Zena and her puppies needed help and fast.
Deliberately barricaded and locked in a disused public toilet block, Zena and her young puppies had no food, water and were living in filth. It’s likely Zena was trapped in there for more than a month!
Seven dogs, all alone, struggling to survive.
This Christmas, your support can help save precious lives like Zena and her puppies. Will you become an RSPCA Guardian Angel? Your donation will bring joy to an animal at the RSPCA today. And you’ll get to see the beautiful face of the animal you’re helping as a Guardian Angel.
You’ll be pleased to know that Zena and her puppies were rescued from their awful life. Our RSPCA Inspector saw to that.
But what our Inspector wasn’t expecting, was Zena squeezing through the tiny 10-centimeter gap under the toilet door once the wooden barricades were removed! She was so desperate to escape and was so emaciated that she could fit through the gap!
Once Zena and her puppies were led to safety, they could be examined by an RSPCA vet.
These poor dogs were in an awful state, covered in their own urine and excrement. The pups were all underweight, hungry and thirsty.
Beautiful Zena had put her puppies before her own needs, still feeding them while locked up in that tiny toilet block. Her puppies should have been weaned at 10 weeks of age, they were 16 weeks old and were still feeding from their mum!
This kindness had taken its toll on Zena’s body. She was given a body score of one by our vets, the lowest possible body score.
So at the RSPCA, we gave these dogs all we could to help them recover.
But we needed to make sure her mental health was also supported as she was struggling with shelter life. That’s where a devoted RSPCA Volunteer, Samantha, took Zena under her wing and fostered her in her own home
As you can imagine, Zena needed to be close to Samantha in her home, she hated any doors between them! But over time, Zena settled right into home life – knowing she’d never end up back in that filthy toilet block, fighting to save her life and that of her puppies.
Zena found her forever home, with Samantha.
Now adopted, she happily jumps on the bed, lies in the grass and is enjoying all the things in life that dogs deserve – love and kindness.
Zena’s puppies also made a full recovery and went on to find loving homes of their own.
These happy stories are only made possible thanks to animal lovers like you.
This Christmas, you can help change the lives of animals like Zena and her puppies, please become an RSPCA Guardian Angel today.
