Dog o' Day
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Cincinnati Zoo nanny dog helps raise baby cheetah

By Wesley Coburn

385936 02: A caretaker nurses Jamoke, a South African cheetah cub, February 22, 2001 in San Diego, CA. Jamoke, Swahili for "everyone love the child," is the newest attraction at the World-Famous San Diego Zoo. He was born at San Diego Wild Animal Park. The female cub was taken to the nursery at the Children's Zoo after keepers observed a lack of care by her mother, Bandira. For the next several weeks zoo visitors may observe bottle feeding at the nursery. Jamoke, who weighs about two pounds (one kilo) is fed eight times a day and will weigh as much as 140 lbs. (64 kilos) when fully grown. (Photo courtesy of San Diego Zoo/Newsmakers)
385936 02: A caretaker nurses Jamoke, a South African cheetah cub, February 22, 2001 in San Diego, CA. Jamoke, Swahili for "everyone love the child," is the newest attraction at the World-Famous San Diego Zoo. He was born at San Diego Wild Animal Park. The female cub was taken to the nursery at the Children's Zoo after keepers observed a lack of care by her mother, Bandira. For the next several weeks zoo visitors may observe bottle feeding at the nursery. Jamoke, who weighs about two pounds (one kilo) is fed eight times a day and will weigh as much as 140 lbs. (64 kilos) when fully grown. (Photo courtesy of San Diego Zoo/Newsmakers) /
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A retired dog from the Cincinnati Zoo is helping raise a baby cheetah.

The Cincinnati Zoo had a litter of three cheetahs born in early July, but two of the litter died, leaving the mother cheetah without enough milk demanded to raise the remaining infant alone.

So that’s where zoo staff stepped in, including a retired nanny dog in Blakely, an eight year old Australian Shepherd.

(Though since he’s a male dog, possibly the Friends term “manny” is more appropriate?)

Anyway, Australian Shepherds (which confusingly are an entirely American breed) live for their work, which usually consists of herding larger animals and guarding them.

This would make Blakely an excellent choice for the work he did, and we bet he has enjoyed having a task to perform again after a couple years of being a companion dog with a former zoo worker.

Before retiring in 2017, Blakely helped care for a variety of young animals, mostly big cats, raising several cheetahs, tigers, and ocelots. He also helped raise foxes and wallabies.

“We can provide nutrition, medical care and some of the TLC that baby animals need, but Blakely can serve as a role model, companion and surrogate parent for them,” Head of Neonate Care Dawn Strasser told the zoo’s website.

“Blakely will teach the cub animal etiquette and handle some of the social responsibilities, like snuggling, playing and disciplining, that would typically be performed by a mother.”

The single cub, a female named Kris, is healthy and alert, with a lot of attitude, according to Cat Ambassador Program leader Linda Castaneda.

Kris will likely move to the Animal Health Center in September or October, and CAP staff are looking for a puppy to be her companion for the next year or two after that.

Dogs celebrated International Cat Day, too. dark. Next

There are an estimated 9,000-12,000 cheetahs left in the world today, according to the zoo.

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