From the News: African painted dog pups raised by golden retriever at Potawatomi Zoo

Retriever raising pack of African painted dog pups after parents ignored them

Staff at Indiana's Potawatomi Zoo were overjoyed when they welcomed the birth of a litter of eight African painted dog pups earlier this year.  That joy turned to concern when it became clear very quickly that the mother wasn't inclined to show parental care.  With the tight-knit social structure of the species and the amount of parental care required, that spelled trouble for the endangered little carnivores.  

Thankfully, the zoo was able to use existing partnerships to source a foster mother in the form a golden retriever named Kassy, who is raising the youngsters along her own pups.  Unfortunately, not all of the wild dog pups have survived (infant mortality being notoriously high in this species), but the surviving dogs are thriving in their blended family, as well as obtaining important canine socialization that will help them better integrate with members of their own species when they grow up.