Lost and pregnant with nine puppies, Daya, the 3 year-old Pitbull terrier, found herself in a South Carolina shelter after she was found wandering the streets alone.
Unfortunately, the shelter was already at full capacity and Daya was at risk of being euthanized. Luckily the Halfway There Rescue stepped in and placed Daya in a foster home so that she could comfortably deliver her babies.
It seemed as though everything was looking up for this lost dog and her babies, but when her new carers took her to the veterinary clinic for a pregnancy check-up, they were only delivered heart-breaking news.
“X-rays showed no evidence of living babies,” Jennifer Werner, a volunteer for the rescue, told The Dodo. “Her nine puppies were in the process of being absorbed by her body. This had caused a severe infection in her uterus that required emergency surgery within an hour of her arrival at the vet hospital.”
The surgery rescued Daya’s life, but it soon became obvious that she wasn’t coping with the loss of her unborn babies.
As Daya was settling back in to her foster home, her maternal instincts became more and more prominent, rather than subsiding. She began finding toys or socks to cuddle and groom, as if they were her babies. She brought them with her everywhere she went, in desperation to take care of something and grieve at the loss of her children.
“She had a wonderful home to recover in, but her instinct had taken over with nowhere to direct her energy without her puppies,” Werner explained. “While everyone at [the rescue] was so happy that Daya had made it through surgery, we were heartbroken that she was missing her babies. She didn’t understand what had happened to them.”
Three days after Daya’s surgery, the rescue got a call about an abandoned puppy who was found on the side of the road. She had parasites and skin infections and had just gotten out of a surgery to completely remove one of her eyes.
This little girl was having a really rough time, and now she needed a mum.
“Everyone knew that the puppy could survive with human intervention alone, but we had hopes that she could have the mama she was missing,” Werner said.
The team that was taking care of the puppy, named Raisin, brought her in to meet Daya and within a few short hours the two had formed a bond. They refused to leave each other.
“They were snuggled up together and it was obvious a relationship was forming,” Werner said. “Even though the two were not related, they served a need for each other that would lead to an incredible bond.”
Daya and Raisin have only been together for a very short time, but they’ve formed a bond that can never be broken. They’re currently going through their surgery healing process together and supporting each other the whole way through, never straying far from each others sides.
“They’re still recovering from medical issues like mange at their foster home, so they’ll be there for several more weeks,” Werner said. “With the help of the veterinary staff who would not give up on [Raisin] and the rescue who made sure Daya was able to leave the shelter, these two will forever share a bond.”
