Four Blue Tick Hound Puppies Are Safe - Rescued 10/5/25

Pickens County Animal Control contacted Anakin’s Trails about a litter of older blue tick hound puppies roaming in the woods behind a woman’s property. Their mother had given birth multiple times before, and this litter had never been safely caught.

We were asked to assist, and of course, we said yes.

Team members Debbie and Beth met with the caretaker who had been feeding the puppies daily. A plan was created, and a humane trap was set up ahead of time so the puppies could become comfortable walking in and out of it.

Because these were growing puppies, safety was the top priority. Instead of using an automatic trap door, the team chose to manually close the door so no puppy could be injured if more than one entered at once.

Everyone took their positions.

The caretaker arrived like she did every day so the puppies would feel safe. One by one, the puppies began to approach.

The first puppy walked in alone and was safely secured.

About 30 minutes later, a spotted puppy entered and was also safely caught.

Next came two more puppies together—the runt and another spotted sibling—and they were safely trapped as well.

Four puppies were now safe.

Their mother stayed nearby, howling and clearly upset, but the team kept the focus on getting the puppies out of danger.

There was still one puppy left.

The last puppy was the largest and most skittish. She had watched her siblings disappear into the trap and would not go near it. As darkness fell and temperatures dropped, every effort was made, including switching to a different style of trap, but she would not enter.

The team made the difficult decision to leave her for the night with her mother and return another day.

The four puppies that were caught were taken to meet Mercy Rescue Haven in Greenville, where they will go into foster homes.

If you are interested in fostering, you can contact Mercy Rescue Haven at Mercyrescuehaven@gmail.com to request an application.

Work is ongoing to safely capture the final puppy. Once she is secured, the team will then focus on humanely trapping the mother, Gracie, so she can be fully vetted and eventually returned to the caretakers who have been looking out for her.

At Anakin’s Trails, we are not a rescue. We are a stray and pet recovery organization that helps animals be located, trapped, or recovered so pets can be reunited with their families and strays can find a new forever home.

Four lives are already safe. One more to go. 🐾❤️