Doddie: A Mother’s Survival in the Andes

When we first found Dodie, she was extremely thin and pregnant. 

She was tied with a rope.

In the neighborhood where she lived, there were rabbits and chickens.

Dodie was so hungry and desperate that she would chase and eat anything she could.

Instead of helping her, people chose to tie her up, so she wouldn’t hunt their animals.

But they didn’t feed her.
They didn’t care for her.

She was left there… starving.

We tried to find a safe place for her before she gave birth.

But we couldn’t secure a shelter in time.

Dodie gave birth alone to nine puppies.

And once the puppies were born, rescuing her became even more difficult.

She was a large dog, extremely weak, and now she had nine tiny babies depending on her.

We eventually found a temporary foster home for her, just until I could arrive in Peru.

I arrived. That same day, I went to pick her up.

I took Dodie and her nine puppies with me to my Airbnb, which had a small patio where she could stay safely, along with other puppies I had rescued.

It was heartbreaking to watch her care for her babies.

She was so thin… and there were nine puppies.

We fed her three times a day, chicken broth, high-quality food, as much as we could give.

But it was not enough for what her body was going through.

Feeding them was painful.

Sometimes she didn’t want to nurse. She would run away from her puppies.

So I would sit on the ground with her.

I would hold her gently, pet her, and help her lie down so the puppies could feed. I stayed with her, reassuring her, helping her through every moment.

Dodie was not used to human touch.

She was scared. Protective. Unsure.

But love is powerful.

When you show a dog that you are not there to hurt them, that you will stay, no matter what, they begin to change.

Slowly, Dodie started to trust me.

She became my friend.

She began to feel safe.

I bathed her, she smelled very bad from everything she had been through.
She was terrified of going outside. She wouldn’t even take one step out the door.

But little by little… she learned again.

Her puppies suffered too.

We did everything we could to care for them, but we later realized that Dodie had severe parasites—and she had passed them on to her puppies through nursing.

Even with constant care and deworming, we couldn’t save them all.

Only two of her nine puppies survived.

Some suffering begins long before rescue arrives.

Today, Dodie is safe.

She is no longer tied.

No longer starving.

No longer alone.

She has been adopted by a loving home.

Why Her Story Matters

Dodie’s story is not just about rescue.

It is about prevention.

Because for just $25, a spay surgery could have prevented all of this suffering.

Be a Hero

You can stop this before it begins.

Because no mother should have to suffer the way Dodie did…

and no puppies should have to fight just to survive.