Proving once again that they truly are the best species on Earth, a brave dog rescued seven abandoned kittens and is now acting like their mother.
Whitney Braley, 30, knew something was wrong when her 3-year-old service husky, Banner, suddenly became extremely distressed and kept pulling on her dress in a state of panic outside their home in Menlo, Georgia, USA.
Whitney said: “She had been acting really weird all morning. I couldn’t understand what was wrong with her. She wasn’t listening to me when I told her to come, which isn’t like her as she is always very well behaved. I knew something had to be wrong. She was getting really distressed.”
The mom-of-three let her determined dog lead her into the nearby woods, only to discover Banner circling around an abandoned cardboard box. Whitney said her pooch dived straight in after she opened the box and pulled out a tiny white kitten, with the pet owner shocked to discover six more kittens laying inside the box.
Whitney said she didn’t know how Banner knew the tiny cats were there, but she said the kittens who looked about a day old were “close to [email protected]” before they were rescued. After bringing the newborn kittens back inside her house, Whitney said Banner refused to leave their side. The adorable dog has been cleaning, cuddling up with, and napping alongside the kittens like she’s their mom.
After ensuring all the kittens were healthy, Whitney made the selfless decision to look after the tiny seven felines until they are old enough to be adopted. And along with the help of a cat ‘wet nurse’ who feeds the kittens, Whitney said her dog Banner still likes to keep a watchful eye over it all.
Whitney added: “She won’t leave their side. You can see her watching them all the time and counting them to make sure they’re all still there. She lays down with them, cuddles with them and takes naps with them. She is like their adopted mum and she sees them as her babies. She is a really maternal and loving dog. I’ve never met another dog like Banner.”
As it turned out, this isn’t the first time Banner has shared the love, with the pair also picking up a stray kitten previously.