Ruby and her litter of 11 puppies get a second chance at life with our SPCA Whakatāne Centre

Our team recently received a call from a concerned homeowner, who had discovered a dog who had given birth underneath her house.

We dispatched our animal ambulance and visited the property, to find this sweet girl and her very large litter of 11 puppies.

“The puppies appeared to be somewhere between one and two weeks old,” says Gemma, SPCA Whakatāne Animal Attendant. “Thankfully they seemed to be in ok health, and we brought them all back to the Centre.”

After being checked over by the vet, this was confirmed – the puppies were thankfully not sick nor injured. Their mum had flea and worms, and was a bit underweight, but our team knew she’d recover well.

“She’d done a great job at caring for her puppies,” Gemma says. “She was a real sweetheart right from the beginning. She has such a calm and gentle nature, and absolutely loves her food!”

The team decided to name her Ruby, and chose other All Blacks and Black Ferns names for the litter, including Beauden, Jordie, Fern, Portia, Jonah, Carlos, Zinzan, Maddison, Richie, Carter, and Dougie.

“They’re all strong, and doing really well after receiving vet treatment and lots of care from our team,” Gemma says. “There are eight boys and three girls. With their vaccinations and microchipping now sorted, we’re expecting them to be ready for adoption very soon.

Three of Ruby’s puppies have inherited her natural short tail, which is very unique.

“We think Ruby could be an Australian cattle dog mix, so both her and her puppies will be looking for actives homes, or homes on a rural or lifestyle block.”

If you’re interested in adopting Ruby or one of her puppies, keep an eye on www.spca.nz/adopt to see when their profiles are listed – alternatively you can email Whakatane.info@spca.nz to express early interest.