Despite their troubled past, it seems three precious Labrador retriever-mix pups will finally get safe homes.
Abandoned in Israel's Negev Desert, the puppies were rescued after Reddit user Jayeugene, who goes by Jay, received a tip from a friend.
Jay works with his fiancee and friends around the country on their own dime to rescue dogs and find them homes. They picked up these malnourished and dehydrated pups and brought them home for rehabilitation.
Meet Wendy, Winnie and Willie.
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Speaking to The Huffington Post, Jay explained that they found the puppies, which he estimates to be about 3 months old, sleeping on a cardboard box with a box of rotten tomatoes nearby.
"They came to us pretty easily and were not overly terrified of people," Jay said. "We got them home and began the cleanup process."
While the circumstances of the rescue are heart-wrenching, Jay assures that the puppies have warmed up to human contact. After pulling out almost 250 ticks, by hand, from all three pups and then giving each of the pups a flea bath, Jay says the trio are doing much better now.
Wendy was adopted right away by a couple who heard her story. Jay plans to keep her brothers, Winnie and Willie, for now to prepare them for a home environment.
Though one might wonder who would leave puppies to fend for themselves, the shameful practice is not entirely uncommon. Fortunately, it seems, good Samaritans are quick to report cases of deserted dogs.
In another recent puppy rescue, a passerby stopped after she saw a mother dog and her offspring abandoned along a lake shore, east of Chicago. Karen Read tried to wrangle as many dogs as she could and called her husband to help pick up the rest. Seventeen abandoned pups were retrieved and taken to an Indiana nonprofit that finds homes for abandoned dogs. Within two days of the rescue, every single one of the puppies was adopted.