WAREHAM — The sacrifice made by a stray dog in Texas will lead to a new life for three lively puppies available for adoption in Massachusetts.

The 12-week-old puppies, a mix of Lab and German shepherd, visited the Black Dog Outlet Saturday, March 12 during the Wareham store’s semi-annual Adoptathon event.

As puppies will do, they wrestled with each other and provided ready kisses to charmed visitors.

That exuberance belies the sad story that brought them to the care of Safe With Us, a Holliston-based animal rescue organization.

The puppies’ mother, a stray, was hit by a car. Although badly wounded, she dragged herself to her puppies to keep them fed and cared for. 

The mother eventually succumbed to her injuries, but her puppies survived, were found and were transported to Safe With Us. 

“These three are going to have amazing lives because of what she did,’’ Bridget Flynn, foster care manager of the organization, said of the mother’s sacrifice. 

In a nod to their origins, the puppies are deemed “Angel Babies’’ and named Halo, Heaven and Harper. 

Reminding the public about the importance of adoption and the availability of rescue animals is the reason the Black Dog Outlet hosts adoption events every March and September, store manager Ashton Hayes said.

“It’s a way to give back,’’ she said.

During the event, 20 percent of all sales are donated to Safe With Us. The store also sponsors raffles to raise money for the cause.

The event went well, Angela Toli, assistant director of the rescue, reported. Applications were received for the puppies and for Quinn, a German shepherd mix that offered a ready paw shake to visitors.

For Toli, the event’s Wareham location has special significance. Several years ago, the Middleboro resident was shopping at Wareham Crossing and unexpectedly ran across the adoption event at Black Dog.

She instantly fell in love with the dogs and the rescue organization and “started my journey with fostering.’’ Now, “the center of my life is rescue,’’ she said with a laugh.

Potential adopters work with an adoption coordinator, who helps match them with the right dog, once they have been screened through checks with their references, veterinarians and through a virtual home visit.

In the meantime, the animals are cared for by “foster parents,’’ who bring the animals into their homes for care and socialization.  

Quinn and the Angel Babies are hardly the first dogs to visit the store, Hayes said. Dogs on leashes are welcome in the store and some are repeat visitors.

A group of dog walkers regularly visits the store, where their canine companions do small tricks for treats at the counter, Hayes said.

Employees are also known to bring their dogs to work, living up to the store name. 

“We are very, very dog-friendly,’’ she said.