Every year, approximately 3.9 million dogs enter animal shelters across the United States.

Whether they’re left out in the cold or surrendered by humans who can’t take care of them, the fact remains that almost four million innocent dogs end up in shelters, and thousands more still need saving.

And these poor pups were of the latter variety. A four-legged mom and her puppy were living in a trash can when rescuers from Hope for Paws found them.

Most heartbreakingly of all, a few neighborhood kids had stolen all of her other puppies by that point. For that reason, she clung to the remaining baby for dear life.

Now all these beautiful girls need to do is find a new home, and we hope that they can stay together. If not, Zoe can at least take comfort in the fact that her little Meadow gets a second chance at life.