Two Stray Moms, Nine Puppies, and a Rescue That Couldn’t Tell Whose Were Whose

Around January 2019, a Good Samaritan found two stray mother dogs curled up together with nine puppies in a Los Angeles alley, and took the whole family home.¹

The dogs ended up at Northwest Dog Project, a rescue group based in Eugene, Oregon. Rescuers named the moms Thelma and Louise. They soon noticed something unusual: the two mothers were raising all nine puppies as a single shared litter.¹²

“These 2 mama dogs were found in an alley, curled up together with their 9 puppies. We’ve got no idea who’s is who’s at this point, they’re just one big family,” the rescue wrote on Facebook, as quoted by DogHeirs.¹

How 11 dogs got from an alley to Oregon

Accounts of the trip north differ a little. DogHeirs says the dogs were transported to the rescue after the finder brought them home.¹ Animal Channel, which rewrote The Dodo’s original report, says the finder called several rescue groups before Northwest Dog Project agreed to take all 11 dogs, and that its rescuers drove to Los Angeles to collect them.²

The puppies numbered two boys and seven girls.¹²

Both mothers were malnourished and starving when they were found. Rescuers believe the two had been dumped some time before, though they have no way of knowing whether the moms were abandoned together or met on the street.¹

A two-mom routine

What stood out to the rescue was how evenly the mothers split the work. One would groom the puppies while the other nursed, and then they would trade places.¹²

“They seem to have a routine mapped out,” Emma Scott, the rescue’s executive director, told The Dodo, according to Animal Channel. “It’s the first time I’ve ever seen something like this. They definitely have a sweet relationship.”²

The arrangement worked so well that nobody at the rescue could tell which puppies belonged to which mother.¹

Thelma and Louise were nervous when they first arrived. Scott said they later began seeking out affection and rolling over for belly rubs.²

“This family is really why we do this,” Scott said, as reported by Animal Channel.²

What happened next

In a January 21, 2019, update, the rescue said the puppies would be ready for adoption in about a month. Animal Channel reported that the search for homes would begin once the puppies were about eight weeks old.¹²

The moms got a home of their own, too. A later update from Northwest Dog Project, quoted by DogHeirs, said Thelma and Louise were adopted together by Patricia and Deborah. The rescue explained that “there was no way we were going to separate them.”¹