Malnourished dog, 8 pups rescued from wooded field in need of foster home

TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - Animal rescuers with the Humane Society of Tampa Bay rescued eight very young puppies and their mother, who was found emaciated.

On Friday, the shelter received a call after someone spotted the thin, frail mom in a wooded field on Hanna Avenue in Tampa. Three workers couldn't find her, but then noticed a shed. Then, they heard small cries coming from it.

Strangely, the shed was locked, but Darlene Esposito, the community outreach manager, spotted a small hole underneath, and decided to climb underneath, following the whimpering sounds. The source of the cries turned out to be eight puppies, who were just 14 days old.

All eight were bought to the medical section of the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, but the rescue wasn't over. They had to track down their mother. Darlene returned to the field that evening to set a trap for the mother. By the next morning, the malnourished mother was successfully retrieved.

Workers said it's unclear whether the family would've survived on their own. The Humane Society named the mom, "Winter." Her pups are named: Wanda, Wilbur, Whoopi, Waldo, Wren, Willa, Wade, and Winnie.

According to the Humane Society, all are doing well, but are in need of a foster home that would keep the family of nine together. They hope to have the puppies up for adoption in six weeks, but Winter may be up for adoption sooner.

Anyone who is interested can contact the Humane Society of Tampa Bay by calling 813-774-4346, or email fostercare@humanesocietytampa.org.