Milo the dog knows heartbreak. But like any soul who has experienced loss, she appreciates the joy that fills her life now.
At a gas station near Arizona’s border to Mexico, Milo was scrounging out an existence, but she had no real home and often knew the pains of hunger. She was also pregnant when Sunshine Dog Rescue found her, yet she seemed in pretty good shape for being a rural stray dog.
Things were looking good for Milo. She’d have some puppies and then be on her way to a forever home once they were weaned. But tragedy struck the mom-to-be.
Milo, now Georgia, went into premature labor and her puppies were just too young to survive. Anita Osa, executive director of Sunshine Dog Rescue, shared, “While my heart hurts for the puppies that never got to run and play, my heart is so very sad for Georgia.”
Though she was healing physically from an emergency c-section and spay, the heartbroken mother dog was frantic for her babies. “We found her tearing her mattress up looking for them.”
Anita and Sunshine staff did everything they could think of to console Georgia, even giving her a stuffed puppy with a heartbeat to ease her grief. It helped some, but the poor dog still mourned her loss.
An Idea to Help A Grieving Mom
To help Georgia out, Anita took to Facebook searching for orphaned newborn puppies. She didn’t find any puppies, but she did come across kittens in need of a mother.
“I was certainly unsure,” admitted Anita. “But I had seen other species nurse another species before, so I thought worse case scenario she doesn’t take to them and I have some kittens I need to tend to myself.”
The idea turned out to be an amazing one!
Georgia took right to the tiny tabby kittens. “She LOVES them.”
And they loved their new mama too, nuzzling and cuddling into her warmth and safety just as they would have a feline mom.
Anita explained nursing was a little tricky for the dog and her kittens, but the babies did finally figure out how to latch. To be sure they were getting all the nutrition kitten bodies need to grow, they also got bottles. Which meant lots of hands on love from Anita.
Watching the kittens grow helped Georgia learn to be a happy dog, but once Goober, Graffiti, and Toby grew strong enough to be weaned, she had a another to battle to face.
Overcoming TVT and Chemo
During the emergency surgery following the loss of her puppies, doctors discovered Georgia had TVT (transmissible venereal tumor). As a highly aggressive cancer, TVT tumors had formed in the short few months Milo had been with Sunshine Dog Rescue. But she faced it with strength and a smile on her sweet snoot.
With the kittens weaned, the brave dog started chemotherapy and found her forever family. Under the care of her new dad, Georgia has completed chemo and is now living the dream!
And more great news! Georgia now shares her forever home with one of her kittens. Toby was adopted by her dad’s roommate!
Thanks to rescue love and adorable kittens, Georgia has come through hardship to find happiness in her forever home.
H/T: www.usatoday.com
Feature Image: @sunshinedogrescue/Instagram