Although many people in this world would be happy to give a darling animal a good home, it’s also true that the number of critters who need them can seem pretty overwhelming.
And since they’re all pretty lovable in their own way, a lot of shelters have felt the need to start getting creative in how to make their animals stand out from the others.
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It’s through such thinking that one cat found a home after her shelter told the world she was a jerk and “the world’s worst cat,” while another was promoted as the “chonkiest” by a different shelter.
And while one Virginia animal shelter didn’t have a similar bid for publicity in mind when they found themselves with an unusual number of pregnant dogs, one worker’s idea has since snowballed into something big.
Shelley here was brought to the Homeward Trails Animal Rescue in Fairfax Station, Virginia after being dumped at a rural shelter.
As People reported , that’s often how the nonprofit ends up meeting the animals they provide adoption services for.
As is also common for the rescue, dogs like Shelley tend to be put in foster care before they find forever homes. And when her foster carers Debbie Patten and Sarah Pope picked her up, it was obvious that she was in the late stages of pregnancy.
When this fact came up, the shelter’s adoption coordinator Lauren Tavar told them they should hold a maternity shoot.
As Tavar told Good Morning America, she meant that suggestion as a joke but the mother-daughter duo was nonetheless intrigued by the idea and Pope took the photos herself.
And it’s a good thing she was so eager to do it because Shelley would end up having her puppies two days after she was brought to the foster home.
As Good Morning America reported , she gave birth to 10 healthy puppies and has even found a permanent home in the time since the shoot.
As Tavar said, “This is one of the first times that the mama dog has found a home before any of the puppies so that’s really exciting.”
The success of Shelley’s story inspired the Homeward Trails Animal Rescue to try the idea again with some other pregnant dogs in their care.
As People reported , their enthusiasm for a doggy maternity shoot was shared by the foster carers of 14-year-old Sassy, who was considered both too old and too pregnant when she was dropped off at a shelter.
She has since given birth to 12 puppies but has not yet found a permanent home as of August 10.
Fortunately, the same can not be said for Fiona here.
As People reported she was given a loving foster home after being found abandoned at the side of the road.
As the rescue announced in a Facebook post , Fiona has since found a forever home. The same is also true of her puppies, Shelley’s, and Sassy’s.
h/t: People , Good Morning America , Facebook | Homeward Trails Animal Rescue
