For a whole week, we thought these babies were gone. Then Wednesday, there they were—alive. And there were TWO MORE we didn’t even know existed. 🥺 Two weeks ago, I headed to Nettleton to trap what we believed was a mama dog and three puppies. On my way out with the trap, the lady who called me spotted one puppy in the road and managed to scoop it up. That left mama and two babies to catch. Or so we thought. After two days, I finally caught mama. We reset the traps, had four cameras watching the area, and searched for a solid week. A generous woman even drove TWO HOURS each way, on two separate trips, to fly her thermal drone over the woods looking for them. Nothing. No sightings. No puppies on camera since the day before we caught their mama. While we were searching those woods, we heard coyotes so close I could have sworn they were standing beside us. After seven days without a sign of those little eight-week-old babies, we feared the worst and called off the search. It was heartbreaking. Then this past Wednesday, FOUR puppies were spotted in the road about a quarter of a mile away. Four. Two we had been looking for, and two we never knew were there. Mama was released from the vet Wednesday, so we took her back out that day and Thursday, hoping her presence would help bring them out or show us where they were hiding. Still no luck. Friday, we finally figured it out. These babies were living in underground tunnels through the woods. My best guess is that mama had them down there and taught them where to hide. Those tunnels made catching them difficult, but I believe that shelter is a big part of why they survived. That mama had been raising and protecting her babies the best way she knew how, and she was a dang good mama. 🩷 Saturday morning, I went back, turned my vehicle off, and sat in complete silence, listening for any little movement. Most of y’all know this has been a rough, stressful week for me. For a little while, sitting there in the quiet was a break I needed. Then I saw them, and I decided I was going to sit at that hole as long as I possibly could to get those babies out. The first one let me gently pick it up. The second took a quick grab. They were scared and had no way of knowing I was there to help. Then we were down to the brown puppy and little brindle brother. Little brother was the most frightened. While the others came forward to eat, he stayed back in the shadows, watching. I wanted to catch him first because I was afraid he wouldn’t come forward alone once his sibling was gone. So I waited. And waited. And waited. Meanwhile, the brown puppy ate two cans of wet food and almost an entire can of chicken. 😂 I finally realized I was about to lose my chance if that baby got full and disappeared back underground for a nap. I grabbed the brown puppy, and little brother took off out the other end. Three of the four were safe. But one was still out there. Michelle joined me, and we kept searching. At one point, we heard him crying down near the dump. I climbed over and under fallen trees and worked my way through a deep ravine, following his cries until he went quiet. There was so much brush to hide in, and I couldn’t find him. We stayed until after 11 that night, hoping he would return to the tunnel. Leaving without him made me sick to my stomach. I went back this morning, and I HEARD HIM at the end of the tunnel. I swapped the smaller trap for a bigger one and reset the camera. As I’m posting this, we’re still trying to get him safe. This video is almost ten minutes long, but this is what it took to get three frightened little babies out of the only home they’d ever known. A lot of sitting in the dirt, waiting, and hoping they’d come just a little closer. And that little face riding home on top of the laundry at the end? That baby has no idea how much life is about to change. 🩷 Part two will be little brother’s search and rescue once we have him safe. Please keep that last baby—and everyone trying to bring him home—in your prayers - @fortheloveoffrank23