Category: Awww

Two Cute! Identical Twin Puppies May Be World’s First Ever

Move over, Mary-Kate and Ashley. There’s a new and even cuter pair of twins in the world, and they each have four legs.

For what’s believed to be the first time ever, a pair of identically genetic puppies have been born in South Africa.

Dr. Kurt de Cramer, a veterinarian in Mogale City, has helped deliver hundreds of litters through Caesarean section — but this particular birth was much different.

The mother, an Irish Wolfhound, had a strange bulb by her uterus. At first Dr. Cramer thought it was just excess fluid around one of the puppies. He carefully made an incision and removed the puppy.

To his surprise, there were two male puppies inside the bulb, attached by their umbilical cords to one placenta.

“When I realized that the puppies were of the same gender and that they had very similar markings, I also immediately suspected that they might be identical twins having originated from the splitting of an embryo,” Cramer told BBC.

The other five puppies in the litter each had their own placenta.

Until now, only humans and nine-banded armadillos were known to be able to produce twins. To confirm that dogs can as well, Cramer sent blood samples from the twins, named Cullen and Romulus, to experts.

“The twins looked very similar,” Carolynne Joone of James Cook University in Australia told BBC. “But pups from the same litter often do, [and] there were small differences in the white markings on their paws, chests and the tips of their tails. I wasn’t sure they were monozygotic [identical] at all initially.”

DNA profiling of the blood samples showed that Cullen and Romulus are indeed identical twins. When the puppies were about six weeks old, samples of their tissue also confirmed it.

Are These the First Twin Puppies Ever Born?

This is a difficult question to answer. “There have been rumors about twins in dogs before,” Joone told BBC. “We just happened to be lucky enough to be able to confirm it genetically.

“It has taken so long for us to find a monozygotic pair, so they are probably rare. But so many of them will have been born naturally and blissfully unaware.”

Some animals, such as horses, have been known to have had identical twin fetuses that did not survive. When two fetuses share one placenta in a horse or most other animals, they don’t get enough nutrients and oxygen from the mother to stay alive. Cramer had previously seen two puppies sharing a placenta in 2014, but they had died before he performed a C-section on their mother.

Like human twins, Cullen and Romulus were a bit smaller than the other puppies when they were born, but have caught up to their littermates. Both are healthy and doing well, BBC reports.

Photos via YouTube

Pit Bull Brings Popsicles to Police Who Helped Save His Life

Troy, a Pit Bull who lives in Amsterdam, “pawed” it forward to his rescuers. He hand — er, mouth — delivered a gift to the police officers who saved his life.

While walking through Rietlandpark with his owner last month, a bee stung Troy’s neck. Troy went into shock and couldn’t walk. When his owner yelled for help, he was fortunately heard by officers at the Piet Heinkade police station across the street from the park.

The officers rushed Troy and his owner to a veterinarian. Because they got him there so quickly, Troy was able to make a complete recovery. The veterinarian said Troy would not have been so lucky if it had taken longer for him to get treatment for the sting.

Today Troy showed his appreciation to these heroes — with a box of popsicles.

“Troy gives his saviors ice cream as a thank you!” Politie Amsterdam posted on their Facebook page, along with a photo of the happy dog making his delivery.

Dank je wel, politieagenten!

If your own dog is ever stung by a bee, here are tips for what to do.

Photo via Facebook

Dog Runs from Burning House in California Wildfire and Leaps into Firefighter’s Arms

While areas of Louisiana have experienced devastating floods caused by historic amounts of rain, the severe drought here in Southern California has had a terrible impact on what one firefighter of 40 years called the worst wildfire he’d ever battled.

The so-called Blue Cut Fire, which began Tuesday in the San Bernardino Mountains, has burned more than 25,000 acres as of Thursday morning. More than 82,000 people have been evacuated, and, sadly,  hundreds of them may have no houses to return to.

One dog left behind in the West Cajon area is very lucky to be alive.

When he saw Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mike Mohler, the dog, who appears to possibly be a Rottweiler mix, ran to him from a burning structure and leaped into his arms, according to a post yesterday on Cal Fire San Bernardino/Inyo/Mono Unit’s Facebook page.

“Seeing that dog run out of those flames was pretty amazing,” Mohler told KCBS. “It sheltered in place until it actually saw help, but it just wanted help. It needed to get out of that area.”

The dog was treated for minor burns, given food and water, and taken to the Apple Valley Animal Shelter. Hopefully the lucky puppy will soon be reunited with his owners.

‘If People Are at Work, Their Pets Are at Home’

Although it’s not yet known why the dog was left behind, it’s likely because, according to some comments on the Cal Fire Facebook post, many residents weren’t home when the fire started.

“People are not leaving pets behind,” wrote Priscilla Jaynes. “If people are at work, their pets are at home, and sometimes you can’t get through to them in time. Once police close a road, there is no going past the blockade. I know someone who lost their dog this way. It was devastating.”

Debe Webb added a comment saying that’s exactly what happened to her. “My husband spent eight hours on the roads trying to get to Wrightwood to our pets,” she wrote. “We were both at work down the hill when the fire started. He also had to walk five miles because they would only let them get so close by car. He got all three dogs and himself out.”

My heart goes out to everyone affected by this terrible wildfire, and the heroic firefighters who are battling it.

How to Help Animals Displaced by the Blue Cut Fire

Three shelters are currently taking in evacuated animals evacuated due to the wildfire. Dogs and cats are being taken in by the Apple Valley and Devore animal shelters. Larger animals can stay at the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds, which is also serving as an American Red Cross Shelter.

For these shelters’ latest donation needs, check their Facebook pages:

You can find more shelter information and make a monetary donation by visiting the American Red Cross website.

Photo via Facebook

Injured German Shepherd Puppy Rescued by Boaters

“He was in a hurry to catch up to the boat. He was literally chasing the boat,” Ronald Arndt told the Appeal Democrat. He was referring to a 10-month-old German Shepherd he saw swimming Saturday night in the middle of the Feather River in Northern California.

When Arndt and some friends pulled the puppy into the boat, they saw what Arndt called “horrible” infected gashes on his face, shoulders and back. Apparently the puppy had fallen off a boat and was then struck by a propeller.

Despite his injuries, the puppy was calm — until someone started the boat’s motor. Arndt held the puppy, who they named “Water Shepherd,” in his arms as the boat made its way back to shore.

“I have a soft heart for dogs,” he told the Appeal Democrat. “I get too attached. This dog, he broke my heart.”

Arndt and his friends rushed Water Shepherd to a local veterinarian. The pup was treated for his wounds and is recuperating at Sutter County Animal Services in Yuba City.

Since Water Shepherd’s skin was starting to die around his wounds, Animal Services Manager Diana Barrett believes he was in the river for a day or two. The puppy is housebroken and obviously someone’s pet.

“Ideally, we want the owner to say, ‘Oh my gosh! That’s my dog,'” Barrett told the Appeal Democrat. “But we want to give this guy a chance.”

The shelter is in need of bandages and other donations. For information on how to donate, visit its website or call 530-822-7375.

Within the past eight months, two other dogs have made the news after falling from boats.

In March, a German Shepherd/Husky mix named Luna fell off a boat near the coast of Southern California. After more than a month went by, her dog dad assumed she had drowned. But five weeks after she disappeared, Luna was discovered on a private island owned by the Navy. She was in pretty good shape, considering her castaway ordeal.

In November, a Yellow Lab puppy named Noodle fell off a ferry in Italy’s Gulf of Naples, but the ferry operator refused to stop to save her. Fortunately, half an hour later, boaters were shocked to see Noodle treading water in the middle of nowhere. They rescued her — capturing it on video — and returned the puppy to her grateful dog dad.

Photo credit: Greg Loesch (That’s another German Shepherd, not Water Shepherd)

NFL’s Ronnie Stanley Asks for ‘Not-So-Adoptable Dog’ from Shelter

With so many cases of NFL players abusing dogs, Ronnie Stanley of the Baltimore Ravens is truly a breath of fresh air.

Stanley went to the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) Saturday with his girlfriend and teammate, Alex Lewis, in search of a new four-legged friend.

He had just one request. “We are looking for a dog that’s been here a long time and maybe not-so-adoptable,” he told the staff, according to the BARCS Facebook page.

When Stanley was introduced to some of the dogs having difficulty finding forever homes, one in particular caught his eye: Winter, a 6-year-old Pit Bull/Retriever mix who’d been used multiple times for breeding, and then was left to die in a vacant house with no food or water. She had chewed through the drywall in an effort to escape. A good Samaritan noticed her last month and contacted BARCS.

Because she’s had several litters of puppies, Winter has a drooping belly that isn’t likely to tighten up. Dogs with distended bellies like hers are particularly hard to adopt out, Bailey Deacon of BARCS told the Baltimore Sun.

That didn’t matter to Stanley. “Well, that’s just what happens when you’ve had babies,” he told the BARCS staff, who said he showed much more interest in getting kisses from the pooch than any concerns about her physical appearance.

“It’s not a very good-looking dog per se for your happy couple or family going into a shelter looking to adopt a pet. So I knew this pet would probably have a pretty hard time getting adopted,” Stanley told the Baltimore Sun today. “It was pretty old as well, so I felt like it was a great pet for me. It’s very loving and very protective, and it’s a great addition to the family.”

He adopted Winter, and has renamed her Lola.

“We are so proud to have amazing guys like Ronnie to be role models to the kids in our city,” BARCS said on its Facebook page. “Not only does his single act of kindness make adoption cool, but it makes giving love to an imperfectly perfect dog a ‘manly’ thing to do.”

Photo via Facebook

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