Four Adorable Puppies Rescued & Reunited With Their Mother Near Elgin, Oklahoma

"Some days in this job are tough and make me want to give up... but then there are days like today that remind me exactly why I do this," Elgin Animal Control Officer Alexis Crow shared about a recent rescue.

Anyone who works in a field where they see constant loss and neglect knows how difficult it is to persevere when you just don't want to anymore. But it's small, hopeful moments like this that outweigh the bad.

What started as a rescue for one dog soon became a mission to reunite a family of four pups with one very young mother dog.

One dog's rescue mission quickly became a countdown to reunite a mother with pups.

On Tuesday, September 30, Crow received a report about an emaciated, frightened dog at the Braums store in Elgin, searching for food. She responded immediately, attempting to rescue the dog, who definitely looked as though she'd been nursing.

It took Crow and her crew nearly 20 minutes, but they successfully captured the dog, later named Anna, and began searching the area for the missing puppies. After four hours, they decided to regroup and redraw a new plan.

Despite their best efforts, they were unable to locate the puppies the same day; however, the very next day, they were back in the area, searching again.

Puppies were found hidden in a crawl space at the former Raspberry Leopard house.

After they confirmed with a veterinarian that the black, shepard-like momma dog was definitely nursing, Crow and the rest of the crew returned to the area to look for the puppies on Wednesday, October 1. This time, they also checked a nearby abandoned house.

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"With the help from the water department, we carefully searched the property and eventually discovered four healthy puppies hidden under a crawlspace in the floor," Crow said.

Anna did a great job hiding the pups from predators, as the space was too small for predators to reach the puppies initially. After carefully cutting a section of the floor, they were able to rescue all four puppies and have them seen by the local veterinarian.

Mother and pups successfully reunited and are available for adoption soon.

Luckily, because everyone reacted quickly, the mother dog, Anna, was reunited swiftly with her pups. "They are healthy, thriving, and will be available for adoption in two weeks," Crow said.

For those interested in adopting one of the Raspberry Leopard house puppies or Anna, reach out to the Elgin Animal Shelter for more information.