Animal Care and Control Director Bill Davidson said he and Officer Control Morgan Hermann responded on Thursday to assist Clearlake Animal Control Officer Lee Lambert with the rescue operation.
Davidson said a female pit bull had reportedly been living for several months at a house that had been vacant for years.
Lambert had tried to set up a trap to catch the dog, which Davidson estimated to be between 2 and 3 years old. However, within a few hours of Lambert setting up the trap, it was stolen.
“He was basically at his wits’ end,” said Davidson.
A neighbor had been feeding the dog, and could get the animal to come when she called, but not to let her touch it, Davidson said.
Davidson said he and Hermann took tranquilizer equipment, crawled under the house and tranquilized the dog, who had with her six puppies.
One of the puppies had been injured and was taken to Clearlake Veterinary Hospital for treatment, Davidson said.
Animal Care and Control’s contract with the city calls for the agency to accept animals the city brings to it, and Davidson said he and his staff took the mother dog and five puppies.
He said he’s working to get a foster situation set up for the dog and her puppies, which he said are five weeks old.
“At the very least we’ll be able to find homes for all the puppies,” he said.
Davidson said the mother dog could also be adopted out if she can be socialized. “I don’t think she’s completely feral.”
It’s not clear where the dog came from, although Davidson said the neighbor that had been feeding the dog indicated transients had been coming and going from the house for a long time, raising the possibility that she had been abandoned.
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