A man walking his dog through Gary, Indiana, never expected his evening stroll to turn into a rescue mission. But when he passed a pile of discarded mattresses, something caught his eye — a small movement where nothing should have been moving at all.
As he stepped closer, his heart sank.
Curled together on top of the trash was a litter of six puppies, abandoned and alone, with no mother anywhere in sight. The puppies stayed pressed against one another, as if their only comfort came from not letting go.
The man immediately called Silverstray Social, a local organization dedicated to animal rescue and family support. It was a Friday evening before Memorial Day, and the team wasn’t expecting another emergency call. But once they heard about the puppies, there was no hesitation.
They were on their way.
While volunteer Layce drove to the scene, the man who found the puppies carefully gathered them into a makeshift kennel to keep them safe. When Layce arrived, the reality of the situation was devastating. The puppies were painfully thin — clearly starving.
Based on their tiny frames, rescuers initially believed the pups were only 6 to 8 weeks old.
The truth was far worse.
“What everybody thought were 6- to 8-week-old puppies ended up being 6-month-old puppies,” Kelly Carey, founder of Silverstray Social, told The Dodo. “That’s how malnourished they were.”
Carey immediately reached out to rescue partners to find somewhere the puppies could receive long-term care. Guardians of the Green Mile, a local foster-based organization, stepped in to help. Before the transfer, the puppies spent their first safe night in the home of a Silverstray volunteer.
And almost immediately, things began to change.
Within days, the puppies started gaining weight, and something even more important returned — the spark in their eyes. Less than a week after being pulled from the mattress pile, they were already showing signs of hope.
While the circumstances surrounding the puppies’ abandonment were heartbreaking, Carey emphasized that Silverstray Social focuses on prevention and community support, not judgment.
“If people were better supported in the community … that might not have happened,” Carey said.
Silverstray Social provides critical services including free spay and neuter programs, vaccines, microchipping, and TNR for stray animals. They also partner with organizations that support people facing homelessness and food insecurity, recognizing that animal welfare and human welfare are deeply connected.
For these six puppies, help came just in time.
“They’re hanging out in the rescue and doing well,” Carey said.
To learn more about the puppies’ journey — and how you can help animals like them — visit Silverstray Social. 🐾
