What a great mama! Surely some Dogster in northern Mississippi or in Tennessee would like to welcome Jersey home!
Thanks to Carol Anne for barking in about this news on NBC15!
Hound dog saves dozen puppies by making them her own
TUPELO, Miss. (AP) – A lovable hound dog saved 12 puppies by treating them as her own.
Now she needs a loving family to take care of her.
In all, Jersey, as she was dubbed to reflect her blue ribbon milk-producing capabilities, nursed 22 puppies including her own 10 puppies and two more litters.
“She’s the perfect mother,” said Veterinarian Dr. Gretchen Ganas-Hicks of Animal Care Center, which works with the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society to house and care for nursing litters, newborn puppies and those who need medical care. “We definitely want to find her a good home.”
Just before Christmas, Jersey and her newborn puppies were left in the outside cages at the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society.
“They didn’t even have their eyes open,” and were lucky they didn’t suffer ill-effects from being exposed to the cold, Ganas-Hicks said.
When two other litters were dropped off, and the staff made the decision to see if Jersey would share her maternal capabilities.
“We’re often really cautious with foster mothers,” said Animal Care Center veterinarian Dr. Kelly Kirpatrick.
In some cases, the momma dogs will attack orphan puppies. When they do accept the other dogs, they often will favor their own litter over the others. Jersey didn’t hesitate, Ganas-Hicks said.
“It didn’t seem like she cared whose they were,” Ganas-Hicks said.
At the height of her fostering, Jersey kept the puppies in two piles, moving back and forth between them equally, said Megan Grammer, the office receptionist and veterinary tech.
“She had her own organization going,” Grammer said.
Without Jersey’s help, it may not have turned out so well for the two other litters, because it would have been difficult to manage bottle feedings for a dozen newborn puppies, Ganas-Hicks said.
Jersey has been nursing for eight to 10 weeks and she has shown no impatience with her last charge, Little Leroy, who was the runt of the second adopted litter and needed some extra help.
“As long as she’s got babies, she’ll keep producing,” Kirpatrick said.
It’s been a busy winter for stray canines; the shelter had more than 60 puppies and 44 adult dogs on Friday.
“We’ve been averaging six adoptions a day,” said Animal Control Officer Tim South. But they always need more help with adoptions. “There’s lots of love here.”
So far, all but six of Jersey’s puppies have been adopted.
But they’re biggest hope is to find Jersey a good home with a family. The Animal Care Center staff has been taken with Jersey’s sweet nature that seems to extend to humans as well as puppies.
“I think she’ll be really good with kids,” Grammer said.
