Puppies get second chance with foster parents
Three very lucky newborn puppies and their mom are safely in the hands of foster parents now thanks to an animal shelter employee who reached out to the Helen Woodward Animal Center for help. The puppies were not even born yet when their very pregnant mom was abandoned at an animal shelter without adequate resources to care for a dog about to give birth.
Helen Woodward Animal Center found a foster family for the mom, a 3.5-year-old Queensland Heeler named Hannah, and paid for an emergency C-section when complications made a natural birth impossible. Though one puppy was stillborn, three healthy puppies and mom are thriving today in the care of foster parents Dave and Barbara Johnson from Fallbrook.
“We saved their lives not once, but twice – first when we placed their mom with a foster family and again when Hannah was unable to deliver the pups naturally and surgery was required. These are some very lucky dogs, “said LaBeth Thompson, adoptions manager of Helen Woodward Animal Center.
The puppies are now six days old and are thriving at just over one pound each. In about eight weeks, mom and babies will be back at Helen Woodward Animal Center where they will be spayed or neutered before looking for their forever families.
For more information on Helen Woodward Animal Center and all of its adoptable animals, visit
or call 858-756-4117.