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A New Zealand mother has begun breastfeeding her staffordshire terrier pup, saying she did not want to waste the milk after her own daughter switched to being bottle fed.
Kura Tumanako, from the small North Island town of Hastings, said she sees nothing wrong with breastfeeding the dog as she wants it to protect her baby girl as the pair grow up, the New Zealand Herald reported Thursday.
"He drinks more than the baby. It doesn't hurt, but it's a little bit ticklish," she said.
Both dog and baby share the same name - Honey - and Tumanako said she started feeding the pup twice a day after her own baby stopped taking her milk.
'I didn't want to waste it, so I gave it to Honey Boy'
"I didn't want to waste it, so I gave it to Honey Boy," she said.
"I wanted to raise it 1/8 the pup 3/8 with my baby. I wanted to bring it up with a baby. It will protect her as they grow up."
Tumanako, whose baby Honey Pauline Philomina Flo was born on August 29 and who is now pregnant again, said she did not care what people thought about her breastfeeding the pup.
"It's my life, my responsibility. I make my own choices," she said. "I'm going to look after me, my baby and my puppy."
Although New Zealand's animal welfare laws do not touch on humans breastfeeding animals, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals had some concerns the dog could develop long-term behavioural issues.
The La Leche League, a support organisation for breastfeeding mothers, felt the issue of feeding a dog was "beyond the league's area of expertise". -
Sapa-AFP
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_i...0730960803B252
Kura Tumanako, from the small North Island town of Hastings, said she sees nothing wrong with breastfeeding the dog as she wants it to protect her baby girl as the pair grow up, the New Zealand Herald reported Thursday.
"He drinks more than the baby. It doesn't hurt, but it's a little bit ticklish," she said.
Both dog and baby share the same name - Honey - and Tumanako said she started feeding the pup twice a day after her own baby stopped taking her milk.
'I didn't want to waste it, so I gave it to Honey Boy'
"I didn't want to waste it, so I gave it to Honey Boy," she said.
"I wanted to raise it 1/8 the pup 3/8 with my baby. I wanted to bring it up with a baby. It will protect her as they grow up."
Tumanako, whose baby Honey Pauline Philomina Flo was born on August 29 and who is now pregnant again, said she did not care what people thought about her breastfeeding the pup.
"It's my life, my responsibility. I make my own choices," she said. "I'm going to look after me, my baby and my puppy."
Although New Zealand's animal welfare laws do not touch on humans breastfeeding animals, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals had some concerns the dog could develop long-term behavioural issues.
The La Leche League, a support organisation for breastfeeding mothers, felt the issue of feeding a dog was "beyond the league's area of expertise". -
Sapa-AFP
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_i...0730960803B252
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