Pregnant Dog Left Behind By Family Sits Day And Night In Front Of House

Nov 04, 2020

In 2018, Tania Cappelluti, a German resident who spent many years in Costa Rica working as a yoga instructor and founding an animal rescue, was appalled to discover that a family had moved away and left their pregnant dog behind.

She found out about the abandonment after a local sent her a photo of the poor pup with a message describing what had happened. Distraught, Cappelluti took to Facebook to share what had happened and urged the community to get this dog help, as she had already flown back to her home in Berlin a month before. No distance proved big enough to stop Cappelluti, who managed to bring the community together to help the heavily pregnant find a suitable home with the help of the internet. 

According to the Dodo, a resident in the neighborhood contacted Cappellutti's rescue organization, Charlie's Angels Animal Rescue Costa Rica (CAARCR), via Facebook, after realizing a pregnant dog had been abandoned by her owners when they moved away. 

"It was very sad, as she was waiting hopelessly in front of the door for the family to return, which never happened," the group wrote on Facebook at the time. "They moved away and left her behind. Pregnant!"

According to the Dodo, the neighbor said the dog had been left behind without food or water. On the other hand, the dog had been sitting on the porch since her former family moved, seemingly waiting for them to come back. Cappelluti was determined to help the poor pup when she heard her story but was thousands of miles away in Germany. She knew she was going to need help in getting the dog the care she needs. 

She got to work and, with a little help from the internet, tracked down and convinced one of the neighbors to take the dog in for the night while she tried to get a hold of her colleagues at the rescue. Thankfully, Cappelutti eventually found a more suitable foster home for her, thanks to a network of foster homes the CAARCR had built over the years.

Wynn Mackey, an American living in Costa Rica, took Marie in and set her up with safe, clean living quarters, including a comfortable place to give birth. The dog now had a place to stay and give birth. 

"He has fostered for us before," Cappelluti revealed to The Dodo in an interview. "He is a wonderful foster dad." 

 In a Facebook post, the rescue announced that the dog, now named Marie, gave birth to seven puppies just ten days after her rescue. 

Giving birth in a warm, comfortable home was a much better experience than Marie would have likely had on her former family's porch or elsewhere outdoors. Wyatt worked hard to keep her comfortable. Moreover, if anything unusual happened, Mackey could quickly bring in a veterinarian to help with the situation.

Marie's puppies were, indeed, quite lucky that Mackey swooped in at the last minute. They were all safely born and got a healthy start. The seven of them were born in the right place, surrounded by the right kinds of people. These seven puppies were so adorable! While some of them adopted their mom's yellow and black shades of a shepherd mix, a few of them came out jet black.

Mom had her paws full from the first. The babies would climb all over her and one another. Keeping everyone safe was a full-time job for the new mom. As expected, the newborns were hungry all the time. They also required quite a bit of grooming. The new mom was eager to wash and provide food for the growing pups. Through all this activity, Marie seemed to enjoy caring for her young brood.

According to their website, Charlie's Angels Costa Rica Rescue was founded in 2015 by four women who were passionate about helping abandoned and neglected animals. The rescue usually takes in animals in dire physical condition and nurse them back to health before finding a suitable home for them. 

Marie's birth might seem like a classic happy ending. The happiness, however, doesn't have to end here. Please take a minute or two to tell us your happy animal rescue stories in the comments. You can also raise awareness for animal-related causes and even inspire others to foster a furry friend or two by passing this story along to your friends and family!