Trish Bennett, Editor
CIRCLEVILLE – Just as the Pickaway County Dog Shelter adopted out the last of nine puppies this week, they gained another seven when another shelter dog gave birth.
Now the staff is looking for a good samaritan to foster the mama dog, named Little, and her seven tiny offspring for eight weeks until they are old enough to find homes of their own.
“We knew she was pregnant, but we didn’t think she was as far along as she was,” said Marc Rogols, chief dog warden. “We came in (Friday) morning to quite a surprise.”
Little is a Shar-Pei mix that was found abandoned in a vacant house on April 8. She is gentle and friendly, according to the shelter staff, and already seems to be a good mother to her babies.
The shelter routinely attempts to place new mothers in a foster home with their puppies until they reach the legal age of adoption. To be considered, the person must live in Pickaway County and have a safe place to house them until they can return to the shelter.
Rogols said the dog shelter provides all the food, blankets and other necessities a foster family would need to care for the mother and puppies for the eight-week period. They also have the puppies seen by a vet at four weeks old and again just before their eight-week birthday for all their required shots.
Anyone interested in fostering Little and her little ones is urged to contact the Wright-Poling Pickaway County Dog Shelter at 740-474-3741 or visit them at 21253 Ringgold Southern Rd., Circleville.
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal