Service dog leads owner into the woods to rescue 7 abandoned kittens – ends up becoming surrogate mom

Though our understanding of animals has come on leaps and bounds over the years, there’s still a great deal regarding their instincts and intuitions that we don’t know.

Dogs, being such popular pets, rank chief amongst those creatures that prove to humans time and again that they can do things we have very little comprehension of.

When Whitney Braley, of Georgia, USA, noticed her service dog Banner exhibiting signs of distress, she knew something was up. She had no idea, however, of the important message she was trying to send…

When Whitney Braley saw that Banner was behaving unusually, she knew there had to be a reason. The dog was repeatedly tugging at her dress, trying to encourage her to leave the house and go into the nearby woods.

After a time, Braley decided to see what was what, and so followed the dog outside. They headed into the woods together, Banner’s urgent and erratic signals getting more palpable by the second.

Then she found it; left alone in a large clearing, a cardboard box. While Braley watched on in confusion, Banner made his way to the box and gently retrieved a tiny newborn kitten with her mouth. Upon closer inspection, Braley discovered six more kittens, all of them fighting for their lives.

Braley took the kittens back to her house and did her best to clean them up. It was her intention to give them the best possible chance of survival, and in that respect she’s succeeded.

What’s more, Banner refused to leave the kittens alone, staying by their side and nurturing them whenever she got the chance.

The dog has cuddled with them, watched over them while they nap and helped to clean them up. In short, she’s become the surrogate mother the kittens needed.

“Someone must have just put [the kittens] into a cardboard box, closed the lid tight and left them there to die. They probably thought that no one would ever discover them,” said Braley.

“But I’m so happy that now because of Banner, these kittens will go on to live their lives with loving families. It warms my heart.”

At some point down the line, the kittens will be adopted by loving families and find their forever homes. For now, though, they have the best mom they could ask for… a gentle giant of a dog!

What a brilliant tale of animal instinct and compassion transcending species.

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