Pepper, The Dog Who Was Rescued With A Bullet In Her Leg, Has Delivered Puppies

HOPKINTON (CBS) - A dog that was brought to a Hopkinton rescue with a bullet lodged in her front leg earlier in March has safely delivered her puppies on National Puppy Day.

Pepper's story began when she was brought to The Brown Dog Coalition's partner shelter with an injured rear leg. After an exam, a vet found that Pepper's back leg had been shattered by a bullet, her front leg had a bullet lodged in it and she was pregnant. She was sent to Massachusetts for surgery.

Pepper underwent surgery March 14 at Foster Hospital for Small Animals at Tufts University in North Grafton while pregnant. It was a risky surgery and no one was sure if they puppies would survive the anesthesia.

The puppies did survive, and they were born Saturday - on National Puppy Day.

According to the rescue's Facebook post, Pepper will spend the next eight weeks caring for her new brood and recovering from surgery.