Man Hears Crying Across Lake, Finds 7 Starving Puppies Stranded On Island

Sep 05, 2018

Seven puppies were rescued by a man who heard cries near a lake. When he heard the puppies crying, he decided to follow the sounds until he reached them. Junior Cook was with a good friend by the name of Leon Colombe at the time of initially hearing the small voices of the pups. The two friends were taking the time to relax while out in Junior's yard. Cook’s home was located near Cross Lake, Manitoba, Canada.

The cries could be heard in the distance near the lake. For a long time, they would not stop and continued crying as Junior and Leon sat there trying to relax. As a result of hearing the persistent cries, Junior Cook reached for his binoculars in an effort to locate the source. What he saw in the distance on the other side of the lake were black figures moving around. Initially Junior perceived the figures to be a family of wolves playing or possibly fighting.

Not thinking anything more of them, he opted to ignore them.

Deborah Vandekerkhove, the animal rescue director of the Norway House Animal Rescue, reported that Cook and Colombe had no idea anything was going on out of the ordinary. The following morning the men heard the sounds again and became concerned. They took it upon themselves to examine what was going on across the lake.

They took their boat and journeyed across the lake to investigate. As they got closer, they noticed that the noise was coming from puppies and began videotaping as they got closer. They docked their boat at the shore and quickly realized the puppies were crying out in hunger. According to Deborah Vandekerkhove, the only thing available on that side of the lake was tall grass, rocks and fir trees.

There was no chance of getting some food.

Cook and Colmbe went back across the lake to retrieve some food from home to take to the hungry puppies. As the days passed, they worked to gain the trust of the puppies by providing kennels, food and clean water for them.

Once the puppies were comfortable with the two men, they transported them in their boat to a home that would care for them. They thought it was a funny coincidence that there were seven puppies stranded on an island. In the popular television show "Gilligan’s Island" seven people were stranded on an island. The puppies were named after those seven people. The names included Mrs. Howell, Gilligan, the Professor, Ginger, Mary Ann, Skipper and Thurston Howell III.

Currently, the young puppies are receiving treatment at the Winnipeg pet rescue. Soon they will move to their forever homes.

Have you ever took part in an animal rescue? What was it like?