When an Australian shepherd living at the Sunshine Dog Rescue in Phoenix, Arizona went into premature labor and lost her puppies, she was inconsolable so her rescuers thought of a special way to help heal her broken heart.
Georgia the shepherd went into premature labor and tragically her puppies had no chance of surviving outside the womb. The sweet dog was frantically searching for her pups so the rescue gave her a stuffed animal with a simulated heartbeat to try to help ease her anxiety.
“Going into premature labor gave her babies no chance of living outside of her womb. While my heart hurts for the puppies that never got to run and play, my heart is so very sad for Georgia. She is looking for her babies and it is heartbreaking to watch,” the rescue wrote in a Facebook post on Aug. 13.
A few days later the rescue was able to give Georgia the warm and fuzzy gift to help her recover from her loss. Three motherless kittens needed a mom so the rescue introduced them to Georgia! Of course, the dog fell in love and adopted the tiny kittens as her own.
“She LOVES them. So far we have been able to get one to latch and are bottle feeding until the other two figure it out too,” the rescue wrote on Aug. 15.
Georgia was not able to produce enough milk to adequately nurse the kittens but otherwise, she acts just like their maternal mother. She cleans and cuddles with them and even plays with the little cuties, which are also bottle fed.
Sadly, two days later one of the kittens passed away but the other two were “thriving and bottle feeding fairly well.” However, Georgia stayed focused on her two healthy babies and is doing really well. “Bless this little family” said the rescue.
The kittens, named Graffiti and Gumball, love their new mom and were even given a little brother. An orange kitten named Goober joined the adorable family. “They have all opened their eyes, are gaining weight (now weigh 7-8 ounces each), and seem very content with mama,” read an Aug. 20 update.
Even better news, sweet Georgia has a forever home lined up and will be joining her new human family soon. The rescue is so happy for her and the outcome of her adopting the kittens.
Anita Osa, executive director of Sunshine, told KXTV that she was “certainly unsure” about Georgia taking in the cats as her own but was pleasantly surprised. The animal lover added that she would “absolutely” do it again if a similar scenario arises in the future.
“I had seen other species nurse another species before, so I thought ‘worst-case scenario she doesn’t take to them and I have some kittens I need to tend to myself,'” she added.
Please share their adorable story with your family and friends.
