‘Sweet’ dog was ‘abandoned while pregnant.’ Now rescued, she has 8 puppies
A “sweet” dog was “abandoned while pregnant” — then she was spotted near a convenience store.
“She was found by the kind workers at 2K Express near the Tampa fairgrounds..., trying to sneak inside the store to have her puppies,” a Florida animal shelter wrote Aug. 18 on Facebook. “Thankfully, they kept her safe until our rescue team could rush over.”
Ava landed at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, which discovered she was “heavily pregnant” and “ready to give birth any day.”
“Ava was super sweet and cuddly but we could tell she was a little nervous and unsure,” Regan Blessinger, marketing and content manager for the shelter, told McClatchy News via email. “Once she got set up in the puppy nursery, though, she was able to relax and realize we were here to help her.”
Then, three days after Ava was rescued, the shelter shared the good news that she welcomed her babies into the world.
“Everyone was so excited when she started having her puppies,” Blessinger wrote. “She is such a great mom and both her and her 8 puppies are doing amazing.”
A heartwarming photo shared on Facebook shows the mama dog spending early moments with some of her little ones, named Acorn, AJ, Alek, Amari, Amiri, Aster, Auburn and Azari. The family is expected to go up for adoption in October.
This story was originally published August 25, 2025 at 9:07 AM with the headline "‘Sweet’ dog was ‘abandoned while pregnant.’ Now rescued, she has 8 puppies."
