Dog swims 4 km to nurse island-stranded pups every day

Dog swims 4 km to nurse pups
8/5/07

A dog swims more than 4km every day to nurse her newborn puppies who are stranded on an island.

The dog, already a celebrity in Chongqing city, is called Huahua by local people.

She gave birth to four pups at Shanhuba, which has become an island in the Changjiang River due to the heavy rains this summer.

Huahua swims 1.2 km to the island every day to nurse her four babies. Then she returns to the Changjiang River, following the flow of the water, to swim another 1.1 km to another part of the city to feed herself.

Each day Huahua does the whole journey twice, once in the morning, around 7 am, and again at 7 pm, at which point she stays with her pups on the island and returns to the city the next morning.

Huang Pingren, a pensioner who swims to the island everyday, says he discovered the amazing dog a few weeks ago.

"I was resting on the island, and found the unprotected litter of dogs. Then in the evening, around 7 pm, I saw a dog swimming to the bank and then running to the newborns."

Huang even published a story on the internet, describing the great deeds of the dog mother, and leading to an outpouring of enthusiasm from readers.

"Many citizens found me and said they wanted to do something, like contribute food or money, but I told them not to, since I was afraid too many visitors may scare the mom away."

Two days ago, the water rose again, and the mother has moved her children to a higher point on the island, reports Chongqing Evening News.

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