When Jane MacMurchy, operations director of the Animal Charity of Ohio, received a call reporting a family of dogs in need of help, she came to save the poor animals.

She arrived at the address to find a 7-year-old mother and her two 5-month-old puppies living in t.e.r.r.i.b.l.e conditions. They lived in a makeshift pen and were completely unsocialized.

It was clear that they were not cared for by their owners and had to fend for themselves.
After hours of convincing, the owners agreed to surrender the two puppies Peaches and Layla and their mom Lady to the rescuers. The family dog was quickly taken to the shelter and checked over by vets.

They were relatively healthy, but Peaches and Layla lacked confidence, especially when their mom wasn’t there. They clinged to each other for comfort in the shelter. It broke MacMurchy’s heart to see them comforting each other with a huge hug.

“We were doing the vaccinations and the wellness check, and Mom finished first,” MacMurchy said. “We were walking her out into our intake area, and the puppies, without mom, latched on to each other because they were so scared.”

Just a few days after being rescued, Lary is already confident on her own and is happy to meet everyone. However, for her two puppies, they need more time to learn to be confident.

Now, the little family is living together at the shelter, where they get the medical care and socialization they so desperately need. The staffs try to give them time multiple times a day to just relax and learn how to trust.

“[Lady] is a tail-wagging, wiggle-butt little love, who is just happy to receive affection,” MacMurchy said. “The puppies are not quite there yet. They are accepting of love and accepting of affection, they are wiggly and happy when they’re together and they’re leaning on each other for their confidence. They are extremely dependent on each other,” MacMurchy added.

When Peaches and Layla are ready to be adopted, we hope that they will go to a home together. There, not only do they get hugs from each other, but they also get love from their family.