They meet again 10 months later (Video)

A beautiful black dog named Bess was found wandering around the streets of Tennessee, incredibly pregnant, miserable and lonely. Tracey and Jon Stewart saw her and couldn’t bear to leave her, so they rescued her and headed to the animal emergency room. It’s a good thing they did, because she was in the throes of labor with 12 puppies and enduring labor difficulties. The average litter for a dog her size is between six and eight, but she was pregnant with 12! Giving birth to a normal-size litter is hard enough, so this labor was especially difficult. And it was even more so when the smallest puppy, christened Burrdie, who turned out to be the runt of the litter, ended up blocking the birth canal for several hours straight.

“The doctors came out and told us that there was a chance that, because there were so many puppies, they probably weren’t all going to make it,” said Vyolet Jean Savage, one of the caregivers for the massive brood. But the couple wouldn’t accept this news. The pair decided to take Bess and all 12 puppies back to their home. They cleared out the furniture in their living room and dining room to set up a doggie daycare. It didn’t take long for these kindhearted souls to realize they were in over their heads and call in for reinforcements. They recruited friends and family to provide round-the-clock care for Bess and the puppies. Once the puppies began to walk and play, life in the Stewart household became crazy. At one point, they even thought about keeping all of the puppies, but knew that wouldn’t work.

Precious moment when they finally saw each other

When it came time to adopt everyone out, Jon and Tracey were sad, but the puppies and Bess ended up being adopted by family and friends. As anyone with a large family knows, getting everyone together for a reunion is no easy feat. But 10 months after the group was split up, Mom and the puppies were all brought back together to celebrate the litter’s one-year birthday! How would they react when they finally saw each other? Then the puppies were treated to a special guest at their party – it was their mom! Would Bess remember her babies and they, her? Watch the video and check out this awesome story of survival, puppy love and happy endings.