The cold wind howled through the narrow alleyway, carrying with it the faint smell of decay. The mother dog, a once-strong creature, now hunched in the shadows, her fur matted and dirty from days of exposure to the harsh elements. She had never known such despair. Her body, once full of vitality, now sagged with exhaustion, her ribs showing through her thin coat.
But it wasn’t her own suffering that weighed on her heart. It was the soft, fragile whimpers of her six puppies. They huddled together beneath her, weak and trembling, their tiny bodies too fragile to face the world alone. They were all she had left in this world. And yet, in this desolate alley, she could do nothing but watch them suffer.
Her eyes were swollen from days of crying. Her tears mixed with the dirt on her face, leaving streaks of grime behind. Every time one of her puppies whimpered or struggled to take a breath, her heart shattered a little more. She knew they were fading, that their small, fragile lives were slipping away faster than she could save them.
The puppies were weak, too weak to stand on their own. They had been born into a world of cruelty and neglect, abandoned by the humans who were supposed to care for them. Without food, water, or shelter, they were left to face a world that didn’t care for their survival. And now, in this alley, their mother could only beg for their lives to be spared.
She whimpered softly, nudging the smallest puppy with her nose, urging it to drink the little milk she could still produce. But the puppy barely moved, its little body too weak to respond. Her heart ached with the overwhelming pain of helplessness. She could feel her own strength waning, and with every passing hour, the light in her puppies’ eyes dimmed just a little more.
She lifted her head and let out a mournful howl, her voice cracking with the raw emotion that surged through her. She didn’t know if anyone could hear her, if anyone would come to their aid. But she couldn’t stop herself. She had to do something, anything, to save her babies.
The alley was silent except for the wind and the soft sound of her sobs. She had been here for days, waiting, hoping for a miracle. But with each passing day, her hope faded, replaced by the brutal reality that the world around them didn’t care. She was just another stray, another lost animal forgotten by those who should have helped.
Her tears soaked the ground beneath her as she laid her head down next to her puppies, her body trembling with the weight of her grief. She could feel them slowly slipping away, their breathing shallow, their tiny hearts struggling to keep going. Her tears were not just for her own pain, but for the pain of her babies—babies who never had a chance to live, babies who never knew the love and warmth they deserved.
She pressed her body close to them, trying to offer whatever warmth she could, even though her own body felt as if it were running out of energy. But she didn’t care. As long as she had breath in her lungs, she would fight for them. She would give everything she had, every last ounce of strength, to keep her puppies alive.
Another soft whimper from one of the puppies made her heart leap in her chest. She turned her head toward it, her eyes wide with desperation. She nudged it gently, licking its tiny face, trying to encourage it to move, to get up, to live.
Her tears were relentless now, falling freely as she whispered softly to her puppies. “Please, my little ones, please stay with me,” she murmured in a voice that cracked with emotion. “I will protect you. I will never leave you. You are all I have left.”
The wind howled again, colder this time, but the mother dog didn’t care. Her only focus was her puppies. She could feel their tiny bodies shiver against her, and every time one of them moved, no matter how small the movement, she felt a flicker of hope spark within her. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing them. Not now. Not when they were so close to her heart.
Her eyes drifted up to the dark sky above, the clouds swirling like a mass of gray, and for a brief moment, she thought she saw a figure in the distance. Could it be? Could someone finally be coming to help them? She lifted her head, her eyes searching desperately, but the figure disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
She let out another soft whimper, her body sinking lower to the ground. “Please,” she whispered again, her voice barely audible above the wind. “Please, help us.”
But there was no answer.
Time passed slowly in the alley, each minute stretching on forever. Her puppies’ breathing was becoming more and more shallow. She could feel the end coming, and she was powerless to stop it. Her body, once strong, was now failing her. The cold was creeping in, and her own strength was slipping away with each passing second.
But then, something unexpected happened. A soft voice, warm and kind, called out from the edge of the alley. “Hey, there. Are you okay?”
Meanwhile, the Sprinter – which accounts for about 70 per cent of Mercedes-Benz Vans sales in Australia – has received a set of updates for 2024.
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The Sprinter gains an updated version of the MBUX infotainment system – as one of the first Mercedes-Benz vehicles to offer the original software – with faster computing power, better menu navigation, and a more intuitive Hey Mercedes voice assistant, according to the German car giant.
Its list of safety features includes lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, attention assist, speed sign recognition – including free map data updates for seven years – the Mercedes-Benz emergency call system, cruise control and a rear-view camera for the panel van and Tourer.
The Sprinter continues to use a 2.0-litre diesel engine producing between 84kW and 140kW, mated to either a six-speed manual or nine-speed automatic and with a choice of either rear- or all-wheel drive depending on the variant.
It is offered in panel van or cab chassis forms overseas.
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The electric eSprinter is claimed to adopt new underpinnings with rear-wheel drive for the first time – under a near-identical body to the previous model – with additional standard features.
These include the MBUX infotainment system and previously-mentioned safety updates, such as ‘moving-off information assist’ to avoid collisions with vehicles in front, ‘sideguard assist’ to help spot pedestrians and cyclists better, and hill start assist.
The platform consists of three modules – front, centre and rear – which allow it to be easily adapted to fit a wide range of variants and body types, Mercedes says.
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The new eSprinter can cope with higher payloads, now capable of a gross vehicle weight of 4250 kilograms, and it has an optional trailer coupling allowing for a 2000kg towing capacity.
The electric Sprinter is offered in two body styles and lengths, and three battery sizes – 56kWh, 81kWh and 113kWh – for outputs of 110kW/400Nm to 150kW/400Nm, and a claimed driving range of 233km to 478km.
In Europe, prices for the new Vito start from €36,557 ($AU61,000) for the panel van and €45,888 ($AU76,500) for the Tourer, while the eVito is available as a panel van from €49,441 ($AU82,000) and Tourer from €63,549 ($AU105,500).
Sticker prices for the new Sprinter in Europe start at €43,504 ($AU72,500) for the panel van and €31,896 ($AU53,000) for the cab chassis. The new eSprinter is available as a panel van in three trim levels – base, Pro and Select – from €47,591 ($AU79,000) with a chassis version to come.
