A man named John Bolton runs a farm in South Australia and, like many other farmers, he has a number of animals on his property. Different animal species coexisting on farms and ranches is not uncommon, but no one could have really predicted what was actually going to happen when a newborn was cared for by the least expected resident animal on Mr. Bolton’s property.
Dotty, a lamb born with an unusual (and likely one-of-a-kind) speckled coat, was abandoned and left on his own by his mother. This would normally mean that the lamb would have a difficult time surviving on its own. However, that was not the case.
Zoe, a Dalmatian that also lived on the farm, seemed to understand that the baby lamb needed a mother. The dog adopted the lamb and soon, they became like mother and child.
Bolton said that Dotty’s coat looked like a Dalmatian’s. The decision to adopt the lamb was not based simply on its appearance. He believes that Zoe felt that she needed to care for the baby lamb because of her maternal instinct.
It is quite interesting to note that Zoe does not have her own puppies, which is surprising given just how much she knows how to care for the baby lamb. It was also an advantage for the newborn lamb because her dalmatian mother has enough time to care for him.
We can only think that Dotty may not have lived long since he did not have his own mother around to care for him. We also can only assume just how well the lamb may have lived if a human was the one who cared for him. But right now, we all are just happy that Dotty is doing quite well because Zoe stepped in and made Dotty her own child.
Our story has a happy conclusion, and it appears that the lamb and the dalmatian are doing well together and have a healthy relationship going on.
Source: All About Animals
