Bess is a once-in-a lifetime
type of dog. It's been about ten months
since all of the puppies were together with Bess. She was picked up as
a stray in Tennessee, pregnant. There were actually twelve
puppies inside of her. - We were incredibly excited
to help. We ended up taking her to
the emergency room. One of the smallest puppies,
Burrdie, was blocking the birth canal. She was in the canal for two, three-plus hours, with limited oxygen. - When she was first born, they were concerned about her. She had a pink bow to indicate that we needed to keep
a closer eye on her. If anybody was gonna be
comprised, it was her. She was the smallest. - We really thought we were
just gonna get through the birth, and that was gonna be
the end of it. The doctors came out and
told us that there was a chance that because there were so
many puppies, they probably weren't all
going to make it. That just wasn't an option. We decided to bring all
the puppies back to my house. I had to tell my husband
we were gonna have to take out the living room furniture,
the dining room furniture. We just were 100 percent in. Quickly, we realized that we
needed more people. We needed around-the-clock
care. So "us" became anybody and
everybody that we knew that we trusted could stay up in
the middle of the night. Morning, noon, and night,
Bess always had somebody there to help her and to monitor
the puppies, so that everybody really
was thriving. Burrdie got to have extra
feedings. - Oh, good girl! Starting to see her thrive, and become the same size
as everybody, that was really profound for us. Bess really connected to Burrdie. There was just extra love. Bess was so patient, and so gentle with all of her babies. And she was like, a natural
perfect Mom. And even at times that she
was just exhausted, she still cared about
where they were, or if she heard them making
a sound, she was very attentive
to them. We - we jumped in and
helped co-parent with her. Bess was getting in naps
wherever she could. The puppies started playing. And they started being able
to walk. - Good boy! We just started to see all their personalities come out. We introduced toys. We had thoughts of
keeping them all at one point, I think.
At least I did. [LAUGHTER] Before any puppies were adopted, Bess was -- was chosen first. - The first time I heard
about Bess, we fell in love with her
right away, and knew immediately that
this was our dog. Bess's personality is [BARK]-- [LAUGHTER]
[BARK] She is definitely like a nanny dog. She's always checking
on the kids. I do see a motherly
instinct in her. - The puppies were with us
for at least eight weeks. It became clear that they
were really ready to go on to their forever home. - It was a daunting task, to think, like, "How are we
going to find 13 homes?" It ended up being all friends
and family that adopted one of the puppies. Today is the first time
in a year that Bess will be reuinited
with all 12 of her puppies, at the same time. - Burrdie!
- Hi, friends! - Lovebug. Hi! - It is amazing to see Burrdie
thriving now. She is really, really doing so,
so well. - She had a special pink bow
that they put on her to make sure that she got
extra milk. And so that's why Violet got her the extra pink little bow for today,
to remember that. - And all of these dogs,
they're all doing so well. - We have Ginny.
Ginny kind of chose us. - This is Gracie Grace. - This is Ruby. Osa, very sweet and
incredibly smart. Louis, who feels like
everybody is his best friend. Drake. One easygoing guy. Rupert. He seems to really
like snacks. Ranger, one of the biggest
puppies of the litter. Seven. She's a--
a great family dog. Ruby. So photogenic. Sandy, a beautiful,
beautiful soul. - Say hi? Say hi.
- I know, this is like-- uh-huh. - You always wonder if
these dogs recognize. And -- clearly they do. It's really sweet. Aw. - Hey, look, it's Sandy! - All right, you guys.
I think Bess is maybe five minutes away. Bess is coming to see you
for your birthday. Beautiful. - Good girl. Yay! Oh, Bessie! [BARK]
[BARK] - All right, you guys!
Any moment, Bess is coming out. Bess appeared, look out,
and saw all of her puppies. - Yay! Yay! Bess! - And she didn't know where
to go first. The puppies couldn't
stop themselves, and Bess couldn't stop herself. And she leaps up, almost leaping
into the group of puppies just to say hello
to everybody. [BARK]
[BARK] - Your puppies are all here! - Mom!
- Yay! - And you could just see joy. ♫ - Hey, Burrdie girl. Hi! Good dogs. ♫ - That's a happy dog!
Good girls. It was amazing seeing Bess
and Burrdie reunited again. - Happy birthday, Bess babies! - Ready? Go! Yay! I felt that the dogs all came out and had a blast. There was excitement. There was sometimes, like,
sibling jealousy. Seeing Burrdie, and seeing
that little pink collar around her, and remembering what that collar
did used to represent, it really -- it did --
it did touch my heart. It's nice to feel like,
that this birth is actually creating community
around it. It was a very successful reunion. - My hope is that we get
to have this every year, and that this goes on for
years and years and years and years to come.
I really wish they would’ve let the dogs off leash
I'm such a sucker for a Dodo video. They're so emotional. Love em
Such a great story!! Xx
Agreed. The actual reunion portion spoiled the video for me.