Shreya Kumar was at home at Mandir Street in Nadera, Nasinu on Monday when she heard the distressing cries of puppies in trouble.

“They were crying for help,” she said.

She went out and discovered five puppies covered in mud stuck in a culvert after they were born on Sunday.

The dam (puppies’ mother), a Mongrel, had disappeared into the neighbourhood looking for food.

She did not know that this was the same dog that she had fed from time to time because it used to wander in the neighbourhood. At one stage, realising that the dog was pregnant, she laid out a mat on the floor of the porch, hoping that she would give birth there.

Ms Kumar sought the neighbours’ help to rescue the puppies.

During the operation, the dam returned and prevented the puppies from being moved. Ms Kumar then realised it was the same dog.

After repeated failed attempts by the residents on Monday night, Ms Kumar then called the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) for assistance on Tuesday morning.

Two officers went to the scene and rescued the puppies. They took the puppies and their mother to the SPCA base at Walu Bay, Suva.

Ms Kumar said she thought the dam would take the puppies out by itself.

“We left the box with the blanket inside the culvert hoping the mother would shelter her puppies to prevent them from drowning in the water as it was raining,” she said.

She said the dam was owned by one of the neighbours who had moved out. So it joined the strays.

SPCA co-chair Seema Deo assured the public that the puppies and their mother were safe in their premises with shelter and veterinarian assessment.

AFTER: The mother dog and her puppies rest comfortably at the SPCA in Walu Bay, Suva, on January 15, 2020. Photo: Shreeya Verma

“We keep stray animals in the shelter, treat them and we look after them until they can be strong enough to be adopted after eight weeks,” she said.

“Before any animal enters SPCA, they need to be checked by the vet to ensure they do not have any diseases, which may spread to other animals in the shelter.”

Edited by Ivamere Nataro

Feedback: shreeya.verma@fijisun.com.fj