Mama dog lets her 13 puppies loose in SC shelter. Then came the ‘walk-of-shame’
A mama dog let her puppies loose in a shelter — then came the “walk-of-shame.”
“Most of our staff was, at first, a little bit alarmed to seeing 13 puppies crawling loose,” Katie Wofford, marketing assistant at a South Carolina animal shelter, told McClatchy News in an Aug. 29 email. “But once all of them were found safe and accounted for, we all had a good laugh about it.”
The Greenville Humane Society said it wrangled in all the pups, who had enjoyed a “midnight romp.” Photos posted on social media show them rounded up into a basket as their mom, Tupelo, had an “extra guilty” look on her face.
“When our staff came in that morning, all 13 puppies and our little felon, Tupelo, were quickly arraigned and brought back to their rooms,” the shelter wrote in a Facebook post. “They’re now safe and sound. But we thought everyone would enjoy the walk-of-shame photos.”
The adorable moments unfolded after Tupelo and her puppies arrived at the shelter in late July. Someone had spotted the mom alone near a rural highway and stopped to help her.
“She led them to a closed plastic container containing all of her babies,” the shelter wrote in a past Facebook post. “She truly saved their lives!”
The rescued family landed at another shelter before being transferred to the humane society. The pups, now 1 month old, all bear the names of breakfast foods: Bacon, Crepe, Croissant, Donut, Eggs, Grits, Hashbrowns, Muffin, Oatmeal, Pancake, Sausage, Toast and Waffles.
One night, as other shelter animals were “snoring,” Tupelo showed off her mischievous side.
“After weaning her babies, she was feeling a bit lonely without them,” the humane society wrote. “So lonely, that she concocted a brilliant plan. She was going to help them escape. But how? Truthfully, we have no clue. But in the middle of the night, Tupelo managed to open the nursery door.”
As of Aug. 29, the family wasn’t yet up for adoption. Wofford said puppies tend to be ready for new homes when they are roughly 2 months old.
Details about the shelter’s adoption process can be found at greenvillehumane.com.
