Merriam shelter urgently seeks foster families for puppies abandoned on Kansas road

A Merriam animal shelter is seeking foster families for the rest of a litter of abandoned puppies found on the side of a Kansas road this week, after about half have already found foster homes.

Eleven puppies were found together in a crate on a roadside around 9:45 a.m. Thursday, and brought to the Merriam branch of the Great Plains SPCA. The dogs, covered in dirt and exhausted when rescued, spent much of their first day in the shelter sleeping, Great Plains SPCA shelter staff wrote on Facebook. Shelter staff believe the puppies are around six weeks old.

Six have been placed in temporary foster homes, according to shelter staff, with one local family taking in four puppies. The other five rescue pups are still searching for families who will open their homes for three-week placements.

The dogs will not be adoptable until after they complete foster care.

Staff wrote online Friday that the Great Plains SPCA Merriam location is not a safe place for the remaining puppies at this time, as other shelter residents battle canine parvovirus infection, or parvo. The disease affects dogs’ white blood cells and gastrointestinal tracts, and can also weaken the heart muscles in some puppies, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Nearly a dozen other puppies in the shelter have been exposed to parvo in recent days, staff wrote.

Residents interested in fostering one of the roadside rescues can email foster@greatplainsspca.com. Shelter staff are also collecting donations to benefit the puppies and have raised about $1,700 via Facebook since Thursday.

About 31% of dogs entering animal shelters nationwide in the first half of 2024 were strays, according to national data from the database Shelter Animals Count.

Puppies account for about 17% of the dog population in American animal shelters, according to Shelter Animals Count.

Currently, the Kansas City Pet Project is full to capacity for small dogs and puppies — with about 75 puppies up for adoption — while puppy intake at Great Plains SPCA Merriam has been challenged by the shelter’s parvo outbreak.