All huddled in the corner of a box that served as their squalid little home, these three scrawny, dirty and extremely frightened little dogs cowered as their rescuers attempted to coax them out to safety and the hopes of a new life.

To the three little ragamuffins puppies these rather strange people were probably only going to hurt them like everybody else did. After all one of the favourite occupations of the neighbourhood kids was to throw rocks at them. Did those children not know how much those stones sting when they hit a puppy ?…but, when the puppy cries out, the children laugh !….What is so terribly wrong with this picture? Humans hurting for sport and laughing at pain…it is little surprise that these three puppies had no trust left and were absolutely terrified…

When the spay and neuter volunteer Doris, asked the “owner” for permission to have them spayed, the “owner” replied that he wanted the Mama dog back, but the puppies could be killed. How cheap is life ?…three pretty little pups, huddled in fear and their destiny to be killed…?

He just didn’t want them around any more and wanted them out of the way…nothing so easy as to order a dog dead and then turn back to the outboard engine you are repairing without EVER having another thought about those animals you ordered killed…Something wrong with this picture too, isn’t there?

However the people at the clinic had hearts bigger than the sky and the moon, as I have previously stated, they were all angels, caring, loving and giving…and none more so than Doris, who carefully unloaded these three little girls amid the odd snap and growl…

Eventually they were taken in to the clinic, spayed and de-wormed, and sat in a kennel waiting for someone to take them home. Scared, not know what would happen to then next!

It is not always easy to find fosters for all the puppies who need a helping hand and a loving voice. These three little girls, originally named (for about two hours) Dolores, Lisa and Bernadette in honour of the upcoming elections, sat huddled in their cage. We were worried how they would cope at the shelter because they were basically withdrawn and scared and would need one on one care to allow them to trust humans again…There is just not the time to dedicate at the shelter for that kind of individual attention.

Whilst everybody was looking at the pups and discussing…one particular volunteer was half way up the hill deep in conversation with her long suffering and understanding husband…”We normally only foster two at a time”, she told me…shortly after she came down the hill with a big smile to tell us that she would be fostering them all!

This was the best news ever as Candice Pinder has helped so many animals find homes, and find themselves, gradually one paw at a time, one sniff, one lick at a time, as they begin to understand that stones are not just for throwing, but for chewing too!

We were all very happy to see Candice bundle them into a carry cage with a towel to make them comfy as they started their long drive and then boat ride to Spanish Wells…good bye little girls!

Here ends one chapter of your lives as you enter a new phase of your little lives..

That evening Candice settled them into their new home, a nice, large airy shelter with a fenced in garden, lots of fresh water and food…and absolutely nothing to fear…but the girls just could not get the idea right away. They growled and tried to threaten Candice, just so sure that she had some nefarious intentions! Kim, was the one who stood her ground, determined to protect herself and her sisters… Kourtney was the first one to decide that perhaps the tide had turned and the rules were different here, and may-be puppy dogs were respected, and kindness WAS spoken…but the three girls had to learn that language…Every day they became a little more trusting of Candice…Now Kim, who was the most threatening, is the one who curls up in Candice’s lap the most, craving the love and affection she missed as a small puppy…Kourtney and Khloe, await their turn for attention on Candice’s lap.

They play together and roll over, and chew on things and wag their lovely long tails…their little noses sniff the breeze proudly and without fear, They have finally figured out that there are two types of humans…and they are with the right type now…They face a future of kindness and love…but …THESE THREE LITTLE GIRLS NEED HOMES !

They need love and affection, something they never had before....all they ever knew from humans before they came to Candice’s yard was pain and suffering

Please can you help them find the happiness that they so deserve and that they have now come to expect? Are you the one to step up to the plate and offer a secure life to chase away the nightmares that they lived in before being saved?

Authors note: Anybody able to offer a good home to one or all of these girls please contact Candice Pinder on facebook or myself at the email address shown below.

About the author: Kim Aranha grew up in the Berry Islands with her first dog, a beloved potcake named “Friendly” (who was anything but!). First educated at home, and then in boarding school in Switzerland, Kim moved to Rome, Italy in 1974 to pursue a career in the dramatic arts and ended up working as an interpreter. She moved back to The Bahamas in 1980, and now lives in Nassau with her husband Paul, and their two grown sons. Kim has 5 dogs, 2 goldfish, 12 fresh water  turtles, 1 Asian box turtle and 2 Budgerigars. Her idea of relaxing is being home to take care of all her pets. Kim is President of the Bahamas Humane Society, and is co-chairman of the Bahamas Sea Turtle Conservation Group. Kim can be contacted at berryislandgirl@gmail.com