Cora’s heart was shattered into a million pieces. Shelter workers could see it in her soulful eyes and read it in her tense, frightened body language.
Her whole world had come crashing down when her former owner dumped her and another dog at the Marin Humane Society shelter in Novato, Calif. But the owner kept her four babies.
Animal mommas can experience an instant attachment to their babies. So separating a litter from Mom too soon can be devastating, even deadly.
Moms can develop mastitis and other complications from not naturally nursing their babies long enough. The wee ones can fall ill, even perish, if they don’t have mom and her milk to see them through the first four weeks of life.
According to the AKC, a mommy dog gives her pups her undivided attention and care for the first three weeks after birth. Dr. Ann Hohenhaus, staff doctor at NYC’s Animal Medical Center, said that you’ll see clear signs that the mom “doesn’t want to be away from her babies for more than a second.”
When Cora was dumped at the shelter, workers tracked down the person who left her there to try and convince that person to give up the puppies, too. Cora needed them and they needed her.
Those puppies just weren’t safe and shouldn’t have been taken from Cora so soon.
Cora spent all of her time hiding in the corner of her kennel behind the pet bed, hesitant to let alone show her attention and clearly distressed. Until now…
Once the worker sat down in her pen with a pet carrier, Cora’s ears perked up. She heard the telltale sound of puppy yipping and instantly was intrigued.
The worker gently clasped ahold of the first puppy and plucked it out of the pet carrier.
The second Cora heard her puppy whimper, she zoomed around the corner of the pet bed and began sniffing her babies, her tail wagging wildly as one by one they emerge from the pet carrier.
Cora recognized her babies by scent and followed them as they frolicked around her. She even climbed into the pet carrier to herd out the last out.
The precious babies scampered all over their mom when suddenly, the worker was stunned by Cora’s behavior.
The sweet momma climbed onto the worker’s lap to show her geniuine affection and thanks for bringing her her babies. The little balls of fur tried nursing a few times while Cora nestled next to the staff member at once relaxed and happy.
Since mom is named Cora, the shelter employees named the babies Carson, Moseley, Branson and Edith after Downtown Abbey characters.
They were just as excited to see their mom as she was them!
Thanks to the shelter’s heartfelt video shared on its Facebook page, it didn’t take long before Cora and her babies were adopted to loving families.
While waiting to grow bigger, stronger and older before they could head to their furever homes, the puppies did wonderfully at the shelter with their mom. They dozed on fuzzy rugs that smelled like their mom and napped a ton.
They were so cute!
People on Facebook fawned over the mommy and her babies, especially when they saw the transformation in Cora the second her babies wriggled their way out of the pet carrier, like Louann Kenyon.
“She’s beautiful. She looks like a totally different girl with her babies back.”
Watch the video below and see for yourself how endearing their reunion is. It’s precious!
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