It was nearly midnight when volunteer rescuer Arturo Flores’s phone rang with a call that left him breathless.

On the other end of the line, a stranger described a scene too painful to ignore: a small poodle mix tied tightly to a railing in a shadowy alley.

Next to her sat a battered cardboard box, inside of which were two tiny puppies with no one to care for them. The urgency in the caller’s voice was enough to send Flores racing into the night.

A Desperate Nighttime Discovery

When he reached the alley, his heart fell. The mother dog was lying still on the hard ground, her spirit drained, while her babies stumbled in circles around her, unsure and frightened.

The leash around her neck was so tight that not even a finger could slip beneath it. She was covered in fleas, and her thin body told the story of a life filled with neglect.

This was a family left behind, waiting in vain for someone who had already abandoned them.