Dog Pregnant With 8 Pups Was Living Under Cars, Begging For Food

PECONIC, NY — During the unprecedented times created by the pandemic, there are still moments of unexpected joy: A stray dog gave birth recently to eight adorable puppies at the North Fork Animal Welfare League in Peconic.

And now, a GoFundMe, "Stella Gives Birth", was created by the shelter to raise funds that will be used to care for the dog and her litter.

"On September 29, for the first time in over 20 years, a litter of puppies was born at the North Fork Animal Welfare League," the post said.

Stella is about two years old and arrived in Southold on September 22, NFAWL staffers said. "Stella was a stray from who was rescued from the streets of Texas. She was living under cars and begging for food. A rescue group spotted her and, with a tremendous amount of coordination, she was brought up to New York," the page said. "Another local shelter had taken her in but asked if we would help with her since we have a great space that is quiet and less stressful for her to give birth. We jumped at the chance to help her."

NFAWL staff immediately got Stella an appointment with a local veterinarian to see how far along she was and how many puppies to expect.

"The vet told us they could see seven puppies on the X-ray and that she would give birth within the next 10 days," the page said. "The next morning, staff arrived in the middle of Stella giving birth! Mama and eight puppies are doing well under the loving care of our staff."

While Stella will do most of the work for her babies during the first few weeks including feeding, cleaning, keeping them warm, and teaching the pups social skills, there will be expenses involved with readying the puppies for adoption, the NFAWL said.

"There will be plenty of food and walks needed for mom, as her body will need lots of nourishment to feed eight mouths," the page said. "In a few weeks there will be nine mouths to feed, leash up, deworm, vaccinate and spay/ neuter. This rescued family will require extra time and attention during their stay with us during the next 10 weeks until they are adopted and headed to their forever families."

To donate to the pups' vetting and care, click here.