The Animals of the Week are four unnamed puppies, two male and two female. These four puppies are all siblings and will soon turn six weeks old. They have an interesting mix of breeds across all four puppies.
“They’re a lot of everything,” Animal Shelter Officer Barbi Blanch said. “We know for a fact that their mother is a black and white pit bull who runs the streets. One of the fathers is a Chow, possibly a Shepard. Another of the fathers is a Shar Pei. None of them look like their mother.”
There are a total of eight puppies in the litter. Three are still at large with their mother who has repeatedly escaped Animal Shelter officers best efforts to capture her. Another was recently adopted and these four are at the Shelter.
“Two of them we trapped because we were trying to trap their mother,” Officer Blanch said. “We knew that once we got the puppies that the mother would disappear. She’s been a street dog for a while. As soon as we put the trap out, she moved the puppies. Other people in the neighborhood have been finding them here and there and bringing them in.”
The mother of the puppies has been a target of the Animal Shelter for quite some time. She recognizes the Animal Shelter uniform and truck and runs away as soon as they are in view. The Shelter Officers have been unable to get close enough for a successful capture.
“They know who we are,” Animal Shelter Officer Annie DeWolfe said. “When they see the truck, they don’t hang around.”
The Animal Shelter has recently acquired a tranquilizer gun that will help them finally bring in the mother and unite the rest of the litter. Until then, the four at the Shelter have had no problems entertaining themselves. The puppies are prone to playing with each other almost all day.
“It’s hilarious, they’ll play for a little bit and all of a sudden they’ll all flop down and go to sleep,” Officer DeWolfe said. “Then they’ll wake up and play again and then go right back to sleep. Earlier this morning when we cam in, all four of them were squeezing themselves on top of each other.”
The four puppies currently at the Shelter will be at an off site adoption this weekend, January 9, at Atwoods from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Shelter will also be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
