Puppies put demands on shelter staff

Earlier this month the Bella Vista Animal Shelter was surprised with seven puppies.

Laurie May, the shelter’s manager, said that the mother, a Plott Hound mix named Lucy, already had a home lined up before shelter staff realized she was pregnant. The adoptive family agreed to let the shelter hold on to her while she cares for her puppies — which she seems to be doing a great job of, May explained.

“Mom’s taking really good care of them,” she said.

But caring for the dog and her puppies is not easy for the shelter, she said.

Lucy needs her own space to minimize stress and keep her puppies, who can’t be vaccinated until they’re 6 to 8 weeks old, away from any potential illness, she said.

For the same reason, she said, the shelter is not showing these puppies or accepting any applications to adopt them, and the staff caring for Lucy and her puppies is limited to a handful of people until the puppies can be vaccinated.

Despite these limits, May said the mother and her pups are also receiving a lot of care and attention. A camera in the dog’s room makes it easier to keep an eye on her, she explained.

“I’ve got a camera on them all the time, I’m watching them from home,” she said.

The extra workload is real but shelter workers are eager to help these animals, she said.

“We love what we do,” May said.

Lucy also needs to eat plenty to ensure she can produce enough milk and, once the puppies are eating regular food she expects them to go through quite a bit.

May said she believes the puppies may have some Great Dane heritage and will probably become fairly large.

Each pup also needs three rounds of vaccinations; and they’ll all need to be spayed and neutered before they’re adopted out, meaning the shelter is taking on a lot of expense to care for these puppies over an at-leasteight-week commitment to them.

While the shelter welcomes cash donations and donations of Purina One puppy food to help care for these dogs, a post on social media drew enough donations to likely cover everything, she said.

May said the community in Bella Vista is excellent at helping the shelter, especially if there’s a particular need.

“We just cannot thank the community enough,” she said.

Photo submitted Seven puppies which were born at the Bella Vista Animal Shelter Feb. 6 nurse from Lucy, their Plott Hound mix mother.