Lonely Puppy Only Relaxes When He Feels His Foster Mother’s Heartbeat

Jul 17, 2019 by apost team

When Rhett was born, he had five siblings and a mother. His mother was immediately sent into a foster home without him or any of her babies. The puppies were then split up into two separate groups and fostered out to homes to be taken care of until they were old enough to be adopted. In his foster home, Rhett was placed with two of his brothers.

But tragedy struck when Rhett’s brother died.

The vet had no idea what the cause was, and their foster mother Mariann Wright-Feliciano was worried about the other puppies. In an unfortunate series of events, Rhett’s other brother fell ill and had to be hospitalized. Although the puppy was likely to survive, he needed to be kept separate from his brother in order to make sure Rhett stayed healthy.

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Rhett’s big family quickly turned into just him and his foster mom. Rhett had trouble with the transition of being an only child, and he quickly began to feel loneliness and confusion. The puppy developed separation anxiety, and even the best toys, beds, and blankets weren’t helping his new lifestyle.

He cried relentlessly, and the only thing that could calm him down was the sound and feel of his foster mother’s heartbeat when he was cuddled. Since it was physically impossible for Mariann to hold the puppy 24 hours of the day, she had to come up with a solution. With a little creativity, Rhett began to feel more comfortable with the idea of being an only child.

But what exactly did Mariann do that helped the puppy’s anxiety? She created a sling in order to hold Rhett as closely as she could when he was feeling anxious. The feeling of her heartbeat and body heat helped him calm down instantly. Not wanting Rhett to get too obsessed and dependent on the device, she tried limiting his time in the sling. But every time that he was taken out of the sling, he got more and more relaxed and confident being on his own. Despite getting a rough start at life, Rhett is adapting well as he grows older. Now, he doesn’t rely on his swing to feel happiness.

You can learn more about Rhett in the video below:

Thankfully, he had the great help of a foster mother to raise him and he’ll have a happy and long life ahead of him. What do you think about this story? Let us know in the comments and spread the love by passing this video on to your friends and family!