Stray Dog Found Covered In Snow, Keeping Abandoned Kittens Warm

Good with cats: a stray dog found on the side of a road on a cold Canadian night keeping a litter of kittens warm needs a home.

The two-year-old female mongrel, named Serenity by animal rescue officials, was discovered in a ditch on the side of a rural road near Chatham, Ontario a week ago.

It was -3 degrees Celsius (26.6 Farenheit) and dark outside, and the dog was covered in a dusting of snow.

When the passerby stopped to help the dog, she was surprised to find five tiny black kittens "snuggling with her," Myriam Armstrong, a spokeswoman for the Pet and Wildlife Rescue, told AFP.

The unlikely companions were brought to the agency for care -- and their heartfelt story of survival and cross-species nurturing has been widely shared on social media.

More than 30 people from across the continent have asked about adopting them.

"The kittens wouldn't have survived the cold Canadian winter without this dog's help," Armstrong said.

It's not clear how or what brought the dog and the now five-week old kittens together.

But Armstrong said their bond continued at the shelter, describing how Serenity doted on the kittens.

Many people have proposed finding them a home for the animals together, if possible.

Armstrong said they will be ready to be adopted several weeks apart, however.

View this post on Instagram

I have been getting A LOT of attention on social media, but let me fill you in just in case you don't know my name and my story! My name is Serenity and I was found last week on the side of the road keeping 5 kittens warm. A good citizen called the shelter, a kind Animal Control Officer picked the 6 of us up and we've been living our best lives ever since! The kittens that I kept safe have been kindly taken in by a foster family and will be put up for adoption once they're old enough to be on their own. Let me tell you a little bit about myself so that the shelter can find the most suitable home for me. I'm obviously great with cats and would have no problem going to a home that has cats in it🐱. I'm estimated to be about 2 years old so I'm still young and have the energy of a toddler. I love zooming around outside and will run circles around any person or object that is out in the yard with me. The shelter staff has been working on it, but I can be quite jumpy and need to be taught some manners. At this time in my life I would do best in a home without small children that I can knock over. I've gotten along with a couple of dogs at the shelter so far - both were extremely submissive or uninterested in interacting with me. Along with my dominance I am HUGE on playing and have a tendency to get right in other dog's faces. I didn't get along with the dominant or even slightly reactive shelter dogs.I do need help with my house training as it is not perfect. The shelter staff is concerned about getting backlash for not adopting me out with the kittens that I was found with, but the kittens are not old enough to be on their own yet. If they waited for the kittens to be ready that would mean that I wouldn't have my forever family for a couple of months. It is always the staff's goal to get dogs out of the shelter environment and into their forever homes as soon as possible. At the end of the day I am just happy that the kittens were found with me and are now resting peacefully in a warm foster home instead of outside in the cold. Once I'm spayed on December 3rd I'll be ready to go! Apply to adopt me today: https://pawr.org/adoption-process-fees/ XOXO, Serenity

A post shared by Pet and Wildlife Rescue (@pawrrescue) on Nov 22, 2019 at 1:30pm PST

Serenity will be ready next week after being spayed, but the kittens need another few weeks to fatten up and finish treatments for fleas and parasites.

An Instagram post purportedly written by Serenity says she is young and energetic, needs some house training, but is "obviously great with cats and would have no problem going to a home that has cats in it."