GENESEO, New York — Originating in Germany and bred as guard dogs, Doberman Pinschers don’t have a warm and fuzzy reputation and in popular culture often are portrayed as highly aggressive and even vicious.
While every dog is different, thanks to modern breeding practices, and with proper training and socialization, Dobermans are fun-loving family animals “with huge hearts,” the American Kennel Club states on its website. They’re also friendly with other dogs and pets, according to dogtime.com.
That is certainly true of Ruby, one of six Dobermans owned by Brittany Callan of Geneseo, New York.
About a week ago, Callan found a newborn kitten, apparently abandoned by its mother, in the Livingston County hamlet of Retsof at a job site where her husband was working.
She took the tiny, wayward animal home, and now it is being nursed by Ruby, who simultaneously is nursing a litter of six puppies born to her two weeks ago.
“She was meant to be a mother to anything,” Callan said of Ruby, who is 4½ years old.
It’s something that was apparent long before the arrival of the tortoiseshell-colored kitten, which Callen named Ramblin’ Rose.
“We’ve had baby bunnies, guinea pigs, chickens, ducks,” Callan said. Ruby “licks them like she’s cleaning them, like she’s their mother.”
The dog’s history of nurturing behavior made Callan think Ruby might accept Ramblin’ Rose as her own.
‘Getting some treats’:A dog named ‘Storm’ went viral after wandering into on-air weather forecast
Fact check:Pentagon says it did not abandon military service dogs in Kabul, disputes viral photo
First, Callan cupped the kitten in her hands and held it up for Ruby to smell. That went fine.
Then, “She started cleaning it like a mother does,” Callan said. “Then I put it down and hooked it up to her nipple.”
And voila — a Facebook moment was made.
Ruby may continue nursing the kitten for another three to four weeks. But just to be sure she’s getting enough nutrition, Callan has been supplementing the natural feedings with servings of kitten formula bought at a Tractor Supply store.
The dual method seems to be having a good effect; Ramblin’ Rose has gone from weighing 4.37 ounces to 7.27 ounces in a week, Callan said.
In addition to nursing Ramblin’ Rose, Ruby also carries the kitten around the house by the scruff of the neck like she would her puppies, who seem unfazed by their stepsister’s presence, Callan said.
When Ruby puts the kitten down, it is in front of her own paws, “so she knows where it is,” Callan said. “She’s tending to it more than her own babies.”
Callan doesn’t plan to keep Ramblin’ Rose. Not all her Dobermans are as fond of felines as Ruby is, and a seventh dog, a husky-shepherd mix, doesn’t like cats at all. So, Ramblin’ Rose will be adopted by a relative.
Once the kitten leaves, Ruby likely will still have her paws full with her own high-energy offspring — three males and three females — but she might be able to carve out time to prey on the one animal she truly despises.
“If there’s a squirrel outside, it’s game on,” Callan said.
Follow Marcia Greenwood on Twitter @MarciaGreenwood.
