Fort Worth

From plastic box to forever homes: Puppies abandoned near Fort Worth highway get adopted

A small puppy sits in a crate, staring directly into the camera. The puppy is brown with a black snout.
Iceberg the puppy sits in his crate at an adoption event at PetSmart on Friday. Iceberg is one of eight puppies who were abandoned by the side of I-35 in Fort Worth before being rescued by a Good Samaritan. cmccarthy@star-telegram.com

Five puppies who were abandoned on the side of Interstate 35W on Wednesday found their forever homes in less than 48 hours

A group of puppies were abandoned Wednesday in a plastic box that had been sealed shut on the side of I-35 near Burleson, according to the Humane Society of North Texas. A Good Samaritan saw a small puppy nose sticking through a crack in the box, and brought the pups to the Humane Society’s location on Lancaster Avenue in Fort Worth.

The puppies were checked by the society’s medical team and quickly put into foster homes. Of the eight puppies, five are male and were neutered and cleared for adoption by Friday. The Humane Society brought those five and other pups to the PetSmart in Montgomery Plaza near downtown Fort Worth, said Nelda Corbell, the Humane Society’s director of placement. Propsective puppy parents lined up in the store to get a look at the famous pups and their peers. By 1 p.m. Friday, 22 dogs, including five of the highway puppies, had been adopted.

Apocalipsis Pujols heard about the adoption event online, and drove from her home outside of Dallas to see if she could find her next pup. Pujols left the event on Friday with a three-month-old Great Pyrenees mix. The puppy will join Pujols’ new kitten, Nemo, and will be named by Pujols’ six-year-old daughter, who had hoped for a puppy named Dory to go with the new kitten.

“I’m over the moon,” Pujols said.

Nicolas and Ryanne Terrazas, of Keller, brought one of the highway puppies home on Friday. Nicolas Terrazas read about the puppies’ story online, and decided they wanted to bring one of them home to join their two other dogs.

“He’s the best choice already,” Ryanne Terrazas said. “He’s a very good boy.”

The three female highway puppies will be available for adoption after they have been spayed, Corbell said.

This story was originally published December 29, 2023 at 1:03 PM.

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Ciara McCarthy
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Ciara McCarthy covers health and wellness as part of the Star-Telegram’s Crossroads Lab. She came to Fort Worth after three years in Victoria, Texas, where she worked at the Victoria Advocate. Ciara is focused on equipping people and communities with information they need to make decisions about their lives and well-being. Please reach out with your questions about public health or the health care system. Email cmccarthy@star-telegram.com or call or text 817-203-4391.
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