Dogs are amazing creatures. They’re called man’s best friend, and they have been around for as long as the world remembers. Many Facebook videos and Instagram photos will tell you that people love to see parent dogs lovingly interacting with their pups.
In fact, if you scour YouTube, you’ll find many dog videos about how funny they are, how afraid they are of cats, or how adorable they are as parents. It’s a well-known fact that people have a soft spot for papa and mama dogs exercising their full parental authority on rowdy puppies.
But a lesser, well-known fact is that older dogs will sometimes act paternal to pups…that are not even their own.
Pets Galore
A service shop and inn for dogs witnessed this touching phenomenon when one of its older female dogs escaped her kennel–not in a bid for her freedom but so that she could comfort puppies who were crying in a kennel a few blocks down.
Barkers Pet Motel and Grooming from St. Albert, Alberta in Canada has been helping dogs since it was established in 2001. It’s known as a vacation destination for furry pets whose owners want them groomed, trained, and looked after while they’re off to a more homo sapiens destination.
While most of their customers are dogs, they certainly have a colorful clientele that includes parrots, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and more! They also offer a variety of services like grooming, obedience training for dogs, and a doggy daycare. But the “motel” is open for all kinds of animals. As they say, the more the merrier!
It is in Barkers Pet Motel and Grooming that our story formally begins. One of the dogs in the kennel area was Maggie, an Australian shepherd mix dog who was vacationing there for a short while. Maggie herself had just gotten adopted from the Edmonton Humane Society.
Furry Comfort
She was an intelligent and caring dog, and she had strong maternal instincts. Unfortunately, Maggie’s own pups were taken from her a few weeks back. Without any target for her love and care, Maggie had gotten a bit sad. Fortunately, there were clients staying at the motel who needed Maggie’s love and comfort.
A pair of nine-week-old foster puppies arrived at the motel one night. They came from the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society, and they were in desperate need of their mother. At night, they were practically inconsolable. They cried. And Maggie must have heard it because she broke free from her kennel to comfort them.
It took Maggie some time to find the crying pups. She searched high and low, tail wagging, as she searched the source of the cries. But even when she did find them, she realized she couldn’t get to them.
She couldn’t get inside their kennel! Poor Maggie did all she could for the pups, but she could only do so much from outside.
You would think that a dog like that would just give up. After all, Maggie didn’t birth those pups–but love and kindness transcend blood relations, much like in humans. So, Maggie stayed.
She flopped outside the pups’ kennel, waiting to be let in and wanting the pups to know that she was there for them. Fortunately for Maggie and the pups, the motel’s owner, Sandi Aldred, was checking the motel surveillance on her phone while she and her family were out for dinner.
Humans to the Rescue
Sandi was pleasantly surprised at Maggie’s behavior. She told CBS that Maggie was focused on the pups. The owner added:
“And she’d do the little bow down to them and poke them through the chainlink gate of their room. She just decided that was where she was going to stay until we came to get her.”
When the family got home, Sandi went to the kennels to find Maggie greeting her with enthusiasm. Immediately, Sandi opened the pups’ kennel, and Maggie wormed her way inside. She couldn’t wait to be with the pups! Sandi left the loving Maggie with the pups for the night, and in the morning, the three of them were still cuddled together.
Unfortunately, it was the only time Maggie was able to comfort the pups. Her owners came the next day to pick her up. And while Maggie was no longer around to comfort the pups, it did give the motel a clue what the puppies needed. They eventually decided to take turns bringing the pups home every night.
With the story of Maggie and the pups going viral online, Sandi thinks it won’t be long till the puppies find their forever home.
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