Golden Retriever Fills In For Deadbeat Dog Parents

In September, eight African painted dogs were born in South Bend, Indiana’s Potawatomi Zoo, but the zookeepers saw right away that the mother wasn’t interested in her new brood. Fearing for the survival of the new pups, the zoo brought in a surrogate mom, a heroic golden retriever named Kassy.

Kassy had just whelped her own crew of pups and was ripe with milk, with plenty to spare. She arrived with her puppies the day after the painted pups were born, and without hesitation began to nurse and care for them as her own.

“Over their first four weeks of life, successfully raising the painted dog pups came with difficulties and disappointments,” the zoo said in a press release, as it broke the news that five of the eight pups did not make it. “As is common with baby animals, some of the of the painted dog pups weren’t strong enough to survive, despite the dedicated attention Kassy and the zoo staff gave them, but three did.”

The three survivors, currently unnamed but identified as Blue, Red, and Orange for the colors the staff uses to keep track of them, are doing fine. Their biological mother, Bleu, and father Maurice have not yet re-adopted their own children, but the zoo is building a space for the puppies near them, “so they can learn how to behave like painted dogs.” 

A third adult, Bleu's sister Colby, is also part of the growing menagerie. Painted dogs live in large kinship groups with strong social bonds, and it is hoped the three newcomers will soon assimilate. If not they can be moved to another zoo when they’re adults to start their own families.

The African painted dog (Lycaon pictus), also known as the wild dog or Cape hunting dog, is native to sub-Saharan Africa, where there are fewer than 7000 living in the wild. There are three more in the world who owe their lives to one heroic dog named Kassy.

The zoo has posted a short video of the pups on YouTube. (WARNING: This content may be too adorable for some viewers.)

Photo credit: Potawatomi Zoo