What Was It Doing?

Why was it here? Dimitra didn’t know what to think while she watched the animal huddle in a den of gravel underneath a tombstone. She didn’t know why, but she knew she had to help.

Hundreds of thoughts ran through her mind: maybe this was the dog’s previous owner’s grave? Maybe it didn’t know where else to go. What Dimitra would find out was much more frightening than she could have ever imagined.

Passion For Walking

Dimitra was always bored of her small town so naturally, she loved to walk around, taking in the fresh air. Dimitra could spend hours on end walking by the town’s edge, between the cemetery and the nearby wood.

But on a walk like any other, she’d stumble on something that would have her questioning everything. She had never encountered anything like this.

Clearing Her Head

With the stress of work always breaking her down, her one thing in life that seemed to melt away her troubles was her long walks. They’d clear her head and make her think of happy thoughts.

So when Dimitra took a walk one morning that she really needed, she had no idea how it would end.

Regular Sunday

Dimitra knew that she would have to work hard tomorrow since it was Sunday.  She got up from her chair after eating breakfast and walked out her front door.

As she left she noticed a news report on her TV. What she caught a glance of made her stomach flip.

Someone Missing

The news report said that a woman had gone missing just a town over. She disappeared three days ago and her family was a wreck.

Dimitra was an empathetic person and felt awful for the family. She couldn’t imagine losing a family member like that. But Dimitra didn’t know what would happen in a few short hours.

Beginning Her Walk

Dimitra’s mood was almost spoiled by the report. She tried to forget it and headed out her front door. Each step she took made her feel better, she could already feel the morning air calming her down.

She thought her walk would be like any other. But what lay in wait for her was going to make her heart jump in her chest.

After One Hour

After an hour of walking, Dimitra was loving her walk. The cold air was offset by the strides keeping her blood regulated.

She felt her heart racing from the exercise, she loved nothing more than walking. But later her heart would be racing for a different reason.

Cutting Through The Cemetery

Dimitra felt like cutting through the cemetery to get to the woods. She wasn’t normally scared of all the graves like others were. But then she heard something like crying.

The sound seemed to originate from one of the graves close to her. She wanted to investigate, so she followed it.

Homing In On The Sound

Dimitra was now right by the grave. Her heart starting racing, she didn’t know what was making the sounds. Then she saw the hole underneath the tombstone.

She could now clearly hear the crying. When she finally laid eyes on the origin of the sound she could never have imagined what was making it. She was frozen in her tracks.

More Questions Raised

From a distance, the hole was hard to see and looked like it was full of soil. But when Dimitra finally saw it, she only had more questions than before.

She got right up to the hole and crouched down. When she peered inside she saw something she’d have never expected. Huddled inside the hole was a shivering dog.

Scared Pup

There was a dog huddled under a pile of soil that it must have dug itself. The dog looked petrified when it saw Dimitra and made himself even smaller by going in even deeper into the hole.

Dimitra was stunned, but she knew it was not uncommon for dogs to mourn their owners. But Dimitra had no idea that this dog wasn’t mourning its owner, it was hiding something much worse.

Looking At The Dog

As Dimitra looked at the scene before her, she couldn’t believe that this dog had gone to so much trouble just to be closer to its deceased owner.

But she had no idea what else she was about to uncover.

Was It Mourning?

As Dimitra stayed with the dog and tried to make it come out of the hole by whistling and calling it, the dog was not going to move.

She had no idea how long this poor dog had been there, or if it had had water or food. Just as she was about to give up, her gut told her to carry on. But she never expected to find what she did.

Intrigued

The dog was intrigued by Dimitra, and it quickly came out of the hole to introduce itself. But as soon as it came out, it doubled back and checked on something before going any further.

What was this dog hiding? Soon, Dimitra would find out, and it would leave her lost for words.

Coming Out

Dimitra whistled out again to the dog to try and get its attention, and lead it out of the hole. It finally responded with a soft growl and slowly made its way out for Dimitra to see what was inside the hole.

She couldn’t believe her eyes. This dog was not mourning her owner but doing something else.

The Truth

Turns out this dog was in fact protecting her babies! The stray momma had a little cave under the gravestone and had had her puppies there. Dimitra couldn’t believe what she was witnessing.

This poor dog was just looking out for her babies and dug herself into somewhere she thought was safe. Dimitra knew she needed to help this family, and was prepared to do anything in her power to do just that. But more was to be uncovered.

Abandoned

The den which the dog had created wasn’t ideal but it was the best she could find. The pups were struggling for survival, and Dimitra got some dog food and tossed it their way.

Dimitra knew she had to be quick. Time was running out for these puppies and their devoted mom.

Malnourished

The puppies and momma were starving. Dimitra had no idea how extended this canine family had been without food or water. The momma was unafraid of Dimitra now, and she even got to be petted by her.

As soon as the pups smelled the food on the ground, they made their best efforts to go to it, some faster than others.

New Lives

Some of the little ones were too frail to even move. Dimitra was now scared for them, she had to get help, but she didn’t want to leave them alone, so she got out her phone and called someone she knew would be of help.

She called Vesna Mihajloski, and thanks to her, that day was the start of their incredible new lives.

Safe

Mihajloski immediately took all of them in, and once they were all safe, the momma dog fell into a deep sleep. Noticeably, momma was worn out. She must not have had a good rest for quite some time, and this was just the beginning of her amazing recovery.

The canine family had its own safe place with warm beds, freshwater, and good food they could all nibble on. But what would their medical results say?

Food And Rest

All of them received expert medical attention; they all were in good health but still needed a lot of food and rest before they could be put into the adoption program. All the pups’ bellies were growing, and their fur was shining.

If it was not for Dimitra, who knows what would have happened to these babies.

Best Mama

They were each given names while they waited to get adopted into their forever homes.

Momma’s dog was named “Mama” – which was appropriate. She had kept her family warm and safe for so long, now it was her turn to be praised and loved.

Amazing Mom

She was a lovely mother to the puppies as well as humans. Mama had two girl pups called Eli and Grace and two boys, named Freddie and Boomer.

While Eli had yet to grow into her personality, she seemed sweet. Grace on the other hand was a confident and curious pup, as well as a stunner. But what about their brothers?

Boomer

Freddie was described as a ‘serious, gentle, and kind’ puppy who would be good in a family.

Sadly, Boomer fell ill, but with the incredible help of Mihajloski, he was soon in tip-top condition again.

Happy Home

Unfortunately, the pups and momma have not been adopted but live happily together in their new shelter home. A lot of people from around the world have taken notice of their incredible story and have sent gifts to both babies and Mama.

Even though they have not been adopted, they are still in amazing hands and are incredibly happy with their new lives.

Disclaimer: The events of this story are entirely fictional and are products of the author’s imagination. Images included are meant for illustration purposes only. Any resemblance to actual events, places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.