Hearts have well and truly been melted by a deaf pit bull who stepped up to care for an orphaned goat in need of a mother.
When farm owner Allison Thomison and her husband brought a tiny, orphaned goat onto their farm, they simply had to hope that one of the other animals would take it under their wing. With so many cows, goats and dogs on the farm, they were hopeful that at least one of them would nurture the sweet goat, named Branch.
Thomison, of Pearce, Arizona, was counting on one pup in particular to step forward and support him, and that was Evie, the deaf rescue dog. She told Newsweek that she thought all along that Evie would be "our best bet as a foster mother" as she is so maternal and protective.
As soon as Evie met Branch, their connection was undeniable, and it was clear she was happy to take on the motherly role for him.
Thomison said: "Before we moved to the farm, we fostered for Valley of The Sun Dog Rescue, which is where Evie was rescued from. After her adoption, she continued to pay it forward by being a foster mom to different puppies who come from there.
"Now, years later, we were hopeful that her foster mom instincts would not have left her, and clearly, they did not."
Thomison has previously joked about Evie having no job on the farm other than being a distraction to the other animals. But now it seems that the rescue pup has found the role she was destined for as Branch's foster mom.
She spends her days herding him around and keeping him safe from the bigger animals, cleaning his fur, and lets him cuddle up to her when he's tired. All in all, she loves teaching him the ropes and acting like a parent.
"Evie is intensely loving, attentive, caring, protective, and hilarious to watch with her baby goat. She herds him from place to place, never taking her eyes off him and directing him out of danger. She keeps the younger dogs away from the baby, and protects him like a mother would," Thomison told Newsweek.
"As of right now, they spend pretty much all their time together. Branch is perfectly happy and safe spending all his time with Evie and the other dogs."
As Thomison loves keeping her social media followers up to date with the antics on her farm, she couldn't resist sharing an adorable clip of Evie and Branch together. Since the video was posted on TikTok (@farmofmilkandhoney), it has gone viral with over 1.5 million views and 156,300 likes.
Internet users can't get enough of the bond between the pit bull and her baby goat, as many praised her for being so maternal towards Branch.
Special Needs Dogs
Sadly, deaf dogs and pit bulls might not be everyone's first choice, but Thomison hopes this will encourage more people to give them a chance. She told Newsweek that Evie has shown her "the magic" that special needs dogs can provide and the joy they can spread.
Thomison continued: "Deaf dogs are overlooked, left in shelters, and often cast aside as too much work. But Evie was worth the small amount of additional effort it took to learn how to communicate with her, and with that small amount of effort she has been able to save the lives of other animals as a foster mom.
"I would encourage anyone to consider a deaf dog. They are magical creatures who can do amazing things and are worthy of the small amount of extra effort required."
In just a matter of days, the viral video has amassed over 1,200 comments from supportive TikTok users.
One comment reads: "oh to be a baby goat being raised by a loving adopted dog mom."
Another TikTok user wrote: "she's not the stepmom, she's the mom that stepped up."
While one person joked: "that little goat will know love before anything else."
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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