Mum takes puppy to the vet

In a seemingly troubled world where conflict and anger abound, leaders show a total lack of compassion or understanding of what occurs in the real world. While we listen to the news every day, filled with despair and misery, there are still occasions to celebrate as we witness truly heart-warming moments as humans and animals come together to save a life.

Now, without the video and the number of people involved, this story would be one of those “you have to be joking moments.” A nursing mum literally walking up the veterinary surgeon’s door carrying her apparently lifeless puppy in her mouth does appear to be one of those scenarios that just can’t be true. Yes, mums take children to the doctor every day, but they know where to go, and they know what the doctor is trained to do. The doctor’s location and telephone number are in the appropriate book, but how does a canine mother know where to go when her beloved offspring appears to be dying?

A walk-in patient

Well, in January 2025, the Beylikduzu district, Istanbul, Turkey, was the venue for this extraordinary story where a stray dog carrying her puppy asked for help. Now let’s get real here; it’s not every day that the patient arrives at the vet’s carried by its birth mother.  Having got past his shock at this rather unreal tableau, the veterinary surgeon Baturalp Oghan thought he was looking at a dead puppy, but after careful examination detected the faintest heartbeat. The bitterly cold weather had taken its toll; the patient was cold to the touch, barely alive, its condition critical. It was hypothermic.  Baturalp Oghan and his team administered a dose of adrenaline and very carefully used a hair dryer to very slowly raise the pup’s temperature, being careful not to rush, therefore avoiding the danger of burning or raising the temperature too quickly. The tiny patient started to recover; the heartbeat became stronger, and happily the wee mite was reunited with mum, who had intently watched the procedure from as closely as she was able.

As they snuggled up together and the puppy found its way to the “milk bar”, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

So that’s the story, but the question remains.

How did she know that the building houses a veterinary clinic? Did she have any concept that this was a medical establishment?

Sniffing out the facts

Before we get too emotional, there are maybe some issues that may have a logical explanation. Some reports indicate the mother dog previously had an association with the clinic, as members of the public or animal rescuers may have brought another puppy from the same litter to the clinic. She may even have accompanied them; she also may have scent-tracked to the clinic. There is even a suggestion that she may have been there before, accompanying individuals with previous litters. If she was familiar with the locality, she might well have observed the constant arrival and departure of assorted animals to the clinic. She also may have air-scented the location. Whilst it is reported that the route she took was hazardous, there is no available knowledge to confirm this, as she was not observed during the trip. For all we know, she may only have carried the puppy a very short distance.

None of this, however, should detract from what appears to be the extraordinary decision-making process by a very determined canine mum when facing an agonising decision.

Now we all know that dogs are intelligent, but our inability to communicate is still going to be a barrier; however, for this very concerned mum, language was never going to be a problem. When faced with what appeared to be insurmountable odds, Mum followed the mantra we should all follow. Adapt, adjust and overcome.

This is an example to us all: face adversity head-on, don’t ignore it, make a decision, face it.