When A Couple Took In This Pregnant Dog, They Didn't Expect Her Pups To Turn Out The Way They Did

Though, the Blacks aren’t strangers to dogs. Far from it! They live in Raleigh, North Carolina, with three pets of their own: Annie, Leroy, and Winchester. But they didn't stop there. Since 2009, they've opened their home to foster dogs in need. So far, they’ve seen 20 furbabies pass through their doors.

The Blacks’ love of our four-legged friends even led them to register as foster parents for the Neuse River Golden Retriever Rescue shelter. But while John and Katie don’t look after animals for recognition, they’ve still received plenty of attention on social media. Why? Well, it’s all to do with that strange litter.

The mom of those unusual pups is golden retriever mix Rosie, who had gone through quite the ordeal before reaching John and Katie. On one evening in October 2017, you see, her previous owners had sadly left her at a local shelter. And not only was the now homeless Rosie expecting, but she was also very close to giving birth. So close, in fact, that the facility’s manager feared the puppies would arrive in shelter care.

But the manager knew exactly what to do: contact the golden retriever carers at Neuse River. The rescue center then sent a volunteer to pick up Rosie the following morning. And this helper was equally worried at how advanced Rosie’s pregnancy was. They half-expected the dog to give birth as they drove her to a check-up at the Raleigh Vet Clinic.

Rosie was still with pups when she arrived at the Blacks’ home in late October, though. And after the expectant mom had settled into the couple’s abode, the pair proudly uploaded a picture of Rosie to their Instagram account @ourgoldenyears.

“This is our new foster Rosie, who is very preggers and close to delivering her puppies,” her new mom and dad wrote on Instagram. “She is a little shy and scared but very sweet.” Though, it wouldn’t be long until Rosie gave birth — and subsequently delivered the surprise of a lifetime!

And one look at Rosie's puppies reveals why John and Katie were stunned. All four puppies looked more like a quartet of cuddly cows — Holstein Friesian cattle, to be specific — than tiny dogs. Katie hurried to share the unusual miracle with their followers on Instagram, saying, “Not quite the puppy pile we were expecting, but we will gladly take four baby cows!"

Regardless of the puppies’ appearance, though, the Blacks were proud of the four-strong litter. And their unusual looks were quite a source of entertainment for friends and family. “My dad laughed for quite a while at the photos, initially,” Katie told a reporter from the Press Association later in November.

Katie continued, “[Dad] loved it and joked [that] it’s the type of photo that goes viral, and [that] I should post it somewhere.” The dog fosterer agreed, and so she uploaded the picture of Rosie and her pups – wittily named Clarabelle, Betsy, Daisy and Moo – to Reddit. And it turns out that Katie’s dad was right. It seems that the internet couldn’t get enough of the canine “cows”!

Not only did Katie’s post receive 90,000 upvotes – Reddit readers’ sign of approval – but it also earned 1,600 comments. Not bad numbers for her first post on the site! And Katie’s dad wasn’t the only one who found the picture funny. Redditors loved the mismatched family, too.

“Mama looks as confused about this as everyone else,” one commenter said of the oddly marked pups. Another Redditor thought of a different – and less innocent – explanation for Rosie’s expression. “It’s guilt,” they wrote. “Her boyfriend’s a black lab, and he’s coming home any minute now.”

As it turned out, the Blacks weren’t any clearer on exactly who the puppies’ pop could have been. “We are not sure what breed the dad was,” Katie told the Press Association. “When we brought [Rosie] into our home… she was already in active labor.”

But while the puppies may not know who their father is, they certainly have a loving mother. Sadly, though, life hasn’t been easy for Rosie since. Shortly after giving birth, the mom of four suffered an infection. Naturally, she was then given a course of antibiotics – as well as a little extra assistance in feeding her newborns.

But the Blacks were more than happy to weigh in and help bottle-feed the dogs until Rosie recovered. And keeping their hands off the little balls of fluff proved to be a real challenge for the couple. Katie, especially, could barely control herself when confronted with such cuteness.

Yep, the foster mom could hardly stop herself from, well, eating the pups all up. “Practicing some AMAZING self-restraint in not biting Daisy’s tiny paws,” Katie admitted later on Instagram. And it’s easy to sympathize with her plight. The little two-tone tykes are sweet enough to satisfy anyone with a serious taste for the totally adorable.

Ultimately, though, the puppies grew fast. And during the weeks that followed, they each developed their own distinct personalities. “Daisy is a sweetheart but a little anxious/shy/hesitant/fearful,” Katie would write on Instagram in early December. “[But] Clarabelle is a hilarious, fearless spitfire.”

The foster mom’s post continued, “Moo is a snuggly baby that likes to be held and cries when he wants attention. [And Betsy is] the sweetest and most gentle puppy, and I want to keep her!” But as the four dogs got older, it eventually became time for Rosie and the Blacks to say goodbye.

Yes, in the first weeks of January 2018, two different families adopted Betsy and Clarabelle. And while their foster parents were sad to see them go, the puppies both went to wonderful homes. Now, their new humans are showering the furbabies with all the love and toys they could ever need.

Eventually, the other two cow pups will also moo-ve on to find happy fur-ever homes. In the meantime, though, they’ll likely benefit from the love and care the compassionate and kind John and Katie Black have shown them.

John and Katie were only surprised by the puppy's spotted coats, but otherwise, Rosie's labor was fairly routine. However, even incredibly experienced dog handlers, such as breeders, get surprised by their dogs during labor. Take the case of a prized black lab, who — despite being expertly cared for by a championship breeder — dealt her owner Leah a curveball that left her scrambling.

Prior to the dog birth that changed everything, Kent native Leah Barrett bred champions. Her black Labs were some of the best in town, and they were no strangers to dog shows. Still, there was no competition on the calendar when her pregnant black Labrador Beau left her stunned.

Beau was always destined to do great things. Her lineage appeared at the Crufts dog show, an elite competition that honors the best and brightest in purebred canine companions. It’s a cutthroat pageant, and winning is a great honor.

So, when Beau became pregnant, Leah was over the moon. As a breeder, she made her living off of bringing new puppies into the world, and if the litter turned out to be champions like their ancestors, that boded well for her.

At first, the pregnancy seemed to be pretty ordinary. No complications had arisen, and Beau seemed happy and healthy. Leah eagerly awaited the birth of the new baby Labs.

The vet predicted that Beau would produce five or six puppies, but Leah, a staunch believer in her pups, had even grander expectations. She estimated the litter would contain eight dogs. Neither she nor the vet had any idea what surprises awaited them.

When Beau went into labor, Leah soon realized the true shocking nature of this pregnancy. The vet had told her to expect the delivery of each pup to take around an hour. This was not the case.

Leah couldn’t believe her eyes as she watched seven little Labs pop out of Beau in only forty minutes. And she wasn’t done. The puppies continued to come. Suddenly there were eight, then nine...

Leah wondered when the birthing would end. Then, she noticed something that made her heart stop in her chest: one of the puppies had become trapped in Beau's birth canal! It was blocked by the Lab's placenta, which had come loose during the delivery.

Leah and her sister panicked. They couldn’t stand the thought of one of Beau’s children not surviving. However, there was no time to call in a medical professional. If the pup was going to make it, they'd have to make it so themselves.

After forty minutes of maneuvering, Leah and her sister finally retrieved the stuck puppy from the birth canal. But instead of breathing a sigh of relief, what they saw next horrified them even more.

The dog was not breathing or moving! For an awful moment, they feared it was too late to save her. But the women persevered. They had done their research and knew to use suction equipment to remove fluid from the small pup’s lungs.

After a tense ten minutes that seemed more like two hours, the newborn finally started breathing! Leah and her sister were overjoyed, but they had more reasons than one to celebrate. New mother Beau had just done something incredible.

Astoundingly, Beau had given birth to a grand total of thirteen puppies. Considering the average of six to eight dogs in a Labrador litter, Leah was thrilled. Beau had done something truly worthy of a Crufts’ champion. But caring for so many newborns would prove more difficult than anticipated.

One problem that arose was that Beau had thirteen babies and only ten teats! Because of this, Leah had to wake up in the middle of the night to feed the runts and make sure that each of Beau’s children was happy, healthy, and well-cared for. 

Of the thirteen, there were seven boys and six girls. Leah named each of them after their own unique personalities. A few of the pups stood out immediately, thanks to a few cute quirks.

The runt of the litter was given a strong name, Stormy, to "give him a boost." One pup who howled a lot was named after a singer, Paloma Faith. And the puppy who almost didn’t make it? Leah called her Hope. 

The thirteen siblings truly were testaments to the unpredictable nature of our animal friends and the strength Leah and her sister exhibited when they saved the at-risk puppy. Of course, the litter wouldn't be staying with them for long.

Thirteen puppies is a handful for even the most experienced dog owner to manage, so eleven of the pups were sold to new and loving homes. The descendants of champions didn't come cheap though...

Leah asked 950 euros for each purebred pup, which comes out to around $1,222 in USD. This means that if she sold all of the Kennel Club-registered dogs at that price, she brought home over $13,000. Not bad for a day's work! After the harrowing ordeal had concluded, Leah breathed a sigh of relief. All she had to do was snuggle one of those puppies and her nerves melted away.