Puppies ‘dumped in a ditch’ came to NC shelter without a mom. Eight still need homes

A litter of abandoned puppies came to a North Carolina shelter without a mom — and eight of them still need homes.

“They started their lives out dumped in a ditch at a week old, but were thankfully found by a good Samaritan,” the Humane Society of Concord & Greater Cabarrus County wrote in a Facebook post. “They’ve been receiving the love they deserve for the past several weeks.”

About two months ago, the Charlotte-area shelter took in a total of 11 puppies believed to be siblings. The puppies didn’t have their eyes open yet, were thin and needed care right away. The shelter said it doesn’t know what happened to their mother.

The puppies went into foster homes, where they were hand-reared before they were ready for adoption, executive director Judy Sims told McClatchy News in a July 2 phone interview.

“They are very social, very loving, very responsive, very playful,” Sims said. “Any time you have puppies that are bottle fed, they’re going to be much friendlier.”

The dogs are expected to be big once they’re older but currently are “sweet puppies that love to play and be held,” the shelter said. The dogs — now nine or 10 weeks old — were named after authors.

As of July 2, three of the 11 puppies have been adopted: TJ Klune, Brandon Sanderson and Dustin Thoa. The remaining eight pups must go to adopters in the Charlotte area , as they have spay and neuter appointments scheduled.

As the mixed-breed pups await new owners, the shelter is grateful that a car, animal or adverse weather didn’t harm the litter.

“These puppies that we have here are very, very lucky because some good Samaritan found them,” Sims said.

The shelter is in Concord, a roughly 25-mile drive northeast from Charlotte. Anyone interested in additional information is asked to call 704-784-7387.

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