Tahoe shelter helps 7 more puppies left for dead

RENO, Nev. — A Lake Tahoe animal shelter has provided a new lease on life to another litter of puppies left for dead in a trash bin.

Volunteers at the Pet Network Humane Society in Incline Village have nursed back to health seven pups abandoned in Susanville, California, only a couple days after they were born.

The animals believed to be a Labrador mix were discovered Oct. 29 in a trash bin behind a Radio Shack with their umbilical cords still attached.

The nonprofit Pet Network was contacted after the animals were taken to the Lassen County (California) Animal Shelter, which lacked the staff to care for them.

Pet Network spokeswoman Brittney Schilpp said the prognosis is upbeat for the four females and three males, and they’ll eventually be put up for adoption.

“All of them are healthy and looking great,” Schilpp told The Associated Press. “They’re chubby and walking around. We’re no stranger to the scenario and lucky to have such a strong volunteer base to care for them.”

Last year, the shelter provided similar care to a litter of six puppies found abandoned in a trash bin at a South Lake Tahoe, California, gas station only a few hours after they were born. The animals all wound up with permanent homes.

“It usually takes between six to eight weeks before they’re ready for adoption,” Schilpp said. “The care for them is time consuming since they have to be fed every two to three hours by bottle.”

Volunteer Sabrina Thomson, a veterinarian lab tech, said she finds it rewarding to be giving the dogs a second chance.

“I love them to death. It will be hard to see them go,” she told the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza.

The Pet Network is accepting donations for care of the puppies and applications to adopt them. It will cost the shelter $1,000 each for the canines’ care until they’re adopted.

Group leaders acknowledge it’s unlikely the person or persons who dumped the puppies will be caught in either case. Under California law, they would face felony charges.

The newborn dogs should have instead been taken to a veterinarian’s office or animal shelter, preferably with their mother to improve their chances of survival, they say.