WEST CHESTER TWP. — The beagle mix dumped in the snow last month to give birth to her seven “pupsicles” has made an impressive recovery, said Meg Stephenson, executive director of Animal Friends Humane Society.

Renamed Valentine, the dog and her now five puppies are in the care of a West Chester Twp. foster family.

“She’s putting on weight, still being a great mom,” Stephenson said. “There doesn’t seem to be any long-term negative side effects of what she went through.”

Foster caretaker Gay Covell said Valentine still watches after her young litter. “Mom does all of the work,” she said. “She takes care of the puppies 100 percent.

“The puppies are just really fat, their eyes are opening, they’re starting to creep around and explore,” Covell said. “In the next week they’re going to start playing with each other. That’s when they’ll be real cute.”

Covell also has named each puppy in the litter. “The three girls are Faith, Hope and Charity,” Covell said. “The two boys’ names are Tom and Jerry.”

The dog family made national news last month after they were discovered Feb. 10 on a St. Clair Twp. farm following a snowstorm. An emaciated Valentine, dumped by her owner, had snuggled up to a hay roll on the Benzing farm and delivered her pups, officials said.

Valentine and the puppies will be under the watch of Covell until they reach 8 weeks, at which time they will be spayed and neutered. Then, they and their mother will be ready for adoptive homes.

Although two of the pups didn’t survive, Stephenson said there’s no way to tell whether their deaths were related to the conditions surrounding their births.

Valentine’s owner, Darryl Lawson, 45, who turned himself in, was cited Feb. 16 on misdemeanor charges of abandonment, abuse to a companion animal, unlicensed dog and dog running at large. He is to appear at 8 a.m. Wednesday, March 3, in Hamilton Municipal Court.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2192 or aseitz@coxohio.com.