\nDogs are man\u2019s best friends. They are with us through thick and thin, and have been around throughout the development of us humans as a species. There are various theories as to how and why this happened, but the prevailing theory as to how humans and dogs got so close is that early humans would throw their garbage out close to the campsite, and wild wolves would scavenge around the trash piles.<\/p>\n

As they were scavenging, the wolves would bark and howl whenever they heard other apex predators around, such as sabre tooth tigers, lions, and all manner of other scary, prehistoric beasts. Eventually, humans and wolves began to work together. The wolves would protect and warn the humans whenever another apex predator or even other humans were in the area, and the humans would provide the wolves with as much food as they could eat.
\nThis eventually led to humans taking the most docile of the wolf puppies and raising them as their own. This selective breeding over thousands of years would eventually lead to all of the dogs which we know and love today. Everything from beagles and golden retrievers all the way to bichon frises and chihuahuas. However, in the west coast state of California, humans are trying to go back to the way things were – where we help our furry, four legged friends. A group called Hope for Paws goes into kill shelters as well as helping out animals who are being abused by their owners and save their lives.
\nThis is a fascinating story about some great, caring citizens in the Los Angeles area who saw a hopeless canine and wanted to help it. All they knew was that the dog was super shy, and that it did not want to be around people. But then a giant thunderstorm happened, and these great samaritans called on Hope for Paws in order to help this poor pup out. But then they discovered something which would change everything.
\n[post_page_title]Hope for Paws[\/post_page_title]
\nHope for paws is a California based non-profit organization that saves dogs from being put to sleep in shelters along with stray dogs on the street. They help provide these animals with shelter during the worst natural disasters imaginable while the rest of the emergency services are looking for people to save. But during one of the worst thunderstorms of the year, the brave organization got a call which would change everything.
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\n[post_page_title]Concerned citizens[\/post_page_title]
\nThat night, Hope for Paws received a call from several concerned citizens about a dog who lived in some bushes by their house. The dog had lived there for some time, and the residents had attempted to help it on multiple occasions. However, the dog would always run away from them, seeking shelter in the foliage. But due to the intense rain storm, the residents of the area decided that something needed to be done, and fast.
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\n[post_page_title]Raining cats and dogs[\/post_page_title]
\nAfter receiving the call, the rescue crew raced to the scene in order to go and save the poor, wet, cold, and undoubtedly scared pooch. However, due to the extremely heavy rain and the fact that California is such a huge state, the animal rescuers from Hope for Paws took three hours to get on the scene. By that time, night had fallen, making it hard to see by the time they arrived.
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\n[post_page_title]\u2018A crazy situation\u2019[\/post_page_title]
\nThe severe inclement weather made the search for the dog extremely difficult. All that was known about the pooch\u2019s whereabouts was that it was hiding somewhere in the thick underbrush. This, along with the fact that it was night time, cold, and rainy, made the search for the dog that much more difficult. In a Youtube video documenting the rescue, the founder of Hope for Paws Eldad Hagar said that \u201cThis is a crazy, crazy situation.\u201d
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\n[post_page_title]Search and rescue[\/post_page_title]
\nAfter a while of searching, one of the Hope for Paws rescuers finally found the scared, wet, and cold doggo. However, they had to cut through the dense trees, leaves, and branches in order to get to the frightened pooch. But when they finally got to the dog, they were able to provide her (turned out she was a girl) with the help the dog required.
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\n[post_page_title]Getting her calm[\/post_page_title]
\nHagar has been doing this for a long time, so he knew what he needed to do in order to win the trust of this frightened canine. He spoke soothingly to the dog, saying calling her a good girl and acting like a loving owner. He then gave her some food in order to earn the dog\u2019s trust, and the dog ate. Hagar was finally able to pet the dog, and that is when he discovered what the dog was hiding.
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\n[post_page_title]Protecting her litter[\/post_page_title]
\nIt turned out, the dog was hiding a gorgeous litter of newborn pups. The brave mama dog was trying to shield her puppies from the cold and strong storm. The Hope for Paws team now had a new and more urgent challenge – gaining the mother dog\u2019s trust quickly in order to bring the dog and her puppies to a warm and dry place. It was therefore of the utmost importance that the rescuers would gain this dog\u2019s trust, and fast.
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\n[post_page_title]Earning trust[\/post_page_title]
\nOne of the methods Hagar used in order to gain the trust of this protective mother dog was to lay a leash on the ground in order to let the dog sniff it and figure out what it was. He then waited for the right moment, and gently put the leash around the frightened and scared mother. At this point, it was clear that the dog trusted him, so he and his team began to take the puppies out of the den one by one.
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\n[post_page_title]Bringing mom along[\/post_page_title]
\nAdorably, the mother dog licked each puppy as they were pulled out of the den, as if to tell them that everything would be ok, and that they were in good hands (or paws). The Paws for Hope squad removed eight puppies from the water logged den. Now that they had gotten all eight of the puppies out of the rain, it was time to get their mother to come out of her hiding spot and go with the team.
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\n[post_page_title]Cold and wet[\/post_page_title]
\nAfter several long minutes, the rescuers at Hope for Paws were eventually able to get the wet dog out of her den and into their animal ambulance. The rain had soaked them all the way though, and their bones were clattering with cold, but they were still feeling warm inside for having saved the lives of these precious pooches. The rescuers took these dogs to the nearest veterinary clinic they could find and made sure that these dogs got the best care.
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\n[post_page_title]What are they called?[\/post_page_title]
\nDue to the fact that these were all feral dogs, none of them had a name. Therefore, when the dogs were sent to the veterinary clinic, the Hope for Paws animal rescuers needed to find suitable names for the pups and their brave mom. They decided to name the baby dogs after the rain storm in which they were found: Thunder, Bolt, Flash, Droplet, Misty, Raindrop, Breezy and Stormy. They decided to name the mother Rainbow.
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\n[post_page_title]Improvised lights[\/post_page_title]
\nHowever, when the Hope for Paws team finally got to the veterinary clinic, they were not out of the woods quite it. It turned out that the clinic was suffering a power outage due to the intensity of this freak storm. Therefore, both the medical staff as well as the rescuers were forced to rely on flashlights to take care of the little new born puppers and their mom.
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\n[post_page_title]Warming up[\/post_page_title]
\nIt turned out that Rainbow (as she came to be known) just needed to rest and relaxation in order to warm up to her rescuers and the medical staff. She also just needed to be in a warm place herself. Everyone was immediately taken by the pooch, and both the vets as well as the Hope for Paws rescuers both gave her a ton of love, which she returned as only a dog can – with licks.
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\n[post_page_title]Incredible transformation[\/post_page_title]
\nHagar and his team were amazed that Rainbow was originally so frightened of people. \u201cIt is so crazy how you kept running from people for three months,\u201d he said as he pet the mother pooch. Perhaps it was because she was about to give birth, but the rescuers were simply in shock as to how calm and relaxed the mother was in warm, dry captivity.
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\n[post_page_title]Able to start again[\/post_page_title]
\nWith Rainbow out of the rain and with her litter being taken care of by the staff at Hope for Paws, the mother and her dogs were able to become one big happy dog family together. Rainbow was eating, and therefore able to produce milk with which she was able to feed her precious puppies. It looked like these eight little guys all of a sudden were able to have a new lease on life.
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\n[post_page_title]Six weeks later[\/post_page_title]
\nIt only took six weeks of good food, warmth, and interspecies love for these tiny little balls of puppy fludd to turn into smiling, strong, healthy doggos. All of the little guys have since grown into more mature adolescent dogs. They love playing in the grass all together. Of course, they are watched over by their loving, worried mother. But she has no need to fear, both she and her children are in a loving, safe, warm place.
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\n[post_page_title]Developing well[\/post_page_title]
\nIn a few months when they are bigger and more mature, these puppies and their mother will be split and go up for adoption to loving households all over California. But for now, they are all playing around together, and having a great time as brothers and sisters and as a big ole canine family. Even mama Rainbow sometimes gets in on the action. The rescuers are really happy with how the dogs are all developing too.
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\n[post_page_title]Publicity[\/post_page_title]
\nIn order to make knowledge of the dogs more accessible to the public, along with knowledge of his organization, Hagar decided that he would put the video of the rescue of these adorable little puppies on YouTube. It turned out that the dogs became more popular than they ever could have imagined, with over three million people going to watch the rescue clip in less than one month.
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\n[post_page_title]A bright future[\/post_page_title]
\nHopefully, due to the enormous worldwide success of this incredible rescue video, it will only be a matter of time before each and every one of these puppers as well as momma Rainbow are adopted into a warm, safe, and loving family. These dogs were brought into this world in a tempest, but hopefully they will go home to a relaxing, caring place. It seems that, at least for these puppies, the clouds have finally parted.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dogs are man\u2019s best friends. They are with us through thick and thin, and have been around throughout the development of us humans as a species. There are various theories as to how and why this happened, but the prevailing theory as to how humans and dogs got so close is that early humans would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":23573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,43,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mustreads","category-social-media","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\n