3 puppies miraculously survive after 5 days under Salinas classroom

SALINAS (BCN) - Three puppies were rescued last week after surviving miraculously for five days under a portable classroom in Salinas, officials with The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for Monterey County said.

On Tuesday, students and teachers heard crying under the classroom at Gavilan View Middle School following their return from the President's Day holiday.

On Wednesday at about 4 p.m., a teacher and custodian dug under the classroom and pulled out the puppies. The puppies were only two weeks old, SPCA officials said.

Five puppies were pulled out, but two were dead. A school secretary kept the three puppies warm until humane officers arrived and rushed the dogs to a shelter for care.

Humane officers named the three Gilligan, Skipper and Mary Ann. They were cold and dehydrated, according to the SPCA.

During the first night in the shelter, a person fed them through a bottle and kept them warm.

Humane society officials don't know how the three puppies survived because it's medically impossible, SPCA spokeswoman Beth Brookhouser said. 

The story takes a more fortunate twist as humane society staff members remembered a lactating dog had been trapped at the school on Feb. 17. She was taken to a separate shelter and staff wondered whether she was the mother of the puppies.

She was brought to the shelter where the puppies were recovering and immediately took the puppies into her care and started nursing them, humane society officials said.

It's possible the puppies have a different mother, SPCA officials said. But teachers and students have not seen another lactating dog on campus or a dog that has come back for the puppies.

Anyone who knows the puppies or has seen a lactating dog in the area is asked to call the society at (831) 373-2631.

The puppies will be raised in a foster home until they can be adopted in about two months.

Anyone who would like to help puppies such as Gilligan, Skipper and Mary Ann is encouraged to donate to the society at www.SPCAmc.org/donate.