Dog mothers orphaned kittens

Four kittens were only three weeks old when their mother got hit by a car in Snohomish, Washington last week.

When the family brought the abandoned kittens into the house, their 6-year-old Australian shepherd "Lakota Lou" immediately claimed them as her own.

"We've been doing some hand-feeding with them but then as soon as we're done she takes them," said Lakota's owner, Robert Nesseth.



Every night when the kittens climb into a box to sleep, Lakota Lou stands guard and watches over them.

"Just motherly instinct," said Nesseth. "She had a litter of puppies about four or five years ago and ever since then she's just loved to be a mother."

And this isn't the first time the dog has played foster mother. She's cared for at least one other newborn kitten in need of a home.

With news video.