When Europa first came into our orbit at LHS, things were looking a little bleak. The new mom of five had been living alone in a windowless basement – doing her best to take care of her newborn puppies without any food or water. Luckily, thanks to the intervention of concerned neighbors who called and alerted LHS to Europa’s situation, we were able to safely move her and her puppies to our shelter and get them the proper medical care they needed to go from surviving to thriving.

Though puppies arriving at LHS may seem like a relatively everyday occurrence, it’s actually quite rare. Puppies – especially newborns like Europa’s five little ones – are increasingly rare at shelters like LHS, thanks, in part, to successful community spay and neuter programs. So, when puppies do come to us, our staff must focus our resources to begin immediate intervention to help expose them to proper socialization activities with the goal of developing them into happy, healthy, and loving dogs who will make fantastic pets.