Kassy is pictured nursing the three endangered African painted dog pups, along with her own puppies, at the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, Indiana. (Credit: Potawatomi Zoo)
The Potawatomi Zoo, located in South Bend, recently introduced three endangered African painted dog pups that were born at the facility in September. Eight pups were originally born, but their parents, mother Bleu and father Maurice, were not caring for the babies, according to a post by the zoo.
In the wild, African painted dogs live in large packs with “unique social dynamics and vocalizations,” the Potawatomi Zoo said. All adult dogs in the pack help to feed and raise the pups, and the success of the birth and the likelihood of raising live puppies can be jeopardized if the pack doesn’t work together as they should, according to the zoo.
As a result, animal care staff quickly consulted with the African Painted Dog Species Survival Plan (SSP), a group of zoo professionals who develop breeding plans for this species at zoos across the U.S. Together, the SSP group and the zoo made the “difficult decision” to intervene and hand-raise the puppies.
Seeking to raise the painted dog pups in a canine social structure, the zoo sought out a surrogate domestic dog to nurse the pups instead of bottle-feeding them. Within “a few hours,” the local Indiana Council for Animal Welfare connected the zoo with a golden retriever female named Kassy who had a new litter of puppies and milk to share.
“Kassy immediately accepted the painted dog puppies and began to nurse and care for them like they were her own,” the zoo said.
“As is common with baby animals, some of the painted dog pups weren’t strong enough to survive, despite the dedicated attention Kassy and the Zoo staff gave them, but three did,” the zoo said in its post.
Golden retriever steals reporter’s mic during live report
A reporter giving a live weather update in Moscow, Russia, on April 1 was upstaged when a golden retriever jumped into shot and stole her microphone. Credit – ITRC MIR via Storyful
Once the African painted dog pups are older, they can either be integrated with the Potawatomi Zoo pack or moved to another accredited facility, the zoo said.
Native to sub-Saharan Africa, there are fewer than 7,000 adult painted dogs left in the wild and are considered endangered due to human-wildlife conflict, habitat fragmentation, and disease.
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