In October 2017, a Golden Retriever named Rosie was sadly abandoned by her owners and was dropped in a shelter. Even though the shelter barely had any space left, the workers realized Rosie was pregnant and feared she would give birth without proper assistance.

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram/@ourgoldenyears

Even though most shelters have lowered their euthanization policies, some are left with no other choice due to overcrowding, insufficient space, and lack of resources to look after new litters of pups. But before considering euthanasia, the workers tried to find a loving home for Rosie as fast as possible.

#19. Time Was Ticking

The shelter’s manager contacted Neuse River Golden Retriever Rescue, an organization from Raleigh, North Carolina, that helps abandoned Goldens find a home. They told the volunteers at the rescue center that time was ticking since it was only a few weeks before Rosie went into labor.

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram/@ourgoldenyears

The volunteers at Neuse River usually foster stray dogs until they are healthy enough to be adopted, but the truth was that Rosie was in perfect shape. All she needed was a caring home where she could have her litter of babies and rest properly. Luckily, the center’s workers knew a couple who was interested in adopting a dog, and they felt they would make for the perfect candidates.

#18. Perfect Health

Fortunately, one of the volunteers at Neuse Center went to pick up Rosie the exact day after the call. Even though they had already earmarked a potential foster home for Rosie, they were worried that she would go into labor on their way to the Raleigh Vet clinic.

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram/@ourgoldenyears

Fortunately, as soon as they checked her into the clinic, the vets confirmed that she was in perfect health. They all knew what the following step was: to give the couple a call and find out if they were not only willing to adopt her, but also to assist her birth.

#17. John And Katie To The Rescue

The couple’s names were Katie and John Black. They had fostered nearly 20 dogs since 2009 and had owned 3: Leroy, Winchester, and Annie. With such a background, the volunteers knew that they had the experience necessary to assist Rosie’s birth.

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram/@ourgoldenyears

In fact, the workers at the rescue center knew the couple well, as they had worked with Neuse River for years. As they expected, they were happy to take Rosie in and they took her home on October 28, nearly a week after she had been left at the shelter.

#16. The Pups Are All Right

Katie and John Black were excited about their new pooch and they were happy to assist her during the final days of her pregnancy. “This is our new foster Rosie, who is very preggers and close to delivering her puppies”, Katie posted on her Instagram account.

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram/@ourgoldenyears

The couple also told their followers that Rosie seemed quite scared at first, but in spite of that, she was really calm and sweet. A couple of days later, Rosie gave birth to four healthy pups and the Blacks were overwhelmed with joy. However, when they saw the pups, they were left speechless.

#15. Just Four Pups

The Blacks helped Rosie deliver her litter of pups. Although some difficulties showed up on the way, the mother and the puppies came out OK. The pups had just the right size and weight for their breed… but there was something strange!

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram/@ourgoldenyears

Firstly, the couple had expected a larger litter, since Goldens tend to deliver at least 6 puppies per litter. Rosie, on the other hand, had given birth to just 4, a bit below the average. However, this wasn’t the only thing that took the Blacks by surprise. There was something weird about their looks, too!

#14. Not What They Were Expecting

The four pups didn’t look like their mother at all. While Rosie was an average Golden, the pups were white with black spots! “Our foster dog and Golden mix gave birth yesterday… To baby cows”, Katie posted on Instagram.

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram/@ourgoldenyears

Nobody knew who the father was, but now evidence showed that he couldn’t be a Golden. The Blacks received plenty of jokes, not only from Instagram users but from their own family too! “My dad laughed for quite a while at the photos“, Katie confessed a few weeks later.

#13. Who’s The Father?

This shocking surprise led Katie and John to find out what dog – or what animal – the father was. Different breeds have white fur and black spots, but he also could have been a mix like Rosie. People on Instagram came up with different theories as to what breed Rosie had mated with.

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram/@ourgoldenyears

The different possible breeds that the people suggested included: dalmatian, English setter, wetterhoun, and coonhound. However, out of all these black and white breeds, only dalmatians have spots. This meant there was a high chance Rosie had mated with a dalmatian.

#12. The Pics Went Viral

Katie’s father loved the mismatch so much that he suggested posting a few pictures online, guessing that they would go viral. Up till now, Katie had only commented on the situation on Instagram but hadn’t uploaded any photos, but she followed her dad’s advice and added a few pics on Reddit.

Photo: Courtesy of Reddit/u/katendy

It turns out that Katie’s dad was right, as the new mom came into the spotlight right away. Her pictures received over 100,000 upvotes and over 1,500 comments. Rosie’s fame skyrocketed as soon as she posted a few photos on Instagram, too.

#11. The Scientific Explanation

But why were Rosie’s pups so contrastingly different? Apparently, puppies can inherit certain physical traits depending on the genes that their parents carry. According to the professionals at the Australian Shepherd Health & Genetics Institute, the dominant genes always outrank the recessive ones and therefore determine the puppies’ appearance.

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram/@ourgoldenyears

Therefore, this meant that the pup’s father had passed on dominant genes, while Rosie had offered recessive genes. But even though there is a scientific explanation, it still struck as a surprise that all the pups had inherited the father’s physical features.

#10. The Talk Of The Town

As the couple expected, the Reddit and Instagram users were getting a kick out of the whole situation. After all, you don’t see a Golden mom with cow puppies every day, do you? “I believe there’s been a mixpup here“, one of the guys said.

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram/@ourgoldenyears

This other user joked about the expression on Katie’s face, saying her face said “so what?!?! is that really such a big deal? are you sooo closed minded? really Karen?“. Without a doubt, the Blacks’ pooch had soon become the talk of the town!

#9. Misunderstandings

The main problem with uploading pictures online is the number of negative comments that you receive, mostly for unjustified reasons. In this case, many users expressed their concern, thinking that Kate and John had intentionally cross-bred two foster dogs just to see how their pups would come out to be.

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram/@ourgoldenyears

Therefore, the Blacks had to clarify that when they received Rosie, she was already pregnant. They also explained that they would spay her as soon as she recovered from her pregnancy, which would take at least a few weeks.

#8. Postpartum Infection

Even though there weren’t any problems during birth, Rosie had a hard time recovering afterward. After the delivery, the couple realized she looked a bit down and when they took her to the vet, they found out she had an infection.

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram/@ourgoldenyears

The vets explained she had a bacterial infection in her uterus known as Metritis. It’s cure only demanded a few weeks of antibiotics, but meanwhile, the symptoms could cause a reduction in the level of milk production. Luckily, Katie and John were right there by her side at all times.

#7. A Healthy Mama

While Rosie underwent her recovery, Katie and John helped her by bottle-feeding the pups. Isn’t this the cutest picture ever? It just breaks my heart! Even though the couple knew they wouldn’t keep the puppies, they still took care of them as if they were theirs.

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram/@ourgoldenyears

Luckily, Rosie had fully recovered in a matter of two weeks. From then onwards, she was able to feed the puppies herself and went back to being a healthy mother. After so much hard work, Katie and John were relieved. Thank god!

#6. They Wouldn’t Draw Apart

Rosie enjoyed the parenting and was extremely protective of her pups. She would cuddle with them all day, and whenever Katie moved them to clean the sheets, Rosie would hop off and follow them.

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram/@ourgoldenyears

Katie was touched by the close bond her dog had established with her pups and she just couldn’t get enough of them! She also named the pups Moo, Betsy, Daisy, and Clarabelle. Luckily, they grew up in perfect health!

#5. Not So Uncommon

As Rosie’s story went more viral, more specialists would comment on this strange case. For example, authors from Pets4Homes claimed that its relatively normal for puppies to display different physical traits than those of their parents or littermates, especially as far as mixed breeds are concerned.

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram/@ourgoldenyears

According to these authors, when two non-pedigree dogs mate, there is a much higher scope for variance, even in the fur color. Perhaps, what made this case sound even stranger was that at first glance, the puppies looked like cows!

#4. The Pups Were In Good Paws

But not only did the Blacks take care of the pups, but they also kept Rosie’s fans updated. The couple would upload a new picture every day or two, and each one would always receive thousands of likes.

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram/@ourgoldenyears

Three weeks after their birth, Katie uploaded a picture of the four pups sleeping on Rosie’s paws, and can you guess how many likes it received? Over 30,000! That’s even high with human standards, but since they’re puppies, we should multiply the number by 7!

#3. Middle-Sized Cow Pups

By December 2017, the pups had already celebrated their one-month birthday and by that time, they had already developed their own unique personalities. On December 6th, the couple uploaded yet another picture of the four adorable cow puppies.

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram/@ourgoldenyears

Together with this adorable picture, they commented on each of the pup’s personalities:

“Daisy is a sweetheart, but a little anxious/shy/hesitant/fearful. Clarabelle is a hilarious, fearless spitfire. Moo is a snuggly baby that likes to be held, and cries when he wants attention. [Betsy is] the sweetest and most gentle puppy, I want to keep her“, Kate posted.

#2. Loving Families

By New Year’s Eve, Betsy and Clarabelle had already been adopted by two different families. Even though it was hard for John and Katie to let them go, they knew they couldn’t take care of four pups all by themselves.

Photo: Courtesy of Instagram/@ourgoldenyears

One week later, Daisy got adopted, and her new family renamed her Lily. During the first week of February, Moo – the fourth and last of the pups – found a new home too. Renamed to Barkley, she was adopted by a middle-aged couple who had three other pooches: Max, Abby, and Mo.

#1. Happy Ending

But then came the hardest part. John and Katie knew that the hardest part about being a foster parent was letting the pooch go, but now it was time to find Rosie a home as well. Luckily, by March, they had already found a loving family who was willing to take her in.

Of course, before sending Rosie to her new home, John and Katie waited for the pooch to fully recover, and when she was well enough, they had her spayed. They are fully aware they may not see any of the five buddies ever again, but they’re glad they could help them and that they’ll grow up in loving homes.