Heartbreak at puppies abandoned in nature park found “desperate” and crying

The story of a woman’s trip to the park that unexpectedly turned into an animal rescue mission has gone viral on Instagram.

The incident was detailed in a video posted on the woman’s Instagram account @exhaustivebliss, where it has amassed 2.4 million views since it was shared on December 20.

In a voiceover in the clip, which shows two little puppies jumping around in the cyclist’s lap, the woman says: “I was biking in the middle of a nature park when I came across two puppies that seemed pretty desperate, so I stopped. I think they had been abandoned there.”

The puppies are shown frantically gulping water as she explains: “They drank so much water, and after that it seemed to have calmed them down.”

“They even managed to sleep for a little bit,” the voiceover continues, as the puppies are shown fast asleep on the woman’s lap.

The woman is seen walking while holding both puppies in her arms as the voiceover explains: “After making a phone call, the shelter agreed they’d come pick them up if I got them out of the park. So, I had to get them out of there.”

The puppies were secured in her backpack as she biked for around five miles (eight kilometers) to get the puppies out of the park. The puppies fell asleep for half of the journey.

“I’m gonna miss them,” she says, as the puppies are later shown sitting in the back of a car after a shelter worker arrives to pick them up.

The viral post comes as 5.8 million dogs and cats were reported to have entered shelters and rescues in 2024, “down only slightly” from the year earlier, notes the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

According to the ASPCA, approximately 2 million dogs were adopted in 2024, while 554,000 were returned to their owner, 334,000 were euthanized, and 524,000 were transferred to other organizations.

The nonprofit notes: “Unfortunately, not enough animals were adopted to significantly reduce the number of dogs and cats in shelters nationwide.”

“While the number of animals entering shelters has declined slightly since 2023, many shelters still have too many animals and not enough adoptions,” the ASPCA warns, noting that “with more animals staying longer in shelters, and multiple other factors converging simultaneously such as staffing and veterinarian shortages, as well as an increasing proportion of animals with greater medical and behavioral needs, many shelters continue to face an ongoing capacity crisis.”

‘Poor Babies’

Viewers on Instagram were heartbroken by the story of the abandoned puppies and praised the woman’s effort to rescue them from the park.

User @peligringa said: “It’s heartbreaking and unbelievably cruel that someone deliberately drove several kilometers into a national park to leave these babies to ‘fend for themselves.’ Even wolf cubs can’t survive alone at this age, let alone Rottweiler pups. I’m not religious but it feels like you were sent there to save them…”

User kayconleche noted: “I would’ve cried the whole time and for weeks after. Poor babies.”

User @moni.ami.leb wrote: “That’s incredible, wow those pups will cherish you for life.”

User @jorgeayy said: “Thank you for you kind service. you saved two little angels.”

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via Instagram. This video has not been independently verified.

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