Bess was a homeless pregnant dog picked up by animal control from the streets of Tennessee. She had 12 puppies inside her, and a shelter wasn’t ideal for her to stay in. Thankfully, Tracey and Jon Stewart of Sucker for Puppies, a foster-based rescue group in New York, stepped in and pulled her out.
The couple picked up the pregnant mama dog and took her straight to an emergency animal hospital, where she gave birth. While the first few puppies came out just fine, Burrdie, the smallest among the litter, got stuck in the birth canal for about three hours. She didn’t have enough oxygen, and everyone feared she wouldn’t make it.
The vet staff kept a closer eye on Burrdie while ensuring everyone else was fine. But because there were too many puppies, the doctors worried not all of them would survive. The rescuers, however, believed otherwise.
Tracey and Jon took all the puppies home. They worked round the clock, but they soon realized they needed more hands to care for the puppies and the mama dog. They asked for extra help, and many of their families and friends jumped right in.
All 12 puppies thrived under the care of their rescuers. Soon, they grew older, bigger, and healthier, including Burrdie. And one by one, they left and joined their new families.
Ten months later, Tracey and Jon thought it would be a great idea to reunite Mama Dog Bess with Burrdie, Ginny, Gracie, Ruby, Osa, Louis, Drake, Rupert, Ranger, Seven, Sandy, and Layla. They contacted the dogs’ adoptive moms and dads, and they all agreed to meet at a park. They wondered if the dogs would recognize each other, and surprisingly they did.
The siblings arrived with their families first. Moments later, Mama Bess came with her new forever Mama Dog. When she spotted her babies all grown-up, she got all excited that she wanted to run to them, all at the same time.
After almost a year of being far from each other, the dogs still recognized one another. They knew they were family, and they will stay that way forever.
Credits to Instagram@everydaylouie and The Dodo
