Home Sought for 11 Pups, Mother Dog

A yellow Labrador retriever lay nestled with her 11 pups at the base of a 60-foot Chatsworth hill. The family rested under a makeshift cave the dog had built out of brush to shelter her pups. It was pouring rain and the animals had been dumped.

The people at the West Valley Animal Shelter would like this story to have a happy ending.

Officers Dennis Kroeplin and Alex Rico of the West Valley Animal Shelter rescued the canine family eight days ago from the 21300 block of Candice Place and on Tuesday, the whole canine family was put up for adoption.

With unrivaled optimism, the shelter hopes to find one home for all 12 animals.

The puppies--at less than 2 weeks old--are too young to be separated from their mother and must be nursed, shelter officials said. Unweaned puppies or kittens would die under most care if they were separated from their mothers, Kroeplin said.

Mother and pups are healthy and doing fine, the shelter reports, although they clearly got off to a shaky start.

On a rainy afternoon, Kroeplin carried the mother--who had been abandoned--up the 45-degree hill and hoisted her over a fence. He returned with a burlap bag for the newborns.

Although the rescuers were drenched, the mother and her pups kept dry.

Since no one has claimed the homeless animals, the shelter put the entire family up for adoption Tuesday.

The puppies’ eyes are still closed and they’re not able to lap milk. Putting out a pan of milk and expecting them to lap it would be like trying to give a newborn baby a glass of milk and expecting him to drink it, Kroeplin said. They would need a pet nurser (baby bottle).

Additionally, the pups would have to be fed every two hours with a special formula both day and night, and they would need a heating pad to keep warm.

“We’re not going to take a chance that the puppy is going to be neglected and die because someone doesn’t know how to care for it,” Kroeplin said. “It’s the mother and all her 11 or nothing.”

Kroeplin, who has worked for the shelter for 27 years, is convinced that “there are a lot kind people out there” and that someone will once again rescue the family.

In six to seven weeks, he said, the pups will be weaned and the owner can sell them. “We’re hoping for someone to adopt her and the puppies, and because of being celebrities, there probably won’t be a problem finding homes for all the puppies,” he said.

It will cost $60 to adopt the family. The shelter, at 20655 Plummer St., Chatsworth, is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.