TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Some of the pregnant dogs that were seized from a breeder in Tampa in September are now available for adoption after delivering puppies — and some of their puppies are available too!
The Humane Society of Tampa Bay said a total of 15 dogs—10 puppies and 5 puppies—would be ready for adoption on Wednesday, Dec. 11.
Of the dogs, six are purebred Schnauzers and 9 are purebred poodles.
The dogs will be adopted out on a first-come-first-serve basis at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay Shelter, 3607 N. Armenia Avenue in Tampa, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
There was a line of people outside of the facility before they opened after noon.
“Whenever we have puppies in, especially if they’re purebreds, we always have a line out the door. People come at 5 a.m. waiting for their puppy,” explained Maria Matlack, Marketing and Public Relations Manager for the Humane Society of Tampa Bay.
The Humane Society of Tampa Bay is following their normal adoption protocols and not raising fees on these dogs.
Puppies are $225 and adults are $95.
They will be spayed or neutered and will have a microchip.
More dogs will be available in the coming weeks, and those wishing to adopt should continue to monitor the Humane Society’s website.
The dogs are some of the 350+ dogs that were rescued from Toyland Pet Resort in Tampa in September.
Matlack believes about 92 dogs were pregnant, giving birth to close to 200 puppies.
Hundreds of those dogs have since been adopted.
Chelsea Dunn, a surgery technician at the Animal Hospital at the shelter, fostered one of the older dogs.
She said potential dog parents need to be patient with these animals, specifically.
“I definitely would say just give them a chance… they take a while to warm up. They weren’t socialized, so they may seem very shy and scared at first,” she explained.
“But just give them a chance, because it does take them awhile to kind of warm up and kind of learn how to be a dog. And you know, don’t just give it a week and realize, ‘oh this isn’t the dog for me, it’s not very loving.’ Just give them a chance.”
Matlack explained to 8 On Your Side that while these dogs came in a unique situation, their breeds and ages aren’t unique to the shelter.
“We have these dogs here today because of a horrible situation, but I would just like to reach out to the public and say ‘please always consider adopting versus shopping,’” she said.
“We always have puppies in. And the adult dogs need love too. There’s nothing wrong with a shelter dog, we do get a ton of purebreds in, this is not the only time, you just have to be patient and keep up with our website to see who we have, when we have them, and make sure you jump in line.”
