Dog Dad Interrupts Shelter's Maternity Shoot To Be With His Pregnant Girlfriend

"Papa came over and laid right in front of her” ❤️

When the team at Gateway Pet Guardians got a call about a pair of stray dogs living together in an abandoned house, they quickly sprang into action. A winter storm was on its way, and they wanted to try and get the dogs safely into the care of the rescue before it hit if possible. Unfortunately, the dogs were scared and kept running from their rescuers. It took about three days and getting stuck in the middle of the storm, but finally, both dogs made it to safety — and that’s when their rescuers discovered that one of the dogs in the couple was very pregnant.

stray dogs
Gateway Pet Guardians

The rescue decided to name the couple Papa Memphis and Norma Jean. Even though they’d been nervous before, as soon as they realized they were safe, both dogs warmed up to their rescuers and seemed so relieved to be somewhere out of the cold where they could eventually welcome their babies in peace.

rescue dog couple
Gateway Pet Guardians

“Both were scared initially, but what's pretty amazing when rescuing dogs like that is once you get them inside with you, they leave their survival mode, start to relax and become typical dogs again,” Brittany Fleming, adoption and foster manager at Gateway Pet Guardians, told The Dodo. “Both of them stopped being scared and were loving and acting like any typical dog. With the big storm, two of our staff members stayed overnight because the roads were going to be too bad for them to make it the next day. So they slept with Norma on an air mattress.”

rescue dog at shelter
Gateway Pet Guardians

After examining Norma Jean, it became clear that she was going to have her puppies very soon. Before that day arrived, the rescue decided to do a maternity shoot with the expecting mom and even invited Papa Memphis to join too.

dog maternity shoot
Gateway Pet Guardians

Both dogs were excited to be out of their kennels and hanging out with their new favorite people, and they relaxed into the shoot quickly, lounging and posing and enjoying their time before the puppies came.

dog maternity shoot
Gateway Pet Guardians

“Norma was comfortable on the bed during her photo shoot and then Papa came over and laid right in front of her,” Fleming said. “It was not staged at all. They definitely enjoyed it because they were out of their kennels and got to relax in the room with me for a while, plus they got lots of special treats. Papa kept pawing at me for pets, and Norma took a nap.”

dog maternity shoot
Gateway Pet Guardians

Once the shoot was over and they’d captured lots of adorable photos, Norma Jean was all set to head to her foster home the next day so she could have her puppies away from the shelter — but the puppies decided they had other plans.

dog and her puppies
Gateway Pet Guardians

The morning after the maternity shoot, Norma Jean had her puppies — who, so far, all look exactly like their dad, Papa Memphis.

dog and her puppies
Gateway Pet Guardians

Papa Memphis, Norma Jean and her puppies are in foster homes now and all doing great. Once Norma Jean is done nursing, both she and her puppies will be up for adoption, and Papa Memphis is available now. Everyone at the rescue is so thrilled to see them all thriving and grateful that they were able to rescue the expecting parents just in time.

If you’re interested in adopting Papa Memphis, you can contact Gateway Pet Guardians for more information.