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Brazil’s First Lady Marcela Temer Jumps In a Lake to Save a Dog

Angela Vuckovic
by Angela Vuckovic
Published:  May 8th, 2018
When her Jack Russel Terrier fell in the lake at the presidential palace in Brasilia, the first lady didn’t hesitate to go after him.


For any pet parent, securing their fur baby’s happiness and safety is high on their list of priorities. And when something that threatens that happens, adrenaline may take over and cause us to do crazy things- which is what happened a few days ago at the presidential palace in Brasilia.


As BBC reports, Marcela Temer, spouse of the current president of Brazil, was walking about the presidential palace estate when her pooch decided to go and inspect the lake from up close. Picoly, who is a Jack Russel Terrier, dove in the water but couldn’t swim back to the land, prompting his owner to go into the lake after him. Not even the fact that she was fully clothed at the moment made any difference to the First Lady, who managed to bravely rescue her pooch from a potentially fatal fate.


Desejo um ótimo fim de semana a todos!! E deixo aqui um registro do Thor e do Picoly. 🐶❤️


A post shared by Marcela Temer (@marcelatemer) on Sep 1, 2017 at 2:35pm PDT


Temer was not alone at the moment of the accident, as her 8-year old son and a security agent were in her company at the time. The security agent flat out refused to help save Picoly, which lead to him being fired as soon as Picoly was safely out of the water.


The First Lady of Brazil is a dog lover through and through: in addition to the mischievous Jack Russel Terrier Picoly, the presidential family has a Golden Retriever (appropriately) named Thor.


da audiência com Márcia Rollemberg, em que recebemos uma visita surpresa do Thor. 🐶


A post shared by Marcela Temer (@marcelatemer) on Mar 1, 2018 at 12:20pm PST


While Temer’s act is undeniably brave and praise-worthy, RSPCA warns people that rescuing animals from water can put their own lives in danger, and that they shouldn’t do it. Of course, knowing how devoted and fierce pet parents and animal lovers are, I’m not that sure that the warnings will stick.

WOW
Angela Vuckovic
Angela Vuckovic

A proud mama to seven dogs and ten cats, Angela spends her days writing for her fellow pet parents and pampering her furballs, all of whom are rescues. When she's not gushing over her adorable cats or playing with her dogs, she can be found curled up with a good fantasy book.

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A library in Massachusetts is waiving certain fees in exchange for cat photos.

Stray Dog Becomes Surrogate for Abandoned Puppies at Texas Shelter

A stray Great Pyrenees dog, found wandering the streets of Fort Bend County, Texas, became a surrogate mother to a litter of six abandoned puppies.In late October, a concerned citizen found an abandoned litter of puppies. After failing to locate the pups’ mother in the surrounding area, the person brought the puppies to Fort Bend County Animal Services. “They were tiny, needing immediate bottle feeding and care, they were just about a week to 10 days old,” said Rene Vasquez, the director of Fort Bend County Animal Services, to PEOPLE.Although the puppies arrived at the shelter in good condition, they were starving and needed nourishment ASAP. The Fort Bening County Animal Services took to social media to look for fosters to take in the puppies and provide them with around-the-clock bottle feedings. Around the same time, another local found a stray Great Pyrenees, named Nova, who was full of milk. While it was clear that Nova had a litter recently, her puppies were nowhere to be found. The woman who found Nova saw the shelter’s online call for help and decided to contact them with a different idea. Instead of using volunteers to do the bottle feedings, she suggested bringing Nova by to see if the dog would accept to nurse the puppies. The shelter loved this idea and decided to give Nova a chance. A few seconds after Nova met the puppies it became apparent that the shelter made the right decision. “Nova was so happy to see the puppies! She took to them right away, and they were very happy to have a mama and food,” Vasquez shared. Although the abandoned puppies aren’t Nova’s biological litter, she accepted them as if they were her own. Acting like a true momma, Nova quickly allowed the pups to nurse and cuddle close to her for warmth. Thanks to Nova’s maternal instincts the puppies are doing well and growing quickly.“We were so happy that Nova was able to step up and be a mom for them. Sometimes, it is difficult to find bottle feeders and fosters for when the puppies or kittens are so little, so to have a nursing mom available to accept the babies is definitely a good day,” said Vasquez. Nova and the puppies, five boys and one girl, are currently living in a foster home. The fosters caring for the four-legged bunch plan to adopt Nova once the puppies are weaned. “The puppies will stay with Nova until they are weaned, and then we will start looking for homes for them. They will also be vaccinated, microchipped, and fixed before going to their forever homes,” the shelter’s director added. The case of Nova and her adopted litter has a happy ending, but not all stories end on a positive note. “As an industry, we are facing a real crisis in animal welfare across the country with an abundance of stray animals and not enough adopters or fosters to help the overcrowded shelters and rescues. Nova and her puppies illustrate the importance of spaying and neutering,” said the Fort Bend County Animal Services director.Shelters around the country are struggling to take in new animals due to a lack of forever homes and overcrowding. Each year, millions of pets end up in shelters across the nation, most of which are never adopted into a forever home. If you’re looking for a four-legged companion, visit your local shelter or rescue organization to see which of their residents would make a perfect addition to your home. Join the PetGuide community. Get the latest pet news and product recommendations by subscribing to our newsletter here.

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