Becoming a mother is an exciting and rewarding yet also difficult process for all moms, human or not.

But you won’t believe what Maria, a pregnant dachshund, had to suffer — she was abandoned by the owner and left to be paralyzed. 

She was forced to breed and neglected by humans when she needed care the most.

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Maria’s previous owner abandoned her when they heard they need $3,000 to deliver her babies.

When Maria was rescued by Friends of Emma, a rescue organization in Texas, she was pregnant and diagnosed with anemia as the result of past flea infestation and a number of other infections.

It was obvious that she became mentally ill because nobody cared for her and she was in terrible breeding conditions.

In addition to her disease, she was malnourished and not able to use her hind end. But she held strong for her babies.

Thanks for the help of Friends of Emma, Maria bore seven adorable healthy puppies, Friedrick, Gretl, Werner, Liesl, Louisa, Kurt, and Rolfe, and started to get her strength back.

They are all very healthy and almost all have found their family.

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Maria has learned to trust and love while she has gone through therapies and treatments.

She is now healthier and can even walk! She needs to work little more, but she feels, walks, runs, and rags.

Friends of Emma helped Maria to become healthy and loved.

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Here are some facts about animal homelessness from DoSomething.com.

1. Only 1 out of every 10 dogs born will find a permanent home.point 243 |

2. The main reasons animals are in shelters: owners give them up, or animal control finds them on the street.point 88 |
3. Homeless animals outnumber homeless people 5 to 1.point 131 |
4. Each year, approximately 2.point 155 | 7 million dogs and cats are killed every year because shelters are too full and there aren’t enough adoptive homes.point 253 |

   Act as a publicist for your local shelter so pets can find homes.point 53 | Sign up for Shelter Pet PR.point 134 |

5. Approximately 7.point 149 | 6 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year.point 212 |

   Of those, approximately 3.point 23 | 9 million are dogs and 3.point 43 | 4 million are cats.point 59 |

6. According to the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy (NCPPSP), less than 2% of cats and only 15 to 20% of dogs are returned to their owners.point 187 |
7. 25% of dogs that enter local shelters are purebred.point 230 |

8. About twice as many animals enter shelters as strays compared to the number that are relinquished by their owners.point 96 |
9. It’s impossible to determine how many stray dogs and cats live in the United States.point 168 | Estimates for cats alone range up to 70 million.point 208 |

10. Only 10% of the animals received by shelters have been spayed or neutered.point 62 | Overpopulation, due to owners letting their pets accidentally or intentionally reproduce, sees millions of these “excess” animals killed annually.point 194 |
11. Many strays are lost pets that were not kept properly indoors or provided with identification.point 274 |

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