Anonymous Caller Saves Puppies Abandoned in Box on Michigan Road During Storm

A group of puppies abandoned in a box are lucky to be alive after weathering a literal storm in Michigan.

The puppies — all around four weeks old — were found abandoned in a cardboard box on the side of a road near Holland, Michigan, on Saturday, according to a Facebook post from Harbor Humane Society, the nonprofit animal shelter caring for the pups.

Harbor Humane Society ended up with the little canines after someone spotted the box of dumped puppies on the road during a storm and contacted the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to the anonymous call and rescued the puppies from the bad weather.

If not for that call, Harbor Humane Society said the puppies wouldn’t have survived. When the animal shelter received the puppies, the tiny dogs were “soaking wet with low temperatures,” and two were still in critical condition as of Sunday.

“It breaks our hearts that things happened this way,” Harbor Humane Society shared on social media. “Had they reached out to Harbor, we would have been more than willing to help, and this dangerous situation could have been avoided.”

The animal rescue organization said the two pups in critical condition are being monitored and cared for by a staff member, while the rest will be going to foster homes “where they will get warmth, snuggles, and TLC.”

Harbor Humane Society is asking for donations to help cover the costs of caring for the puppies and for anyone with information on who may have abandoned the pets to reach out.

In its Facebook post about the dumped puppies’ rescue, Harbor Humane Society also reminded its community that the shelter is there to help pet parents struggling to care for their animals.

“We never want to see an animal abandoned and truly will never turn away a person or pet in a real emergency, even when we are bursting at the seams,” Harbor Humane Society shared.

The shelter also noted that the puppies rescued from the storm are not available for adoption since the canines are still recovering from their ordeal.

According to the Harbor Humane Society, the shelter is currently dealing with capacity issues as more animals come in and fewer are adopted. At the beginning of this month, the organization noted on social media that they have 207 cats and 45 dogs on site and 160 cats and 45 dogs in foster care.

“We just can’t keep up,” the nonprofit said in a Facebook post on Nov. 2. “We are facing the consequences of covid, of surgery being halted early in the pandemic, and of vet practices having limited operations for the longest time.”