PUHI — Eleven puppies rushed toward Angela Soto as she crouched on the floor of a room at the Kauai Humane Society Friday. “We’re so thankful that KHS was willing to help out,” Soto said. “Eleven puppies — that’s so
PUHI — Eleven puppies rushed toward Angela Soto as she crouched on the floor of a room at the Kauai Humane Society Friday.
“We’re so thankful that KHS was willing to help out,” Soto said. “Eleven puppies — that’s so much work.”
The six-week-old puppies all part of the same litter. They are at least half pit bull, and are ready to go to a new home starting today. That is, all but one, who has already been spoken for.
KHS isn’t normally open for adoptions on Sundays, but because KHS is hosting its Fast and Furriest event, the doors will be open today. In addition, KHS is offering 65 percent off all adoptions today, in connection with the Fast and Furriest event.
While the puppies are up for adoption, their mother Bella, isn’t. She’s now at her home in Lawai, helping owner Shawn Valmoja recover from a recent car accident.
“That’s what sort of started this whole thing,” Soto said. “I’ve been friends with Shawn for years. This is Bella’s second litter and just after we found out she was pregnant, he was in a car accident.”
With broken bones, Valmoja knew he would have trouble caring for the coming puppies, so he enlisted Soto’s help. She contacted Kauai Humane Society in hopes that they would be able to offer assistance.
“We really wanted to help find a solution for this,” said Scott Pisani, executive director of KHS. “So we decided we’d help out and board Bella. At no time did Shawn ever have to surrender her to us, though. She stayed under his ownership.”
Bella was boarded for free while she nursed her puppies on two conditions: that she be altered as soon as it was possible, and that Valmoja turn over the puppies to the humane society.
“Shawn was great with that, so we brought them all here, and the puppies were so little when we drove them over — they fit in my hand.” Soto said. “We put them all in a big crate with Bella and drove them over here, to KHS.”
Soto visited the puppies frequently over the next few weeks and compiled a list of people interested in adoption. But all but one fell through. She’s hoping the puppies will be placed in good homes.
“These dogs are going to probably be around 60 pounds when they get older. They’re not small animals and they’ve got a lot of energy,” she said. “It’s a lifetime commitment and we want them to go to good homes.”
That’s important to the staff members at KHS as well, who have all formed a bond with the puppies after caring for them daily over the past weeks.
“This is a great example of what we mean by wanting to support and connect with the community,” said Pisani. “We’re happy that Bella is back with Shawn and that we are able to help out.”
