Mother gives birth in snowstorm -- rescued in nick of time

Dumped beagle mom thriving Cincinnati Inquirer

A pregnant beagle that was dumped in a farm field during a February snowstorm – then gave birth there to seven puppies – is doing well.

“She’s fearful but friendly,” said Gay Covell, who is fostering the mom and her puppies at her home in West Chester. “She doesn’t quite trust people, and she eats constantly.”

Covell named the mom Valentine and said she eats about four times a day and spends all her time with the puppies.

Darryl Lawson of Hamilton, the man believed responsible for dumping Valentine in the middle of a field, turned himself into authorities and was cited for misdemeanor charges of abandonment, abuse to companion animals, having an unlicensed dog and having a dog running at large.

He will appear Wednesday in Hamilton Municipal Court, said Meg Stephenson, executive director of the Animal Friends Humane Society.

Chris Demoret found the beagles on his property the night of the snowstorm and called the Butler Country dog warden, who brought them to Animal Friends, Stephenson said.

“The mom was extremely skinny but attentive to the puppies,” she said. The beagle mom had made a nest of straw in the snow, but officials said if the mom and puppies had not been found, they probably would not have lived through the night.

“The situation could have been avoided completely if he would have called us and asked for help,” Stephenson said.

People who can no longer care for their animals are urged to call the Animal Friends Humane Society, so an animal won’t be put into a situation that compromises its life, Stephenson said.

Why -- when there are places to take us -- and agencies to help -- do hoomans still treat us critters like this?

Thank heavens for the man who found this mama and her pups the night of the storm, and called for help.

Mommy, I'm so glad I've never had to spend a night out in the snow... and my puppies were born in a warm house, wif hoomans sitting right by me, to help if there were any troubles at all...

NEWSFLASH! Man who abandoned pregnant beagle in snow gets jail time news.cincinnati.com

In a case that outraged animal lovers, a 45-year-old man will serve five days in jail for abandoning a pregnant beagle named Valentine in a February snowstorm.

Darryl Lawson, who pleaded guilty to animal cruelty and abandonment Wednesday in Hamilton Municipal Court, also faces 175 more days if he breaks conditions of his two-year probation, officials said.

Judge Danile Gattermeyer also fined Lawson $500 and ordered him to perform 40 hours of community service at the Animal Friends Humane Society in Trenton, where the county dog warden brought Valentine and her newborn puppies after they were discovered in a field. The order also bans Lawson from living at a home with animals for two years.

Valentine and her puppies are in a foster home, and should be adopted out to loving homes soon. The night of driving snow and freezing cold should fade to a distant memory, and Valentine will hopefully learn to trust hoomans again. It is so hard to love so completely, and have your love treated so badly....

Thank heaven that most hoomans are like the man who saw Valentine in the field, and made sure she and her puppies were rescued.