“She just seemed to know that we were there and willing and wanting to help her.”
Alice Gill Shelnutt was sitting in a church parking lot when a man in a logging truck approached her. He recognized her as the founder and director of Southern Pup, a rescue for abandoned animals in the area. For the last few days, he’d seen a white shepherd on his route — always near the same rural Mississippi intersection. Could she maybe have a look?
It didn’t take long for Shelnutt and her husband to find the shepherd mix a few miles away on a lonely stretch of gravel road. Shelnutt was so glad to see her, and the dog wagged her tail in return.
Alice Gill Shelnutt
As She approached the pup, asking, “Do you need some help?” the dog lay down, showing her belly. Shelnutt could see signs of recent suckling and scratching on the dog’s nipples. “Hey, sweet girl. Where are your babies?” she asked between pets.
Alice Gill Shelnutt
Shelnutt went to the back of her truck and pulled out the only dog food she had — a carton of Milk-Bone treats — and fed the starving mama. Once the dog had eaten, she took off with Shelnutt following close behind.
Alice Gill Shelnutt
“I had to give her treats that made her thirsty,” Shelnutt told The Dodo. “She started walking and she made her way through the woods and went down a ravine to a little stream and got some water. That’s when I really was feeling encouraged that she was producing milk. Once they get food and water, then their milk production will push them back to their puppies.”
Shelnutt hoped the urge to nurse her babies had taken over as she trailed behind the dog for a mile. The shepherd kept looking back at Shelnutt and her husband in the truck, as if to say, “Are you still following?” With nothing around but forests and gravel roads, her pups could be anywhere.
Finally, the dog took off running and veered into a ditch by the side of the road.
There lay nine spotted babies, all huddled together and swarming with flies.
Alice Gill Shelnutt
“I was able to just hand them one-by-one to my husband as he was putting them in a box,” Shelnutt said. “Mama sniffed around, and I was able to just pick her up and place her in the truck. When she saw her babies, she was fine with it. She just seemed to know that we were there and willing and wanting to help her.”
At home, the couple set up a blanketed kiddie pool in their guest bathroom and gave the mama dog, whom they dubbed Marathon Mama, a bath.
“The first thing I did with her was get her bathed and feeling better, and get the fleas and all of the ticks off of her,” Shelnutt said. “Then she was so happy to see her babies that she was immediately falling asleep.”
As the family dozed off warm and dry, the skies opened up and rain began to pour down. Had the babies stayed in the ditch a few hours more, they’d have washed away in the storm. But thanks to the kindness of the devoted rescuers, the family was safe and together.
“It was just a miracle,” Shelnutt said. “The timing of it all just had to be God.”
Alice Gill Shelnutt
As the days have passed, Shelnutt can’t help but admire what a protective mom Marathon is and how lovingly she’s cared for her nine pups. And though she’s busy nursing, the shepherd still craves attention from her rescuer.
“She’s so affectionate and she loves for me to sit in there and pet her and pick up her babies and hold them while she cleans them,” Shelnutt said. “The babies are starting to play now, and they’ve got their little puppy growls, and and they’re doing well. Yeah, they’re doing really, really well.”
Alice Gill Shelnutt
In about a month, Marathon Mama’s puppies will be ready to receive their vaccinations and spay and neuter surgeries. Then, the entire family will travel to Southern Pup’s rescue partners in the Northeast to find their forever homes.
But, for now, Marathon Mama can do what she does best — care for her puppies, while Shelnutt cares for her.
To help Southern Pup continue to rescue and care for the forgotten or abandoned pets of Mississippi, you can make a donation here.
