Atlanta Man Rescues One Dog, Ends Up With Ten

November 6, 2009 10:46 a.m. EST

Atlanta, GA (AHN) - An Atlanta man rescued a stray dog in late September, which surprised him a few days later by giving birth to nine puppies in his backyard.

Gary DeNicola spotted a small dog dodging traffic on his way to brunch, so he pulled over and persuaded the animal to get in his car. She was hungry and far too thin. It looked like she may have been nursing, but DeNicola didn't find any puppies in the area, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

DeNicola took the dog home, where he figured he'd keep her for the night and take her to an animal shelter in the morning. After getting her settled at home with food and water, he felt a few kicks and realized Ruby, named by his 3-year-old neighbor, was expecting.

That night, Ruby hunkered down in a garden bed in DeNicola's backyard and gave birth to nine black and tan puppies.

All the shelters DeNicola called told him they were over capacity, and none would take the puppies until they were vaccinated. He quickly realized the pups were his to care for, the Journal-Constitution reported.

With some help from his neighbors, DeNicola is raising the puppies until he can find permanent homes for them-he's even built a special pen for the dogs in his basement.

Mom Ruby has a home waiting for her when she's done rearing her surprise pups.