Abandoned Dog Digs Deep to Give Birth in Quarry

Employees help rescue the mother and her eight puppies after four weeks in a rock quarry

Stuck in a rock quarry for four weeks, a pregnant dog named Pebbles did what any mother would do: She stepped up to save her newborns. The dog, thought to be dumped by her owners, gave birth in the quarry a few weeks ago and dug a 4-ft. den to protect her eight little ones from harm. Now, the little family is safe, healthy and will soon be ready for adoption in Southern Florida.

Abandoned animals aren’t an unusual sighting at the Cemex rock quarry near Miami, but when employees spotted the expectant mother among the rock, they did what they could to keep her alive.

The Shiba Inu, named Pebbles because she was found in the quarry, was so frightened that employees and guards were unable to coax her out, but they kept a watchful eye, giving her food and making sure she steered clear of the moving cement trucks.

Once the puppies were born, the rescue efforts kicked in.

“When they started seeing the puppies come out, everybody got really concerned because of the trucks, and didn’t want anybody to be hurt,” says Sheila Satterfield, a nurse from Coral Springs, Fla., who helped rescue the bunch.

According to Satterfield, whose husband is a Cemex employee, the mother dug a 4-ft. den to shelter her puppies. Employees attempted to grab the puppies from the den, but sensing danger, the mother began to relocate them–conveniently to a bushy area that was close enough for employees to reach. Satterfield’s husband brought their dog crate, and one by one the puppies were pulled to safety. The concerned mom soon followed.

Satterfield and her husband cared for them overnight before taking them to the Tri County Humane Society, a no-kill shelter in Boca Raton, Fla.

“They’re precious,” she says of the puppies. “If we had the space we would have kept them all. The puppies are cute and the mother was so sweet. She got up in my lawn chair, and just laid her head on my lap.”

At the Tri County Humane Society, founder and CEO Jeannette Christos tells PEOPLEPets.com that the eight pups and their mother, who were infested with fleas and parasites, were bathed, treated for worms, and allowed to eat “like little pigs.”

When the puppies’ story aired on a local news station, Christos says people practically lined up to fill out adoption applications. Although they are still too young to receive their shots and microchips, and can’t go to forever homes until they reach eight weeks old, they will be available for adoption in about four weeks.

“They’re doing great,” says Christos. “They’re in the puppy nursery, and Pebbles is with her puppies. They’re so cute. They’re just little fluff balls.”

See more amazing survival stories on PEOPLEPets.com:
Pregnant Beagle Abandoned in Snowstorm Learns to ‘Love Again’
Stranded Dog Found Floating on Ice in Baltic Sea