AUSTIN, Texas — New mother Jellyfish became a mom right in time for Mother's Day. She gave birth to her 10 puppies on Saturday night.
"She is a very new mom, still kind of trying to figure out, you know, how to be a mom and everything," said Katy Collins, Dog Foster Placement Team lead at Austin Pets Alive! (APA!).
But she isn't the only new mom waiting to find a forever family.
"We do have a lot of nursing moms here on Mother's Day that we would love to get into homes," Collins said.
At five to six weeks, puppies can start to be adopted separately in pairs or trios. But until then, they come as a full package with their mom.
"It's a whole process," Collins said. "One, there has to be space for an adult mom and a lot of babies. All of our moms right now have at least six to 12 babies."
APA! currently has four nursing moms and one pregnant mom on location.
New mom Celeste gave birth to her seven pups two weeks ago, and Promise gave birth to her eight puppies three weeks ago. But since they can't be split up just yet, they have to wait to find a foster who will take them all.
"It is more difficult to find maternity fosters rather than just for the puppies," Collins said.
APA! asks that fosters have enough space for the puppies and that they will be home for the next few months, so the mom and pups aren't getting moved around too much.
This year alone, APA! had more than 30 mom dogs come through their doors and it is always looking for good homes for them. But the shelter does have some resources for potential new fosters.
"We do have a neonatal team at their disposal as well as a mentor," Collins said.
If you are looking to foster a mom dog, you can fill out an application on APA!'s website and then send an email to foster@austinpetsalive.org with the subject line “Maternity Foster.”