The moment she heard that Denali, a soon-to-be-mother dog, needed an emergency foster home in order to escape euthanasia, she wholeheartedly took her in.

Amanda was the pup’s only hope to be saved since there were no other fosters available.

When Denali arrived at Amanda’s home, she had a large belly, and she was expected to give birth very soon.

Frightened Denali

The pup was frightened and distrustful of humans. She growled and cowered in fear every time she saw Amanda and her wife, Casey, approaching.

Owing to her immense fear of humans, Amanda assumed that Denali’s previous experience with people was negative and that she experienced trauma.

Amanda and Casey started working on winning her trust.

“We spent a lot of time sitting on the ground with her or just petting her,” Amanda told The Dodo.

Gradually, Denali started taking in all their affection and coming out of her shell. She realized that her foster moms loved her and that they only wanted to help her.

The sweet pup began wagging her tail. She looked at her foster moms with hopeful eyes and a big smile on her face.

Two weeks following her arrival at her foster home, Denali started giving birth to her babies.

“She had each puppy about 15 to 20 minutes apart. I kept saying: ‘OK, I think she’s done.’ And then there would be another puppy. And she did that until there was 11. She was a trooper,” Amanda added.

Just like their mom, the puppies were named after national parks: Rocky, Yosi, Baddie, Sequoia, Jasper, Boone, Archie, Raini, Kenai, Acadia, and Zion.

Denali trusted Amanda and let her handle her little fur babies.  

The sweet dog was a great mama. She nursed her puppies, took care of them, and covered them in kisses.

The Adorable Canine Family Finds Happiness

All of the puppies flourished into happy and playful pups.

A pregnant dog and puppy rescue called Path of Hope Rescue, located in Spokane, Washington, helped them find their forever homes.

Denali was grateful to her foster family for their unconditional love and for everything they did for her and her babies.

“She was so thankful. Every time you looked at her you could see the thankfulness in her eyes,” Amanda said.

The sweet mama dog got her happy ending and moved in with her forever family.

Denali lives her dream life with her humans, who love her immeasurably.  

In 2022, Amanda founded Determined to Rise Animal Foundation, a non-profit organization located in Illinois that rescues abused, abandoned, and neglected animals

Many thanks to Amanda for saving Denali and for helping other animals in need of help.