A stray dog found curled up on the side of the road so she could shield five kittens from the cold will soon be looking for a home. The Pet and Wildlife Rescue (P.A.W.) shelter in Ontario, Canada shared photos of the gentle dog, now named Serenity, and her tiny adoptive kittens on Facebook on November 16.
“Our stray sweetheart is keeping her ‘babies’ safe at the shelter tonight,” wrote the shelter. A Good Samaritan had noticed the dog curled up around the kittens next to a road in Chatham-Kent and notified the shelter. The temperature that night was a chilly -2 degrees Celsius and a P.A.W. employee told CTVNews.ca that the kittens would likely not have been seen if not for Serenity.
When the animals were brought back to the shelter, Serenity continued to be concerned for the kittens’ welfare. But it is unclear to the shelter if Serenity knew the kittens already or found them on the roadside.
The shelter later posted a follow-up message indicating the black kittens have been taken in by a foster family until they are old enough to go up for adoption. And Serenity will be available for adoption after December 3rd. She is a young dog – estimated to be around 2 years old – and is full of energy. In Serenity’s voice, the shelter outlines more about her personality and the shelter’s criteria for a suitable home.
Obviously, Serenity is fine with a home that has cats, but her energy and rambunctiousness would make her better suited for a home without children. They wrote:
“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. My story has been shared worldwide as far as Nova Scotia, Australia and Texas!
“I’m surprised that so many people applied to adopt me when they don’t even know my personality or quirks yet – I must just be THAT cute! 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 wouldn’t want to accidentally hurt someone. 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 right now.”
“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 they are old enough they will find homes of their very own! Once I’m spayed on December 3rd I will be all ready to go!”
With such a loving nature and playful personality we can’t imagine Serenity will have to wait too long to find the perfect home.
Pupdate:
Serenity received an outpouring of support and adoption applications after she was made available for adoption. The rescue had quite a task to review them all – but they found the perfect family for her and she was adopted a few weeks after her rescue!
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