Pabna mother dog given two puppies after losing her litter
The mother dog in Ishwardi, Pabna – who lost her eight puppies – had been frantically running from place to place searching for her babies, unaware that her litter was no more.
The separation deeply affected people who followed the incident, prompting volunteer organisation "Ishwardiyan" to step in to ease the mother dog's suffering.
Acting on the advice of the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), the organisation's director Shahriar Amit brought two puppies from his own dog's litter of seven and introduced them to the grieving mother. She accepted them instantly. The puppies are now suckling from her, and the mother dog is seemingly feeling better.
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"The mother dog was in extreme distress after losing her puppies. She has also been lactating. When the UNO advised it, I decided to give her two pups from my own dog. After rubbing some milk on the puppies', the mother dog recognised the scent and embraced them right away," said Shahriar.
Officials of the Upazila administration were also moved by the scene. On Wednesday (3 December), the two puppies were formally handed over to the mother dog.
Local residents say she is caring for the new puppies with the same affection she had for her own litter.
Ishwardi Upazila Nirbahi Officer Moniruzzaman said, "We feel that we have been able to give Tom a new life, rescuing her from the helplessness of losing her puppies. For a few days, all our officers and staff had lost motivation at work. We couldn't stop thinking about the grieving mother dog's cries."
Meanwhile, police on 3 December arrested the wife of a government official for killing the eight puppies by sealing them in a sack and drowning them in a pond in Ishwardi. She was arrested around 1:30am from their newly rented house, after the administration ordered the family to vacate their government residence over the incident.
They had left their Upazila Parishad Staff Quarter on 2 December.
The accused, Nishi Khatun, is the wife of Small Farmers Foundation officer Hasanur Rahman Nayon.
A case was filed under section 7 of the Animal Welfare Act 2019 by Upazila livestock officer Aklima Khatun on behalf of the Directorate of Livestock Services, naming Nishi as the sole accused.
UNO Md Moniruzzaman told The Business Standard that the couple had been asked to leave the quarter over the incident, and they vacated it the same day.
Fisheries and Livestock Ministry adviser Farida Akter termed the act "inhumane" and instructed authorities to take strict action.
An investigation team from the Animal Activist Committee arrived in Ishwardi from Dhaka to begin its probe.
Earlier on 1 December, Nishi Begum was accused of placing eight puppies inside a sack and drowning them in a nearby pond.
Locals later recovered the bodies from the sack.
The incident sparked widespread outrage on social media, with citizens and animal welfare groups demanding legal action.
