Mom Loses Babies, Adopts 13

Posted on: Feb 16th, 2012 | News and Announcements

A dog abandoned after her owner sold off her litter of puppies has been teamed up with a litter of 13 squalling puppies rescued from a ditch in Semmes after their mother was hit by a car. The Mobile County Animal Shelter got the passel of pups after a woman from Semmes packed them up and brought them in Tuesday. Shelter staff put out the word through social media that a foster home was needed for the pups. Meantime, a local dog lover found the mama dog at Three Notch and Schillinger roads wandering aimlessly and looking very hungry. She investigated in the local neighborhood and learned that someone in the area had sold all the dog?s puppies and abandoned the mother. The rescuer had already read Facebook postings about the need for a mother and the networking started. ?We brought the mama in and it was a perfect match,? said shelter supervisor Sarah Tenon. ?Now we?re networking for a foster home.? It was a delicate introduction, according to shelter staff. They put the mother dog in the same kennel and watched as she and the puppies sniffed out the situation. The mother then generously laid among the throng and took up her role as surrogate. ?We have to give a lot of credit to our staff and our rescue partners who go far above the call of duty to place these animals,? said Mobile County Commission president Connie Hudson. ?A lot of these animals are surviving because of the behind-the-scenes efforts of our staff that usually go unnoticed by the public,? said Mobile County Commissioner Merceria Ludgood. Commissioner Mike Dean said he hoped that the new spay and neuter campaign of the Mobile County Animal Shelter will finally turn the tide on the growing numbers of abandoned animals in the county. ?We find animals barely able to survive because they are living on the streets. They depend on us and we need to keep them confined and we need to spay and neuter,? he said. The Mobile County Commission yesterday launched a unique marketing effort to get abandoned dogs adopted, featuring real-time shelter animals on an electronic billboard.