Mar 27 2009
Mr Mom: Bailey to the Rescue!
Bailey, the “mom-dog”
I have a friend who is a bottle feeder for shelters and rescues; she takes in the orphaned kittens and puppies who still need bottles. It’s a rough job, because even under the best circumstances all kittens and puppies do not survive, and considering they are orphaned and coming in from rescues and shelters they are even more likely to be at risk. Volunteering for this job is to place oneself on a nonstop emotional roller coaster. But as I’ve said before, the rewards are also out of this world, so if you find yourself with orphaned puppies or kittens that need feeding, check out this article for instructions.
She has a helper in her job: her 9 year old toy fox terror — oops, er, I mean terrier — Bailey. Well, it’s not the first time Bailey has been called a terror, or terrorist! He is quite a feisty boy!! Any visitors to my friend’s apartment must be very careful because Bailey attacks whenever they move. He loves them if they sit still.
But bring in an orphaned kitten or puppy, and this little monster turns to mush! Bailey, aka Mr. Mom, cleans them, guards them, determines whether the other cats or dogs can play with them, would nurse them if he were so endowed!
Bailey is a true, bonafide hero, too. Several months ago, my friend came home and screamed when she saw that her brand new couch had been not just shredded or chewed, but the entire back section was clawed and chewed out and destroyed. She saw Bailey at the scene of the crime and went over to see if he had completely lost his mind. Her anger was stopped short when she caught a glimpse of one of the kittens, inside the sofa, caught! And near death. No one knows how the kitten fell into the couch, but he was ill and only Bailey knew. Bailey destroyed that couch to save the lost and sick kitten. The kitten, Laptop, was rushed to the vet, where he spent 3 weeks in intensive care, and the vets were able to save him! Here is a picture of the moment the kitten returned home and came out of the carrier.
He once caused my friend more than the usual pain when some kittens began to die, and it appeared as if Bailey had smothered them because he was hovering over them so. The surviving kittens were taken to the vet, where it was explained that Bailey had not smothered anyone: he had actually saved the lives of the ones who survived by keeping them warm and stimulated when they began to go downhill. The ones that did not survive were not harmed by him either, they just were victims of fading kitten syndrome, as so many orphans are.
Right now, my friend has a litter of three week old kittens. One just died. Again, she worried if Bailey might have loved it to death, but again, the vet says it was fading kitten syndrome (OK, did I mention my friend is sometimes worry wart extraordinaire?)
Here is what she wrote me about poor Bailey, who is just beside himself with grief. Keep in mind that Bailey has a sister Kyla, a medium sized hound mix, as well as a few cat sisters and brothers, and my friend is usually home — so he is not a lonely boy, just very tender and maternal.
…he laid with that dead baby all night long and he would snap at me if I tried to get it- [he kept] rolling it, [licking it, trying to save it]- etc.
So today he decides he’ll go out for a walk- first in like 3 days- he doesn’t eat or drink or defecate when he’s got babies- and before he left for his leash he kept running back to the infant and throwing it up in the air- like 5 times trying to see if it might be alive- really sad- his face was so stricken- he finally came back for his leashing and walk- bringing the dead kitten in his mouth- he was going to bring it along!
Tell me again — why do they have to do all those studies to try to determine if animals have any feelings?
Here are some pics of Bailey with his latest babies. Below the pics, please check out some great videos about various inter species relationships — very interesting and cute.
Bailey pictures courtesy of LDann.
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Typical hunter changes her mind and cat adopts mouse.
French bulldog cares for orphans at zoo: baby Orangutan.
