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SALT LAKE CITY — The dog is man's best friend, and at least one dog is an amazing friend to cats, too, in an exclusive story that will warm your heart.
Bridget is a 10 -year-old Yorkshire terrier that was surrendered to the Humane Society of Utah last week. This week, she proved she wasn't ready to give up her motherly instincts when mother nature threw her a curve ball.
Pregnant and in need of medical attention, Bridget went into surgery at the Humane Society of Utah, and it was risky.
"She started having problems this Monday," said assistant foster coordinator Lisa Van Zandt.
At 10 years old, any wrong move by the veterinarian could be fatal. It was early in the morning, the offices hadn't even opened yet, and Bridget gave birth to two puppies by C-section.
A little later, another arrival to the shelter was there for both of them.
"A nice gentleman from Union Pacific came in saying he'd found this litter on his route," Van Zandt said.
A litter of five kittens, found near a set of railroad tracks close by. That nice gentleman had picked them up and taken them to safety, but the kittens were just days old and in need of medical attention themselves. And back inside the shelter, the newborn puppies had taken a turn for the worst.
I haven't seen anything like that before, it was really just quite exciting, really quite touching.
–Lisa Van Zandt
Bridget's two puppies died shortly after surgery, but that's when her true maternal instinct kicked in. Looking for a quiet place to let Bridget recover from surgery, Van Zandt placed the Yorkie in the same room with the kittens, who were also shaken.
The next morning when doctors came to check on both of their new patients, those patients had found each other. All five kittens, nestled under Bridget's caring fur and watchful eye ... she had become a mother after all.
"I haven't seen anything like that before, it was really just quite exciting, really quite touching," Van Zandt said.
And so, since Monday, this 10-year-old dog has been doing all of the usual 'new mom' activities for this litter of five kittens. She's been cleaning, chasing and even feeding her adoptive babies.
One mom who lost her litter, taking care of five newborns with nowhere else to go.
"It's the mother instinct," Van Zandt said. "All of us women, you know how emotional we get and how touching when we see something that's in need. We take over. Doesn't matter whether you're a feline or a canine or a human, we just take over."
The staff at the Humane Society of Utah has been providing the kittens with additional supplements to ensure they get all the vitamins they need, since they aren't nursing from their biological mother.
