DeWitt, N.Y. -- Livvie was picked up in October in Jacksonville, Texas. The heavily pregnant mutt, lost but healthy, was named for the street where she was found: Livingston.

Then she was slated for death.

The already overburdened animal shelter in the Texas town of 14,500 people could take no more dogs, and certainly not Livvie and her soon-to-be 10 puppies.

Lori Bowlin Davidson's phone soon rang in nearby Crockett Texas. Could she help? Davidson, president of the Coalition for the Prevention of Animal Cruelty in Crockett, said yes, as she almost always does. She took Livvie in and set up a make-shift kennel in her massive bathroom.

The dog labored for 10 hours Oct. 30, an hour for each puppy she birthed. One was born still. But the rest were goofy, docile, floppy-eared mutts. Davidson, who with her husband has fostered other pregnant dogs, had named previous litters for oil fields. She and her husband work offshore, as do most of the people in her town. But she could think of no more oil fields that night.

Soda pop was the next thing that popped into her mind. And so the puppies were named: Pepsi, Shasta, Barq, Mr. Pibb, Soda Pop, Fanta, Fresca, Sprite and Tab.

The Soda pop puppies, marked for death before they were even born, stepped into a world rich with second chances in Davidson's home. She is part of a network of Texas animal rescue groups that send dogs to Helping Hounds in DeWitt.

Those nine puppies were loaded onto a truck with 52 other dogs last week. When they arrived in DeWitt Saturday, half of the puppies were already spoken for. By Sunday, they were all in new homes.

Helping Hounds brought nearly 1,700 dogs from high-kill shelters in the south to new homes in Central New York last year. The latest truckload, 61 dogs in all, was almost completely adopted out two days after they were delivered.

"Here in Texas, it is so different from up there," Davidson said. "The police chief wanted her euthanized." He wanted to avoid the "swarm" of dogs, she said.

Livvie doted on her puppies while they were there, Davidson said. The day they left, she whined and wandered the house, looking for them.

But they are with people like Bridget Lewis, who was cuddling Soda Pop in her lap Tuesday morning. Lewis lives in Gouverneur; she drove two hours each way Sunday to bring Soda Pop home.

Now he plays with Daisy, the family's other dog, and Lewis' 4-year-old daughter.

Pepsi went to Onondaga Hill to fill an ache left by Mik, the McHugh family's dog who died Christmas Eve. "We've been heartbroken ever since," said Linda McHugh.

She, her daughter Maura and her niece, Nora, went to Helping Hounds Saturday intending to only bring home one puppy. But they found themselves with two: Pepsi and Beth, another Texas puppy from a different litter. The two dogs are keeping each other company as they learn the ropes in their new home.

"We still had a lot of love left," McHugh said.

Mr. Pibb went home to Tipp Hill with Marisa Lostumbo and her boyfriend, Kenny Spear.

When she saw the puppy's picture online, Lostumbo fell in love with the black face and spotty paws.

She walks Mr. Pibb around the neighborhood and has already taken him to play with her friends' puppies. The best thing about having her own dog?

"The love is coming home and seeing how excited he is to see you," Lostumbo said.

Mr. Pibb's brothers and sisters are on farms and in neighborhoods, with little kids and retirees. Once cast off, they were all chosen.

And Livvie? Soon she will share their fate. She will be on a future Helping Hounds transport from Texas to Central New York.

Marnie Eisenstadt writes about people, life and culture in Central New York. Contact her anytime: email | twitter | Facebook | 315-470-2246