They couldn’t leave them behind. When a group of United States Border Patrol agents who had camped in a remote San Diego area got ready to pack up and leave, they decided they had to do something.
It wouldn’t be right to just take off and forget about the valiant Labrador retriever mix and the 11 puppies she had borne and raised nearby.
“She had taken excellent care of them,” said Darlene White of San Diego Animal Support Foundation, “keeping all 11 safe and well-fed even though she was starving and in need of medical care herself.”
The agents realized that after they left, if coyotes didn’t kill the dedicated but desperate mother and her family, starvation and exposure to the harsh elements would, said White.
So they contacted Aussies & Others Dog Rescue. And now the dog they named America is caring hands, along with her passel of pups, all named after U.S. cities.
“America is being nursed back to health and receiving medical care before she will be up for adoption,” said White. “The puppies, placed into foster homes [by Aussies & Others], are happy, healthy, chubby, well-socialized, and ready for families of their own. They are all spayed or neutered, vaccinated, de-wormed, and de-flea’d. They're expected to be about 50 to 60 pounds when full-grown.”
If you’re looking for a massive dose of puppy love, this Sunday at Howlistic pet supply store in Hillcrest you can meet a total of 16 individuals eager to oblige—the 11 Lab/shepherd mix pups, along with five cattle dog puppies from a different litter.
It will be a bit longer before mama America is rested and ready to find her forever family, but as we all know, some things are worth waiting for.
Puppies in photo above: Tulsa (trying to make her escape), Eugene, Houston, Phoenix, Memphis and Tuscon.
What:
Puppy Party!!!
When:
Sunday, June 5
Where:
Howlistic (pet supply store)
930 W. Washington St.
Hillcrest
Contact:
Becky Rice, Aussies & Others Dog Rescue
Tel. (619) 469-3748
About Katerina...
A lifelong dog addict and rescuer, Katerina (a.k.a. Kathryn Makris) wrote Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know about Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need (The Lyons Press) with coauthor Shelley Frost.
Katerina's other credits include seventeen novels, numerous newspaper and magazine articles, and a CBS teleplay.
Her story "Small Change" was a finalist in The Bark magazine's short fiction contest, and appeared in the October/November issue.
Email Katerina at youradopteddog@yahoo.com
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