Tragedy struck a group of helpless baby opossums after their mother was attacked and killed by a dog on a property in Brazil.
It was obvious that the poor babies wouldn’t survive on their own. Fortunately, a passerby discovered the orphaned offspring, who were all so young that they still hadn’t opened their eyes — and handed them to pet behaviorist Stephanie Maldonado for safekeeping, writes thedodo.
Initially, Stephanie had hoped to take the baby opossums to a nearby wildlife rescue group. Unfortunately, though, she was informed that the shelter was at maximum capacity and couldn’t accept any newcomers.
So, she took it upon herself to keep hapless babies cozy and fed.
The babies required constant feeding every 2 hours, but it was still too early to tell if they would survive without more motherly attention.
That’s when her dog, Pretinha, stepped in.
As soon as Stephanie walked through the door holding the baby possums, Pretinha instantly sensed that the helpless babies were in desperate need of love and care. The sweet-natured pup immediately began doting upon them as if they were her own.
“It’s very nice to see all the care that she has with them, licking them all the time and nestling them,” Maldonado wrote on Facebook.
Pretinha and the possums quickly became inseparable, and thanks to all the love, care, and nurture, they quickly grew to be strong and healthy enough to climb on her back.
Pretinha clearly enjoys her new maternal calling.
Pretinha loves her adopted possums and gives them piggy-back rides when she’s going on walks, Just as they’re real possum mother would have done!
It’s an incredible friendship to behold
The dog is so accepting of letting the opossum orphans climb on her that she even takes them on rides during her walks, just like a real opossum mother.
Once the babies were old enough, Stephanie returned the opossums to a wildlife center, where they could live their lives out to the fullest — taking with them the legacy of love and affection given to them by their adoptive mom.
