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Dumped Dog Doing Well, Caring For Puppies

Tribune photo by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER

Rescuers named the dog Anna. She and her puppies are staying with a foster parent.

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By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 6, 2009

An 18-month-old Basenji mix abandoned at a Hillsborough County dump just before giving birth to seven pups is doting on her new brood, animal officials said today.

The petite dog that rescuers named Anna and her puppies – four males and three females – are in the care of a foster parent, who noted Anna shows no signs of being too traumatized to care for them, said Marti Ryan, a spokeswoman for Hillsborough County Animal Services.

"She is nursing them, cleaning them and protecting them properly," Ryan said

The pups won't be ready for adoption until they are at least 8 weeks old, Ryan said.

Authorities are trying to locate who abandoned the pregnant animal before dawn Jan. 28 at the solid waste site in the 8000 block of Linebaugh Avenue. The Humane Society of Tampa Bay is offering a $1,000 reward for information to track down the dog's former owner.

"She's a sweet little mommy that didn't deserve this," Ryan said. "She was thrown away like someone's trash."

Because of the dog's gentle demeanor and good health, investigators think she was a well-loved pet before she was abandoned.

Abandoning a dog is a crime, Ryan said. Even if the owner fell into financial straits, there are alternatives to leaving the dog at the dump, such as the humane society, she said.

Ryan asked anyone with information about the dog or its former owner to call Animal Services at (813) 744-5660 or e-mail info@hillsboroughcounty.org.

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