Chained dog abandoned outside animal shelter gives her rescuers the sweetest surprise
Dr. Michael White’s day begins very early—he wakes up before the crack of dawn to get ready for a long day at the Harris County Animal Shelter in Houston, Texas.
As he gets ready to save the lives of countless shelter animals, at around 5:30 a.m., White flips on the local news channel to see what is going on in the rest of the city. What he saw on May 30 came as a bit of a surprise to him.
White’s shelter recently made headlines when the media caught wind that the shelter was far over capacity when the 150-animal facility received over 200 dogs and cats on Memorial Day weekend.
KHOU11 News team answered their cry for help and came to the shelter to get some footage of the animals, and when they returned to cover the story the following morning, a very pregnant, beautiful lab-mix chained to the fence greeted them as they arrived.
Posted by Janelle Bludau KHOU on Saturday, June 2, 2018
The news crew tried their best to take care of the pup while they waited for shelter staff to arrive.
“We tried unchaining her for a little bit, she’s a bit of a runner though so I’m trying to hold her right here,” Janelle Bludau, the correspondent on the scene, said to the camera.
“I was watching the local news and I saw Janelle [Bludau], the reporter, outside our facility at the gate out by the road,” White told The Dodo. “She was talking about this dog she found, who had been chained to our front gate when she came to the shelter that morning.”
One of the saddest things I’ve ever seen. Reporting on the Harris Co. Animal Shelter being overcrowded, and we find this sweet little girl tied up outside. She’s very pregnant but okay. We’re staying with her until someone with the shelter can come get her. Heartbreaking. #khou11 pic.twitter.com/nnhR2zgneh
— Janelle Bludau (@JanelleKHOU) May 30, 2018
White rushed through his morning routine, threw on some clothes, and hopped in his car to embark on the 45-minute journey to the shelter. Once he arrived, he gave the pregnant pup an examination and found she was carrying not one, not two, and not even five puppies. She was pregnant with 10 adorable little puppies, and they predicted their birthday was a week or two away.
“I decided I wasn’t going to leave her there any longer, and I took her home,” White explained. “I didn’t want her to stay up there in that condition. I hate for animals to give birth in a shelter situation.”
‘Janelle’ the pup is in LABOR! Want to take a guess on how babies she’s about to have?! 🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶??? Cheat sheet below!! ⬇️⬇️⬇️ 😆 #KHOU11 pic.twitter.com/c18EuhdFfW
— Janelle Bludau (@JanelleKHOU) June 13, 2018
Posted by Janelle Bludau KHOU on Friday, June 1, 2018
White named the pup Janelle, after the reporter who found her, and she fit in exceptionally well with his two other foster dogs.
“She’s extremely affectionate toward people,” White said. “She would love to be a lap dog, and will climb into your lap, but she weighs 65 to 70 pounds.”
But Janelle’s behavior changed dramatically on June 12, 2018, and at around 8:50 p.m., Janelle’s first contractions started. White’s hopes of a daytime birth were unanswered, and so he and his wife strapped in for a long night.
Posted by Janelle Bludau KHOU on Tuesday, June 5, 2018
“My wife and I stayed up with her all night assisting in each delivery,” White explained. “At 3:36 a.m., [puppy] number 10 was born, and we thought that was it, but number 11 was born at 6:05 a.m. It was a long night for me, my wife and Janelle.”
White’s fur-baby family grew exponentially that night, and he is pleased with how caring Janelle is for her 11 adorable babies.
Here you go! pic.twitter.com/B1XQZQzh7I
— Janelle Bludau (@JanelleKHOU) June 13, 2018
“She’s constantly keeping the pen nice and clean,” White added. “I couldn’t have asked for a better mother. She’s doing an excellent job with them.”
Best of luck to Janelle and the White family, but it doesn’t seem they need it, because luck has, apparently, been on their side for quite some time already.
Watch the news broadcast where she was found here:
The Harris County Animal Shelter needs your help
SO SAD… our reporter Janelle Bludau KHOU found this pup, who appears to be pregnant, chained to the fence outside the Harris County Animal Shelter this morning. These animals need your help: https://on.khou.com/2H3gMaY
Posted by KHOU 11 News on Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Got to see “Janelle” today!! 😍 She’s doing great & the vet says she’s less than a week from having pups! THE BEST NEWS.. she’s being saved by a rescue!!! She’s come a long way from being found chained to the shelter’s gate. Whoever gets this sweet girl is lucky!! #khou11 pic.twitter.com/ejv0b0Ng4w
— Janelle Bludau (@JanelleKHOU) May 31, 2018
You may also want to watch this video
After the rescuer carries the dog out of the hole it’s stuck in, this is what it does to him
