Mum Adopts Pup

[Guest guest]

By STEPHEN SINGER, Associated Press Writer

Wed Feb 14, 11:10 PM ET

 

 

 

MERIDEN, Conn. - Who says cats and dogs don't get along? Workers at

the Meriden Humane Society are marveling at a short-haired mother cat

who has willingly adopted a six-day-old Rottweiler puppy that was

rejected by its mother.

 

The tiny pup, named Charlie by Humane Society volunteers, nurses

alongside a jumble of black and gray kittens recently born to Satin,

who was surrendered to the shelter by an owner unable to care for her.

 

Charlie's mother was found by the side of the road in Meriden a

couple of months ago. She gave birth to two puppies, but one was

stillborn. As sometimes happens with a stillborn in the litter, the

mother dog refused to accept Charlie.

 

Volunteers bottle-fed him every two hours, but the effort was both

exhausting to humans and insufficient for the puppy, who needs to

feed when he wants, said volunteer Chris Chorney.

 

Research indicated that a suitable substitute could be Satin, who had

given birth to four kittens that have quickly warmed to Charlie.

 

" The kittens scrum up with him and the kittens treat him like one of

their own, " Chorney said. " There's a certain social benefit of small

animals being with each other. "

 

The cat-and-dog relationship is not all that unusual in certain

circumstances, said Deirdre Chiaramonte, a veterinarian at the Animal

Medical Center, a specialty teaching hospital in New York.

 

" In those types of situations, it's common, " she said.

 

The cozy arrangement between Charlie, Satin and the kittens will

likely changes as the pup grows. Full-grown male Rottweilers commonly

weigh 100 pounds.

 

Volunteers are hoping that dog owners will volunteer their puppies to

be Charlie's playmates.

 

" Dogs need to be with a litter of puppies, to learn to play with

other dogs, " Chorney said. " He has to learn to be a well-socialized

dog. "