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Mother dog Paola gets her strength back
Paola and her three puppies are lying on open ground when rescuers from Abrigo Animais Aumigos find them. All four look worn out. more
The family is crying. Paola is so hungry that she has no milk left for her puppies, and they may have gone many days without food. She can do little more than close her eyes and bear the pain.
"My heart broke," one rescuer says of their pleading eyes. The rescuers don't wait. They give Paola a bowl of food right there, then gather up the family and take them to the vet.
The vet finds ticks all over them, and all four are badly underfed. One puppy is very weak. The other two are healthier, so they're kept separate to make their care easier.
At the rescue center, the hard part is going slowly. Paola's stomach is too tight to take much at once, so she eats a little at a time, along with a protein infusion.
It works. By day three, Paola is getting better. She can feed herself and take care of her puppies again. By the tenth day, all four have put on weight.
SavePaola stops doubting the people around her and turns friendly. Soon she can get up and walk around by herself.
On day 55, nearly two months after the rescue, Paola is completely healthy. She has gained weight and looks better all the time. Her three puppies have been adopted by kind families, and all of them are very happy with their new owners.
