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On a lifesaving mission, Donna Lochmann set out to rescue four adorable pudgy puppies and their fiercely protective mom, all of that was hiding in a backyard with piles of junk nestled in the overgrown grass.
Living in squalor after her humans were possibly displaced by eviction, Donutfest, an adorable dog, turned out to be a fiercely lovable creature with a smile expressing her happiness and gratitude to the woman who selflessly saved her and her babies.
In 2022, Donna Lochmann, the Chief Lifesaving Officer with the Stray Rescue of St. Louis, received a call about a family of dogs who needed help. The animals were spotted by someone who said they were hiding in bushes of large blades of grass and weeds in an overgrown backyard.
Lochmann knew it would be a tricky rescue, with mom’s instincts compelling her to protect her furry little ones.
Some of the puppies were in clear view, one even curled up on an old, tattered sofa but, leveraging her years of experience with the rescue, she knew the lounging little one wasn’t where she needed to start.
Carefully hatching a plan, Lochmann set out to save Mom and her brood of cute babies.
“I thought, ‘Well, I’m just gonna try to get mom first because if she’s barking at me, I don’t know what her reaction will be when I start picking up her puppies,’” Lochmann told The Dodo.
Noticing the sad, hungry eyes of the white-furred mom, whose head was scratched up, Lochmann–armed with tools to help her through the rescue operation–cracked open a can of Vienna sausages, luring the starving mother into her car.
Within minutes, the dog–now named Donutfest after Lochmann’s love for donuts–climbed into her car, allowing her to complete the puppy mission.
“Once Donutfest was safe, I started working on finding the puppies,” she said.
The first puppy was huddled alone along a fence, and though she didn’t run when Lochmann approached, she was very vocal in expressing her displeasure.
“She absolutely started screaming,” Lochmann said. “I can’t believe nobody in the neighborhood came out to see what was happening.”
After the outspoken puppy was reunited with mom in the car, Lochmann then set out to collect the others.
Scanning the yard, she saw two puppies hiding in the weeds, while the third was still curled up on an abandoned couch.
Familiar with their outdoor home, the puppies did all they could to avoid their imminent capture, two of them running into tall weeds, making it difficult for Lochmann.
But, instead of chasing them, she employed the same strategy that successfully worked with Mom. Pulling out a can of puppy food, the smell was too much for them to resist, and one ended up in her arms.
With Donutfest and three of her four puppies safely in the car, Lochmann only had to save the one puppy, who had left his spot on the couch.
But his little legs didn’t allow him to move too fast, so Lochmann was able to gently pick him up before he was able to gain some speed.
“It took me a while to get the last three puppies,” Lochmann said. “But I was so happy once I got them all in the car.”
Taking them back to the rescue, the puppies passed their veterinary screenings and went into foster care almost immediately after being rescued.
After Stray Rescue of St. Louis posted photos of the cute, chubby babies, named Maple Long John, Chocolate Sprinkles, Jelly Filled, and Boston Crème, they quickly captured the interest of families wanting to give them a home.
Mom was spayed, and estimating her to be about three years old, the young dog was adopted on the day of St Louis’ Donut Fest in the fall of 2022.
“Donutfest has simply stolen our hearts here at Stray Rescue. This adorable mama was rescued with her puppies at the beginning of October. In that short time, her sweet and sad face transformed into the biggest smile EVER!” Photos posted on Facebook show the sweet creature transforming from sad and defeated, to a happy pup, beaming with happiness and gratitude. The post continues, “You can see how thankful she is now that she has human friends who will show her love.”
On April 28, we met Remo, a young dog who two weeks before had been shot in the leg, the bullet fracturing his bone, which was exposed. On May 17, after fundraising efforts allowed emergency surgery for the innocent pup, the rescue gave us an update: “The next morning, he not only woke up but he was doing great!! He’s spent the last few weeks healing in our clinic.” Adding that Remo is adopted, the post continues, “This boy is going to have the most charmed life with his amazing new parents. And he’ll have them wrapped around his paw in no time with those expressive eyebrows of his.”
We cannot thank you enough for your selfless efforts in helping these innocent animals! We look forward to seeing updates on the adorable cats and dogs you save!
