Animal rescuers at the Dallas DogRRR thought they’d seen everything after years of rescuing, rehabbing, and reforming lost or unwanted dogs. Working for a dog rescue organization meant they handled dogs in every state imaginable. Surely, nothing could have surprised these seasoned rescue veterans.
At least, that was what they thought before they discovered Pittie the pit bull. Wandering alongside a dangerous road, it wasn’t just this pup’s rough appearance that shocked rescue workers, but the secret she was keeping. Luckily, they didn’t have to go far to discover what it was…
Rescue organization Dallas DogRRR had one mission: find a home for every unwanted, broken, or abandoned dog in the Dallas, Texas, area. Rescuers had seen a lot of dogs through the years—but never a pooch like Pittie.
When Dallas DogRRR rescuers first found the pit bull, she was wandering along a dangerous road in southeast Dallas. Avoiding the cars barreling down the pavement was actually the least of her problems…
Half-starved, Pittie just looked weak. When rescuers placed some food in a bowl for her, she wasted no time digging in. How long had she been on her own? How long had it been since she’d eaten? Apparently, she’d suffered more than starvation…
Across her nose, Pittie bore a nasty scrape. This, like her feverish appetite, only presented more questions about this dog’s background. Clearly, she’d been missing the love and care that any pet needed. Then, rescuers noticed something else about her…
“It looks like she just had puppies,” one of the rescuers commented. “So they were probably taken away from her.” Had this poor mother pit bull lost her chance at rearing her kids? The realization had barely sunk in when rescuers received even more shocking news…
Having found Pittie near a junkyard, rescuers learned that one of the men working there had seen the pit bull hanging around a certain spot in the back. Was this where she’d left her puppies? Well, not quite…
The junkyard worker led the rescuers to the back of the lot, where they found a little bundle of fur resting in a patch of dirt in the shade. But it wasn’t a pit bull puppy at all…
It was a kitten! Rescuers learned that, at just two days old, this little kitty’s mother had abandoned her, possibly because of health defects. Well, guess who’d found her then?
A new mother herself, Pittie had apparently found the perfect outlet for her untapped maternal instincts! The minute she spotted her adoptive baby, the abandoned pit bull instinctively sniffed and licked the newborn. She’d been doing a lot for the tiny kitten…
Pittie had been nursing the kitten, providing her the milk she needed to survive in a junkyard. Pittie and Kitty had found each other in their dark times, and rescuers were understandably amazed.
The rescuers who found Pittie and Kitty brought the pair back to the Dallas Mercy Animal Clinic for inspection, and even veterinarian Dr. Rick Hamlin couldn’t believe the pairing. “Over my 28-year career, I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.
Dr. Hamlin theorized how the two came together: “My best guess is that the mother pit bull had a litter of pups and they died or weaned and she still had milk,” he said. “The pit bull probably found [the abandoned kitten] and took it as her own.”
Lucky as this chance pairing was, the rescuers’ timing proved even luckier: Pittie’s milk had run out. She wouldn’t have been able to care for Kitty any longer, meaning the feline wouldn’t have survived had the pair not been found when they were!
Not surprisingly, Pittie and Kitty stole the hearts of everyone at the clinic. Unfortunately, Kitty needed a lot of attention. Pressed for time, the clinic found a home that could give the kitten the extra care she needed—though it meant separating her from her adoptive mama.
Right away, Pittie hated being without her baby. “When I took Kitty out of the cage, Pittie started howling,” Dr. Hamlin said. “It was the first vocalization she made since she arrived.” Luckily, they weren’t separated for too long…
When caretakers returned Kitty to the clinic the next morning, Pittie, bursting with happiness, “cleaned and cleaned and cleaned her.” At that point, rescuers devised a plan to have Pittie and Kitty adopted as a unit. But then, out of nowhere, tragedy struck.
Dr. Hamlin hadn’t noticed it at first, but Kitty suffered from a malformation in her kidneys and bladder—likely the reason her mother abandoned her in the first place. Despite Dr. Hamlin’s efforts, Kitty couldn’t be saved…
Kitty passed away before the clinic could find a home for her and Pittie. How Pittie took this development was unknown, but needless to say, the mama pit bull probably noticed her adopted kitten’s absence. Could she ever have a happy life after that?
Though it was without Kitty at her side, Pittie eventually found a forever home where she received all the food and love she could ever want. Her new family already owned a few dogs, too, so Pittie fit right in!
Though the duo of Pittie and Kitty was short lived, it no doubt touched the hearts of everyone who saw them together! Just watch Pittie’s excitement once she’s reunited with her baby kitten…
Sourse: honesttopaws.com/pitty-and-kitty
