were happy to do this as long as the puppy goes to a good home. And this couple was awesome. They picked out the other boy. That left the four girls.

My next appointment was up at Cabelas meeting some girls from Draper. I took two puppies with me so they could pick which one they wanted. They already have two smaller dogs, so it will be good for the little girl to have some friends.

Once I got home I had a lady from Salt Lake come down with her three kids and pick one. And just like that we were down to two. I did call my co-worker and he said that he would love to have one, but that because he works full time and he and his wife do a service mission twice a week, now wasn't a good time. Understandable. Another co-worker stopped by who fell in love with the puppies, but told me to offer it to someone else who might not have a dog, as she already has two, and might have more time. But if not, she would take it in a heartbeat.

So with two puppies left, one being a runt - literally half the size of the others - I had a lady stop by who has a two year old daughter at home. She personally liked the runt the best, but did some face time with her husband and daughter on her iPhone so they could pick. The little girl liked the runt best.

(This is the runt. She looks like a kitten from behind.)

That just left us one little girl. My brother-in-law really really wanted one and said that he would be happy with whatever dog was left. As it turned out, I think her coloring was one of the prettiest. We had dinner at Ryan's parents on Sunday and gave them the puppy.

So now we just have the one little boy hanging out with us. His new owners have named him Eddie and have already bought him a collar. He is a cute little bugger. We are working on some basic training with him and he should be good to go by the time they come to get him. I think Dodger will be disappointed though. He was overwhelmed by six puppies, but he is becoming good pals with Eddie.

(Eddie)

It was amazing to see how quickly they went. I bet if we didn't have to work on Friday they would have been gone that very day! It's hard to believe what those poor things have gone through. But we definitely hope for the best. And finding homes wasn't even that hard! Which makes it even more mind boggling that someone would just dump them. And just in case anyone was wondering, Ryan did leave his number up there in the off chance someone really was coming back for them. They never called. So if you need to get rid of some puppies, list them for free and they will be gone sooner than you can blink. It also helped that it was Easter...

Which made me think... how appropriate that it happened over Easter weekend! Not only did it make for easy home placement, but it also had some beautiful imagery. Easter is about life - new life, rebirth, the resurrection. These puppies really brought that message home. They were given a second chance. They were given new life. I was thinking about the way that Ryan found them, penned up, limited shelter, and no food or water. This is the predicament we put ourselves in more often than not. This could be seen in a couple different ways. First, when we sin, we starve ourselves of vital spiritual and physical nutrients. We pen ourselves off, chain ourselves down. We are helpless without the Savior. In another light, sometimes we build up walls around ourselves, thinking we are protecting ourselves, thinking we are blocking out the pain, but really, we are keeping ourselves from growing, finding food, water, light and love. And finally, even if we do everything we can to live a perfect life, even if we do all the things we are supposed to, we still won't make it without our Savior. That pen, that gate, would be impossible to break through without the power of the Atonement and the gift of the Resurrection. We would still be bound within our limited scope. Our Savior makes everything possible. He will give us everything we need - life, love, and happiness, and He will guide us home. I am so grateful for our Savior and for his atoning sacrifice. I am grateful for the chance to celebrate life. And I am grateful to know that our Savior knows me and loves me and will guide me home if I let him. He is my King, and my friend.