Pregnant dog found abandoned in Washington, gives birth to 11 puppies
By Paulina Aguilar
Click here for updates on this story
VANCOUVER, Washington (KPTV) — A litter of newborn puppies and their mom are getting a second chance at life after the pregnant dog was discovered in Southwest Washington.
Sadie, a 3-year-old yellow Lab mix, was found in Vancouver by a family in early December, abandoned and scared. The family took Sadie in and cared for her but just a short time later, Sadie delivered 11 puppies, a little more than they bargained for.
“When she was found, she was pregnant, she was living outside. She didn’t have a family to care for her. She was eating what she could find and trash,” says Sam Ellingson of Humane Society for Southwest Washington. “All things considered, it was pretty great circumstances for both mama and these puppies that they were found in the nick of time.”
This week, they received their first round of vaccines, but all 11 have their own unique look.
“Some of them kind of look like cattle dog, some of them look like sort of like big, almost long-haired dogs,” Ellingson said. “Their mom is a very small yellow lab mix, and so to see all these sort of larger puppies, and most of them black or black and brown or looking like cattle dogs as a little bit of a mystery to us.”
Ellingson says they’re seeing more pregnant dogs like Sadie being brought in more frequently, something he says wasn’t an issue three years ago.
“What we’re identifying as the cause of this is likely the lack of spay, neuter services over the pandemic. And then pre-pandemic kind of catching up to provide spay, neuter services to the community. A lot of this we suspect is a product of the pandemic,” he said.
The 11 puppies are expected to be grow into happy, healthy dogs. The puppies and their mom are currently staying with a foster family and will stay together until they’re all available for adoption in January.
To adopt, visit: southwesthumane.org
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
