CLARENCE, N.Y. – Mirabell, a 3-year-old golden retriever in Clarence, New York, recently became a mother to a litter of puppies.
There's one caveat: she gave birth to only one of the eight puppies she's nursing. The other seven puppies were born to another dog.
"The timing was just so meant to be," says Joan Wozer, Mirabell's owner.
Mirabell had already given birth to a puppy 10 months ago. Wozer wanted to breed her with another dog, a champion golden retriever named Albert.
When Mira was taken for her X-ray, the veterinarian only saw one puppy. Wozer knew the puppy would thrive if it were part of a litter.
"I just mentioned to my contact at the SPCA that we were having a singleton puppy, and if there were any foster puppies that needed a mom to give me a call," Wozer recalls.
The call came just as Mirabell was preparing to give birth. The Society for the Prevention of the Cruelty of Animals had recently gained custody of a litter of puppies from a dog named Nemmie.
Nemmie's owner, Courtney Maj, called the SPCA after two days of trying to get her dog to bond with her litter of seven puppies.
"She had that first puppy, and as soon as it was out, she kind of froze," Maj says.