They only had each other for comfort.
On a warm October day near Penny Road Pond in Barrington, Illinois, birds chirped and frogs croaked. Nestled on the edge of a forest preserve, the pond is a nice spot for relaxing or hopping on a hiking trail. But on this particular day, officers with the Cook County Forest Preserves Police Department noticed something out of place.
Several furry lumps huddled together near the pond, almost moving as one big creature. Looking closer, the officers realized they were seeing 15 small dogs with wads of matted fur hanging off their tiny bodies.
The Cook County Department of Animal and Rabies Control (ARC) was called in to take over.
It seemed to ARC officers that the dogs had been there a few days. While it’s unclear how they got there, it’s possible someone driving through the forest abandoned them. The pond where officers found the dogs is right next to one of the only paved roads within the preserve.
Surprisingly, wrangling the dogs into a transport vehicle wasn’t difficult. The pups were so terrified they huddled together for comfort.
ARC officers drove the dogs directly to South Suburban Humane Society.
“Intake was pretty much all hands on deck,” Jeremy Manthey, marketing manager for South Suburban Humane Society, told The Dodo. “Honestly … it was a very bad smell.”
To avoid totally overwhelming the dogs, staff let them decompress overnight. They kept the pups together in groups of five with blankets in their kennels.
“They just wanted to be close to each other,” Manthey said. “They were just going to do better together.”
The next morning, Manthey said the blankets, walls and floors were black with dirt and grime.
First, staff just trimmed back the fur around the timid dogs’ faces so they could see and eat. They appeared to be Shih Tzu mixes between 2 and 6 years old, some weighing as little as 5 pounds.
Staff determined that shaving and bathing the dogs — some of whom had mats larger than tennis balls — while they were awake would be unsafe. Instead, vets waited a few days before sedating the pups for some trauma-free grooming at the same time they completed spay and neuter surgeries.
After this, the dogs looked brand new. Manthey noted they also seemed “happier,” like a weight had been lifted.
“We had them all outside,” he said. “Some of them were kind of sitting by the door, just kind of shaking, because they were nervous. But other ones were just like … ‘It’s kind of chilly outside now that my fur is gone, but I feel a lot better.’”
Each dog also received a name beginning with the letter B, for Barrington.
Another nearby shelter, Tiny N Tall Rescue, lent a hand by helping 10 of the brave little pups find temporary homes.
“Our foster homes are just giving them ample time to decompress,” Shelby Golonka, medical director at Tiny N Tall Rescue, told The Dodo. “Kind of explore the world on their own and get to learn to be the dog they were meant to be.”
Throughout this entire ordeal, both Manthey and Golonka noticed how much the dogs relied on each other for support.
“Some are more scared than others,” Golonka said. “We actually have our more scared ones in foster homes with one of the more confident ones from the group, so they can kind of lean on each other and find comfort in familiar dogs.”
In fact, both rescue organizations require the dogs to either be adopted in pairs or to go to homes with an existing dog who can help ease the transition.
Despite having been through a terrible ordeal, these pups have a lot of love to give. Fosters have reported the dogs are blossoming, seeking out attention and giving lots of kisses.
Though unclear what happened in their past, these 15 brave dogs have very bright futures.
If you are interested in adopting one of these dogs, you can reach out directly to South Suburban Humane Society or Tiny N Tall Rescue.
