Thoughtprints

If you look down on my sidebar you’ll see a list of my beloved dogs. They are so special to me. One of them is Daisy May, an amazingly smart, sweet, obedient and loving Golden Retriever. Unfortunately, we lost her when she was only 2 years old. One day last November she went outside with the other dogs to go potty and play for a while, but never came back in. My daughter found her in her favorite spot under one of our bushes, dead. We don’t know what happened for sure. She had no injuries whatsoever. We’re pretty sure she died from a heart condition common to Golden Retrievers. Anyway, it was a horrible shock and we still miss her so much. I can’t bear to think about taking her off of my Dogster list. She will always be there with the rest of them.

If you look down at the bottom of that list you’ll see little Pippin. I’ll never forget how Daisy reacted when we brought her home. She immediately went to her, sniffed her, and then began “protecting” her from the other dogs. From the first moment she was Pippin’s surrogate mother and protector. They became best friends as Pippin grew. It was really very touching to watch. That’s why I wasn’t the least bit surprised when I read the following story out of Caney, Kansas (originally seen at Holy Cuteness):

A dog at a southeast Kansas zoo has adopted three tiger cubs abandoned by their mother. Safari Zoological Park owner Tom Harvey said the tiger cubs were born Sunday, but the mother had problems with them.

A day later, the mother stopped caring for them. Harvey said the cubs were wandering around, trying to find their birth mother, who wouldn’t pay attention to them. That’s when the cubs were put in the care of a golden retriever, Harvey said.

Harvey said it’s unusual for dogs to care for tiger cubs, but it does happen. He said he has seen reports of pigs nursing cubs in China, and he actually got the golden retriever after his wife saw television accounts of dogs caring for tiger cubs.

Puppies take about the same amount of time as tiger cubs to develop, and Harvey said the adoptive mother just recently weaned her own puppies.

“The timing couldn’t have been any better,” he said.

The mother doesn’t know the difference, Harvey said. He said the adopted mother licks, cleans and feeds the cubs.

That is totally something Daisy would have done. I don’t know if it’s a Golden trait to be so nurturing and maternal, or if it’s just because dogs in general are so amazing. What I do know is that my life wouldn’t be nearly as full or happy without my dogs!

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