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For a foster puppy, getting moved around to new homes can be a frightening experience. But luckily, one momma dog made it her mission to make sure two new arrivals felt at home in their new foster care center.
In 2016, two puppies were transferred from the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society to Barker’s Pet Motel and Grooming
“They’re between nine and ten weeks old,” Deanna Thompson, from the AARCS, told ABC News of the puppies. “A little bit playful but shy.”
But on the puppies’ first night in their new residence, they had a visitor who was there to make sure they didn’t feel scared: an older female dog named Maggie snuck out of her kennel to keep them company.
When the staff caught the momma dog on the surveillance tape, they were stunned: “We’ve never really seen it before, where a dog sneaks out to some puppies and is so excited to see them,” employee Alex Aldred said.
Aldred’s mother Sandy went to check on Maggie, and let her in the puppies’ pen. Maggie acted maternal and affectionate towards the new arrivals, and Sandy decided to let them spend some more time together.
“Sandy stayed in [there] for about 15 minutes and then said, ‘Well it looks like they need each other,’ and then let Maggie stay the night in their kennel,” Aldred told ABC News.
The three dogs spent the whole night together, and the next morning the staff found them cuddled together:
The puppies were no doubt comforted by Maggie’s presence, but it’s also likely that Maggie was in need of some love herself: Maggie’s own children had been adopted.
“We think that’s why she got so attached to the puppies,” Aldred says.
While it was like nothing the staff had seen before, its also part of a mother dog’s natural instincts to offer this kind of comfort.
“It’s innate in a lot of female dogs, especially if they’ve had a litter in the past,” Thompson says. “It’s just in their nature. We’ve seen it in a lot of dogs even with male dogs, when they hear other puppies crying they want to console them and make sure they’re feeling safe.”
It’s a story that shows the power of a mother’s love. And good news: a Facebook comment from the pet motel confirmed that Maggie had been adopted into a forever home from the humane society, hopefully receiving the same love she gave to the puppies that night.
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