Ashley Reid, co-owner of Pawsitive Haven Animal Rescue, which is based in Carstairs, always expects that when it comes to transporting rescue animals there may be a few snags along the way. However, when she was contacted by a rescue organization out of Manitoba, what she didn't expect is that this particular transport of a litter of puppies and their mom would take over 28 hours.

Reid explained that due to the increasingly cold temperatures in Manitoba, local rescue organizations are tasked with going to various locations, including reserves to save dogs from culling. 

"There are so many dogs and so many puppies and it's actually really, really, really cold there right now. A lot of these dogs are frozen to the ground, or they end up with frostbite and a lot of them just don't make it. So they have to get them off the reserves," she said. 

The rescue in Manitoba has connections across both Alberta and British Columbia and because Pawsitive Haven Animal Rescue had space, Reid agreed that her organization would take in some of the animals. Initially, Reid was to take in 14 puppies and their mother, although sadly only 11 puppies could be located at the time, though another female dog was also rescued, which Reid says might be pregnant. 

Due to extreme weather conditions, the transport of the puppies was delayed five hours, but those five hours stretched into several more hours and then several more. Things were made exponentially worse when during a bathroom break somewhere in Saskatoon, the mother of the puppies ended up slipping out of her collar and running off. However, Reid was quick to make work of her extensive network of friends and other rescue organization volunteers. She enlisted the help of at least 30 people who were able to locate the mother of the puppies.

"They were able to catch her and then one of their volunteers met us halfway. One of our volunteers went out and picked up mama and she got back to her babies," she said. "She was so happy and her puppies were so happy to see her."

pawistiveA litter of rescue puppies has been reunited with their mother all thanks to the hard work of a local rescue organization. (Photo provided by Pawsitive Haven Animal Rescue)

Reid estimates the litter of puppies is around 3-4 weeks old and both the puppies and the mother have mange and have to be dewormed. While the pups are not yet ready for adoption, though they have seen a veterinarian earlier this week, Reid said they will indeed be ready for adoption when they are around eight weeks old.  Although Reid attributes terrible weather for the delays in transport, nonetheless, she herself was wide awake for the 28 hours, awaiting any news on the animals.

"I kept thinking they were going to come and then they were going to be late and then they were going to come and then they were going to be late," she said. "It's definitely great to see them like with their mom and [so] happy." 

While this transport and the very long journey is behind both the pups and Reid, the work the organization does never stops. Reid said that there are always materials which are needed and she encouraged the public to donate if they can, including blankets and towels, bleach for cleaning, laundry soap, and of course puppy food.

"Because these little guys eat like champs so that's great."

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