You may have seen the stories on Fox 4 or CBS 11:  Three girls dining with their families on March 23rd at Roma’s Pizza and Italian Restaurant on Greenville Ave. just south of Walnut Hill, saw movement in the creek area beneath the restaurant’s deck.  They went to investigate and found a litter of 6-week-old puppies and their mom.   Operation Kindness was contacted and, after determining the pups were not in imminent danger that evening, plans were put into motion to launch a rescue attempt Sunday morning.  Below is the timeline of the rescue.

Sunday morning – The puppies huddle together in the storm drain.  The drain, beneath the deck overhang behind Roma’s, extends hundreds of feet, allowing the frightened puppies to stay out of arm’s reach.    

OK rescuer and Urban Animal Editor Bob Walton and Charles Daniel, also with Urban Animal, try to lure the puppies out by, among other things, placing canned food on a long board.  Meanwhile Fox 4 reporter Dionne Anglin and a photographer interview the girls who discovered the puppies.  

After several hours, the rescuers leave the scene, making plans to return later.  Bob returns that evening just before dark and finds 3 puppies outside the drain.  One scampers away, but he’s able to rescue the other 2 pups! 

Storm Drain

Monday afternoon – Bob and Charles return again Monday about noon and find 5 puppies outside the drain underneath the deck.  Before the pups can scramble back to the storm drain, Bob and Charles are able to capture all 5 of them!   Meanwhile, mama dog watches from afar before crossing busy Greenville Avenue.

Tuesday morning – Bob returns to the restaurant with 2 of the puppies.  Inside a 6’ pen he set up under the deck the night before, Bob puts the 2 pups in a carrier and waits for mama to come back for her babies.  She finally enters the pen, he closes the gate, and viola!  Bob brings mama—now named Roma—to Operation Kindness and reunites her with the 7 babies. 

Tuesday afternoon – With the assistance of OK’s Sandi Laird (left) and Daina Shadden, the pups—who were crawling with fleas—get their first baths and learn about hair dryers. 

Five of Roma's babies

Tuesday night – Bob and Charles return to the restaurant to take down the pen and are startled to hear the pitiful cries of a puppy—there’s one more puppy far back in the storm drain!  They go to Operation Kindness and return to the site with Roma and two puppies, hoping the mama’s barks or puppies’ cries will entice the little littermate out of the drain pipe.

Wednesday morning – They leave the stakeout at 3 a.m. and return again at 7:30 a.m. with Roma and the 2 pups.  But the puppies have had their breakfast and are sleeping contentedly and quietly.  Finally, about 9:45 a.m. they awake, hungry again, and start to cry.  The last little pup wants to eat, too, and his hunger overcomes his fear of leaving the safety of the storm drain.  He waddles out looking for mom, and Bob scoops him up!  Even though Bob is pretty confident that this time there are no more puppies still in the storm drain, he still sets a humane trap inside the drain just in case.  He takes Roma and the pups back to Operation Kindness where the ENTIRE family is safe and secure at last.   We have affectionately named the last puppy, Little Bob in honor of his rescuer, Bob Walton.   The 8 puppies—5 boys and 3 girls—appear basically healthy and well-fed. 

We are very grateful to the girls— Addison and Ryland Portele and Tyler Hollandsworth—for their efforts to help for the puppies and save their lives.  Other people in the area—restaurant diners and employees of nearby businesses—saw the tiny pups and stray mama dog and did nothing.  But because Addison, Ryland and Tyler took action, the puppies and their mom are safe and will be adopted into loving, forever homes.  The girls also ended the cycle of even more unwanted, homeless puppies being born on the streets—at least to Roma!   

Most especially, we extend our heartfelt thanks to Bob Walton and Charles Daniel.  Without their compassion, determination and tireless efforts, the story of Roma and her puppies would not have had this happy ending.  The puppies would surely have met terrible fates, and Roma would have gone on having more pups, until her life also ended tragically.         

To see video of the two news stories, click on the links below.

CBS 11:  Monday, 3/26/07 - Operation Kindness Saves 7 Puppies:
View CBS Video>>

Fox 4:  Sunday, 3/25/07 - Puppies Rescued From Dallas Storm Drain:
View FOX video>>