Mom Dog Brings Puppies Unexpected Gift: 'I Did Not Let Them Eat It'

A Newfoundland's attempt at providing a meal for her litter of puppies took a turn when she brought them a surprise gift from outside.

Jason Dennis Rossman of Fairfield, Idaho, has watched his purebred Newfoundland, Gimlee, grow into the role of caring mom following the birth of a litter of puppies.

"She is just the sweetest mom, kissing them and loving them," he told Newsweek.

Rossman lives in what he describes as "the middle of nowhere" with his two dogs, Gimlee and Zshopa, a Great Pyrenees who is the puppies' father. "Our nearest neighbors live two miles away by car," he said. "My dogs are in heaven out here and always doing silly stuff."

Rossman keeps a regular record of these antics on social media, with videos posted to TikTok under the handle jasonrossman. In the past, Zshopa has dominated proceedings, with several videos featuring the Great Pyrenees going viral. Now, it's Gimlee and her pups that are in the limelight.

Much like humans, dog moms play an important role in their pups' development. A 2016 study published in the journal Scientific Reports found that puppies that had a high level of maternal care and physical contact with their mothers grew into dogs that were better at social and physical engagement with other canines. They also had a higher level of fortitude when it came to dealing with the world around them.

Ultimately, Gimlee's puppies will eventually leave home. "The puppies are going all over the United States to great farm homes," Rossman said. "One is going to Ohio, one is going to Alaska. And one to Oregon. The rest are staying locally."

Until then, Gimlee is doing everything she can to form a lasting bond with them, albeit with a little help from Rossman.

"The puppies are getting teeth, so Gimlee isn't a giant fan of nursing anymore," he said. "I've been helping her wean the babies."

Gimlee has found other ways to provide for her puppies, although that's not always necessary. "I've been giving her extra fatty meats to help her with the calorie deficiency of breastfeeding," Rossman said. "But instead of eating it herself, I keep catching her being unselfish and giving it to her puppies, but I don't want them to eat that."

Recently, Gimlee took things a little further than that. "The other day, I was sitting on the couch, and I saw her come in the dog door with something in her mouth," Rossman said.

Eager to find out what she had brought in, Rossman headed over to the pen the puppies were playing in to catch a closer look. At the same time, he flipped on his camera, eager to document this latest twist in Gimlee's story as a new mom.

"I knew that goofy girl had found something she was trying to feed the puppies," he said. The resulting footage captures the moment Rossman confirms what she had brought.

"It was the quail," he said. But while Gimlee had visions of her litter feasting on the dead bird, her owner had other, more sensible ideas.

"I did not let them eat it," Rossman said. "I threw it away because I wasn't sure how it had died, and I didn't want the puppies to be eating a diseased quail."

Regardless, the incident was a source of considerable amusement online, and while Gimlee may have got it wrong this time, Rossman couldn't be prouder of the way she is handling her puppies' demands.

"She's been the absolute best mom ever," he said.

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Correction 12/20/2023, 3:30 a.m. ET: An earlier version identified Rossman as living in Ohio rather than Idaho.