LIVE: Pet Connection: Meet Bilbo

BELCOURT, N.D. — Baby Bilbo’s arrival in the world is a perfect testament to just how dangerous the lives of animals near the Turtle Mountain Animal Rescue can be this time of year, as well as how critical their mission is.

His pregnant mother had crawled under a trailer home seeking shelter from the cold, and the homeowners weren’t physically able to get to her and her pups when she delivered.

So little Bilbo and his littermates were left with no human contact and no help until Keith Benning managed to pry some of the material away from the trailer’s bottom level, and start trying to get the pups to come to him.

Bilbo was the first to approach him and allow himself and finally the rest of his family to be carried off to safety at the rescue facility.

The little mixed-breed puppy is now about ten weeks old, and he’s good with other dogs, cats, and children.

He’s not housetrained yet, but considering he was thoroughly unsocialized with no human contact just a few weeks ago, odds are good the snuggly, affectionate puppy will grow up to be a great canine companion.

And that’s not the only happy development lately for the Turtle Mountain Animal Rescue.

The property the rescue sits on is up for sale, and its owner offered the rescue the chance at first refusal to buy it — or risk having the new owners tell them they’d have to leave.

Their online capital campaign set a goal of $300,000 — and they’re up to $360,000, which means that’s even less savings the rescue will have to dip into to continue operations.

The rescue still needs some improvements to make the shop space into a permanent facility.

If you’d like to donate, check out the link here:

https://turtlemountainanimalrescue.org/pages/how-to-help

And don’t forget to check out baby Bilbo’s profile to see if this little adventurer is the right one for your family:

https://us14d.sheltermanager.com/service?account=kb1929&method=animal_view&animalid=5804&template=animalview