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The original was posted on /r/bestofredditorupdates by /u/Direct-Caterpillar77 on 2024-11-10 05:00:03+00:00.
I am not The OOP, OOP is u/ChesterMIA
I rescued some dogs stuck on a wilderness cliff today.
Originally posted to r/MadeMeSmile
Thanks to u/queenlegolas for suggesting this BoRU
Original Post Nov 2, 2024
Went for a walk on the nature preserves out past my property today and decided to go down towards the river through the ravines that cut through the cliff sides.
About a mile and a half from my house, two dogs started howling in that “don’t come any closer to me” bark. I couldn’t see them, but they were so loud as their howls echoed up the rocky ridges. At this point, there are no people for at least a mile and a half (my house) and certainly no domestic dogs out there, so I started looking. Up the cliff side, I see these two beagles. I climbed about 50 feet up to them. The female is pinned between that log and the embankment and can’t move. The male is so weak, he can only move a couple steps to try to fend me off before having to lay down.
No cell phone service and on a sharp slippery face, I sat there and earned the male’s trust. After about 30 mins, the female still wouldn’t let me get close without biting at me and dusk was coming. With all the predators in my woods, I figured they wouldn’t make it another night. I decided to block her from falling past me and pulled the log out the was pinning her. She was now free and I could now see that she’s probably very pregnant too. Not knowing how to get them down (he’s too weak to walk and she will bite me if I do much as try to touch her) I decided to try and get her to follow me by carrying him. It worked. I led her down the safest way I could.
More than an hour later, I lugged that big soon-to-be dad up the cliffs and out of the ravines with her slowly following. It blows my mind how loyal the male was to be on that cliffside with her so long that he could barely walk. Got home and the police couldn’t find microchips on them and no one has claimed them on local social media yet. Calling shelters in the morning. If it doesn’t work out, I suppose they get to start their new family with a new family of their own. Don’t know what to call them yet, but my story makes me smile.
RELEVANT COMMENTS
SharpenedQuill
omg. I’m a rescuer/rehabber. With all the bad stuff going on in the world right now, I’ve been so down lately. This story literally has me crying. Thank you SO MUCH for what you did and for the fact that you plan to keep them. I truly believe that God intended for humans to be the caretakers of the animals in this world. May God bless you, and I truly mean that. You are a real hero!
OOP
Thank you! My kids and wife are pretty excited about all this too. This will be my first night ever with two dogs sleeping at the foot of my bed 😊.
Familiar_Business855
So… how was it? :) Asking because we have three big dogs and I love the sleep pile they create, but the two boys usually relocate in the middle of the night to their Big Barker beds on the floor next to our bed. Sleeping with dogs is the best ♥️.
OOP
Ha! It was great! They barked when my oldest came down the stairs about 15 mins ago but went right back to sleep. They are absolutely exhausted. They are also obviously house trained pups and have been the sweetest once they warmed up to us. As of this morning, we’ve gotten several people already expressing an interest in adopting them over social media posts. Not sure how this will turn out, but they’ll be well cared for from here out. I’m sure of it. 😉
Edit: we may have just found their owners! Someone has claimed them on a lost and found site and lives close-ish by. We’re trying to verify they are being truthful right now.
Update Nov 3, 2024
Never dreamt that so many people would be touched by my post last night (same title as above if you want the whole story) nor that so many would request that I post pupdates, but the think it is important for me to say that as much as my story may have warmed your hearts, the outpouring of warm thoughts and comments from you all has definitely warmed my heart.
So this morning, the owner found our posts and reached out. She was overjoyed that we brought the dogs into our house and kept them safe. I don’t really know how the events leading up to this point happened, but she was out of town, called her son (20 y/o maybe) and gave him our address. When he showed up, I had to carry the female outside to him as she was still too weak, sore maybe, to walk. She started whining when she saw him and the male started jumping up on him when they reunited. At this time, the boy started to well up which made me feel particularly happy to see.
The dogs names were Copper and Toddy (as in “Hot Toddy”) and went missing Oct 30th. Copper likes to chase deer and always comes home afterwards. He said it was unusual for Toddy to go with him. He also said the two dogs were inseparable which explains why Copper never left Toddy when she was stuck on that cliffside. The family received reports that the dogs were seen going the opposite direction from where I found them and is why their search efforts never made it to my area. My kids grew very found of the dogs during the few hours we had them and the mother and son both said they’d bring the dogs over to play with my kids anytime they wanted too, and that makes me happy to hear.
It turns out that Toddy was not pregnant after all. She was just heavyset around the mid region.
The picture of the map is where I found them. The family’s home is located on the far left where the highway goes into town and you can see how far out into the wilderness they/we were when I found them.
Im so happy that everything turned out for the best for everyone one and every pup. I hope you all stay well.
OOP later added a Pic of the map in the comments
RELEVANT COMMENTS
Excellent-Line-316
Well now that you have the experience, how about going to the local shelter and rescue a couple of dogs? :)
OOP
My family was willing to adopt these guys and love them out of the circumstance. While he housed Copper and Toddy over night, my 16 y/o Yorkie-poodle mix (Tucker) wet the house 3 times being territorial and was visually stressed. For months, my wife and I have been talking about getting a “better suited” dog for our kids (a bigger, youthful and more of an “outside” dog, but have not done so thinking Tucker’s health would rapidly decline. After this event, we discussed visiting the shelters after coping with Tucker’s loss. We feel we’d be selfish to adopt on other circumstances at this time. Tuckers as much as a family member as my kids are. Take care!
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