A team from Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League traveled to north Florida to help a rural shelter in Putnam County after more than 170 dogs were seized from a single property.

Twelve of those dogs are now in Peggy Adams’ care.

“To my knowledge they were living outside on this property,” Doctor Alyssa Comroe, the director of veterinary care at Peggy Adams, said. “My thought is they are intact and just breeding with each other on this property.”

Shelter staff were alerted about the case on Thursday, and a mere 12 hours later, they had a crew on the road to Palatka. “You need to have a ton of different organizations,” Comroe said of working with rescue groups from across the state. “You cannot just depend on the closest one to you.”

All of the dogs seized were small breeds, but the shelter is hoping that a weekend adoption event promoting pit bulls will help them clear space for their new additions.

The St. Pittie’s Day adoption event is happening now at Peggy Adams through Sunday. Adoption fees are waived for all adult pit bulls.