'Nothing Short Of A Miracle': Rescue Dog Adopts Litter Of Puppies For Her Own

Updated September 8, 2021

If you spend enough time online, you're likely to see someone repeat the common saying, "We don't deserve dogs."

And while it's true that they can find some bizarre ways to in trouble, it's pretty clear where that sentiment comes from. Not only are so many of them eager to show us how unconditionally they love us, but their protective instincts have led them to actually save lives among the animal kingdom and humankind alike.

Although it's easy to come with the opinion that dogs are better than us after hearing stories like these, the truth is that dogs experience loss and strife a lot like we do. But fortunately, one story illustrates that like us, they can also heal from sorrowful chapters in their lives in powerful ways.

In early July, a dog named Pepper at the Ruff Start Rescue in Princeton, Minnesota had a good reason to feel devastated and depressed.

Facebook | Lexi Ruhland Johnson

As People reported, she had experienced an overwhelming tragedy in which she would lose her entire litter of puppies.

And this would prove to be a sad period for the rescue in general as another loss would occur at around the same time.

That's because another dog named Poppy who had just given birth to 10 puppies of her own suddenely passed away on July 8.

Facebook | Lexi Ruhland Johnson

As one of the rescue's foster carers and volunteers named Lexi Johnson said, "We frantically started figuring out our next move with the babies. Another volunteer was over until 11:30 that night helping bottle feed. And throughout the evening, my husband and I were up every 3 hours getting food in their bellies ... and it was taking over 1.5 hours each time."

But while these puppies did well under the volunteers' care, Johnson saw an opportunity to turn these two tragedies into something beautiful.

Facebook | Lexi Ruhland Johnson

As she wrote in a Facebook post, "The babies were all thriving with their humans, but the best place for them is with a mama who can not only give them some good milk, but teach them dog things, behaviors we as humans can’t."

So she got the idea to gather these puppies together again and introduce them to Pepper.

And in a meeting that Johnson described as "nothing short of a miracle," Pepper connected with the puppies within five minutes of meeting them.

Facebook | Lexi Ruhland Johnson

As we can see, the puppies already started nursing within that time while Pepper took a protective stance over them.

And neither Pepper nor these puppies will be ready for adoption while this nursing stage is underway. According to People, prospective adopters will likely see some of the puppies become available around August 25.

So it seems they'll have plenty of time to bask in each other's love.

As Johnson wrote, "I cried again last night but these tears were happy tears. Tears knowing that mama Poppy would be so appreciative of Pepper taking over the mama role."

h/t: People

Filed Under: