If an animal gives birth to a child in an unstable or dangerous environment, it may decide to abandon the child to focus on survival.
This is not always the case as they rely solely on instinct and vary from species to species and situation to situation. One animal may find its environment to be completely safe, while another may find that same environment to be full of threats.
This is exactly the feeling that a young mother felt when she rejected her children. Luckily, someone else intervened and saved the day.
difficult start
small endangered puppy
The Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, Indiana, was thrilled to welcome three endangered African Painted Dog puppies into its family. Unfortunately, their joy didn’t last long.
Their parents, Blue and Maurice, have long been part of the zoo family, allowing staff to closely monitor Blue’s pregnancy from the beginning. Everything went well at first, and Blue eventually gave birth to eight healthy puppies.
African Painted Dogs live and thrive only in groups, so it was essential that this newly started family be as close to each other as possible. It was also important that staff intervene only when absolutely necessary to help collar dog parents raise their puppies to the best of their ability.
“In zoos, animal care staff try to remain as hands-off as possible to ensure that the painted dog pack is able to raise their litter of pups. This strategy has been proven through numerous successful births in zoos around the world, and it gives painted dog puppies the best chance to learn the complex social structure of their species. The goal is for each litter to successfully integrate into a pack and contribute to future breeding programs within zoos,” said the staff in a newsletter.
However, after just 12 hours of their birth, the staff noticed that something was wrong. Since Bleu was an inexperienced mother, she did not know how to properly care for her babies, so she started to neglect them.
Consulting with the African Painted Dog Species Survival Plan (SSP), the staff came to the conclusion that it would be for the best if they intervened and hand-raised the litter.
Since it is important that the pups are raised in a canine social structure, SSP recommended that the Zoo find a surrogate domestic dog to nurse the pups rather than feeding them on a bottle.
And, that’s exactly what they did!
A Golden Stepmom
Thanks to the help of the Indiana Council for Animal Welfare, in just a couple of hours, the Indiana Zoo welcomed a beautiful Golden Retriever named Kassy, who, giving birth to an adorable litter of puppies, had enough milk to share.
Being such a golden girl, Kassy immediately accepted the painted dog puppies, nursing and caring for them as if they were her own all along.
Even though Kassy was an incredible surrogate, and the staff worked 24/7 to ensure that they had everything they needed, not every painted dog pup survived. Although it is common for baby animals to pass away within a short period after being born, everyone was quite saddened by this unfortunate news.
But, there was still something to smile about as three of the pups did survive!
The pups, now called Blue, Red, and Orange, as these were the colors used to track them, continued nursing Kassy until they got big and strong.
“Originally, the recommended plan was for the painted dog pups to reintegrate with Bleu, Maurice, and Colby. However, the adult painted dogs didn’t display suitable positive interest in the puppies, so the plan was changed,” wrote the staff.
The new plan is to build a home for Blue, Red, and Orange next to Bleu and Maurice in order for them to learn how to behave like painted dogs. Being near their own species will help develop the natural behaviors within the little pups.
Final Word
When the pups become older, the Zoo staff will try their best to reconnect them with the Potawatomi Zoo African Painted Dogs pack.
And, if they still have difficulties getting along, then they will be relocated to another AZA-accredited facility where they will hopefully raise families of their own.
It truly was incredible to see everybody working together to ensure that all animals involved are happy and healthy. A big part of this is all thanks to Kassy – an incredible dog and mom who was more than happy to help.
Good girl, Kassy!
