Shelter Dog 'Adopts' Litter Of Orphaned Puppies And Treats Them Like Her Own

Many female dogs have maternal instincts, just like human females do. When a dog becomes pregnant or after it gives birth, these instincts become even more pronounced. A gentle giant named Xena showed hers on camera in a YouTube clip shared by The Dodo in September 2025. She was rescued from a field and brought to a shelter, but staff members didn't realize she was pregnant until the day she gave birth...to a single puppy. Little did she know, she'd end up caring for many more than that.

Around the same time that Xena gave birth, another dog passed away after giving birth to a litter of seven. The shelter employees brought Xena to the pups with hopes that she would nurse and care for them. With her maternal instincts in full gear, she did both. She and the puppies were transferred to the maternity suite at Three Little Pitties Rescue in Friendswood, Texas, where she stayed by their side until they were sent to foster homes and later adopted.

Xena was also placed into a foster home, where she spends her days hanging out with four other foster dogs. Her foster mom, Lindsay, says that she "loves other dogs and finds a lot of comfort and confidence in being around them." She also describes her as quiet and sweet. Xena is believed to be a 5-year-old mastiff and Staffordshire terrier mix. As of October 27, 2025, she's still available for adoption at Three Little Pitties. Considering adopting? Check out how to adopt a dog in this step-by-step guide.

Xena's heartwarming story isn't the type you read every day, but there have actually been several other published cases similar to hers. Daily Paws shared a story in 2021, where a Minnesota foster dog named Pepper sadly lost all of her puppies. Thanks to a group of volunteers at a rescue facility, however, she was paired with a litter of 10 orphaned puppies that were struggling with bottle feeding. Within 5 minutes of meeting them, she welcomed and began nursing them.

In 2020, FOX 4 reported that a rescued corgi named Angela became a hero at Dog Ranch Rescue in Texas after a Labrador died giving birth to four puppies at the same rescue. Having given birth to her own litter just three weeks earlier, Angela already had her paws full, but she still made room for the orphaned pups. After one of the puppies was placed near her, it latched onto her teat, and Angela immediately started licking it.

The maternal instincts of a dog toward orphaned puppies are truly remarkable, but what's more remarkable is that they can even be applied to another species. Meet Georgia, an Australian shepherd mix in Arizona that lost all of her puppies at Sunshine Dog Rescue in 2020. ABC 15 shared that she was devastated after the loss, so the rescue's founder, Anita Osa, found a trio of orphaned kittens to fill the void. The kittens needed a mother, and Georgia needed a litter. The bond was instant, and she even allowed them to nurse from her. Interested in more heartwarming rescue stories? Check out a rescue dog that now gives emotional support to tiny foster animals.