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A dog and her puppies were thrown out like trash in Wimauma last week. Two of the puppies survived with their mother after someone threw them from a car and left them to die. The other four puppies didn't make it.
WIMAUMA, Fla. - Three abandoned dogs have new hope this Valentine’s Day after being saved last Thursday from a dark and quiet street in Wimauma.
It was a heartbreaking rescue as a mother and her two babies -- who were only weeks old -- were found severely emaciated and barely moving. Her four other pups were found dead.
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"There was a stream of puppies down a five-mile stretch. It was evident they were thrown out because of the severity of damages to their faces," the rescuers told FOX 13.
Nearly a week later, FOX 13’s Evyn Moon met the mother and her two surviving pups who are now doing well and being looked after by the McNeely Farmily Rescue.
The puppies’ new names: Scarlett and Valentino -- fitting for Valentine’s Day, and their new loving home.
April McNeely says Valroy Road in Wimauma is infamous for dog dumping, and officials are working to get cameras in the area to catch these bad owners. Dogs left there often don’t move at all, hoping their owners will return.
"People dump there because it’s a quiet country road with no surveillance," McNeely said. "Dark, country roads are target areas where people take their animals and dump them. If you dump your animal, it stays right there looking for you. It will wait and starve itself until you come back."
Officials are asking the public if they recognize the mother dog so they can prosecute whoever dumped the family.
The McNeely farm in Plant City rescues many abused animals and pays for their surgeries and medical costs out of their own pocket.
"It’s heartbreaking… the whole team was crying when we are able to reunite the mother with the babies and it's exhausting, but there’s a reward in that too. Three lives were saved that night. These three beautiful lives could go on with forever, amazing homes with new families, and that’s the beautiful part of it."
The mom and babies will be put up for adoption once they are medically cleared. The McNeely’s Farmily Rescue will make sure it’s to a more loving and safe home.