The best way to start this article would be by saying that life writes unbelievable stories, not only for hoomans, but for their pooches as well.
What was supposed to be a regular daily walk turned into a wonderful family reunion between a doggo brother and sister that hadn’t seen each other since their early days of puppyhood.
Monty and Rosie brought smiles to a great number of people with their heartwarming story, but they also confirmed the saying that blood is thicker than water.
A Bond That Can’t Be Broken
Monty and Rosie are two Cockapoos that were born and raised in the same litter before they got adopted by two different families.
A litter of six puppies was born in June, 2019, and although they all spent the first weeks of life together, Monty and Rosie were the only ones that developed a special bond. They were almost inseparable until it was time to go to their new homes.
According to Susan Killip, the owner of Rosie, who spoke for The Dodo, Monty was adopted by family friends who actually took Rosie in for a week, but after that, the brother and sister didn’t have any more chances of meeting.
The Surprising Encounter
Libby Pincher got a surprising text from her dad about the encounter between doggie siblings, which she shared on Twitter:
“So, Dave was out walking his dog, and there was a couple walking towards him with a white version of his dog. Turns out, they are brother and sister from the same litter. But, instead of just playing like they do with other dogs, look at this.”
Her dad is friends with Monty’s owner, and they were up for a walk when they came across Killip and her pet, Rosie. According to her dad’s texts, the two pooches immediately recognized each other and melted everyone’s hearts by hugging.
After ten months of being separated, these two lovelies jumped into each other’s paws and could barely be separated again.
Their owners were surprised by their pets’ behavior, but as Killip told The Dodo, they agreed to have these unusual family gatherings more often, so the brother and sister could have more quality time together:
“We’ll be having doggy walkies together.”
Can Doggies Recognize Their Siblings?
There is no specific answer related to this topic, as there are various theories based on the experiences of people whose dogs reacted to their siblings even after a longer period of separation.
However, there is a possibility that they’re simply well-socialized and want to play, without understanding that they’re actually from the same litter.
According to research published in ScienceDirect, canines can recognize their littermates only if they’re living together:
“Siblings could only recognise one another if they had been living with a sibling (not the test animal). Dogs living on their own were unable to recognise their siblings.” [1]
On the other hand, Companion Life published an article on the same topic, with an explanation from dog expert, Joe Nutkins, who teamed up with Canine Cottages in order to find the right answer:
“Littermates develop a very close bond in their first few weeks together and it takes a great deal for that bond to be broken. When families have two puppies from the same litter, they can do everything with the puppies separately, but they will still gravitate to each other at any opportunity, and a big part of this is because of their close bond since birth.”
The article further explains that there’s a high chance that pooches from the same litter might recognize each other if they have lived together for at least sixteen weeks.
If they were separated before the sixteenth week, then the chances they’ll remember their brother or sister are low, but not impossible.
So, is it possible that Monty and Rosie recognized each other? We can never know for sure, but the hugs they shared on the street prove that these two pooches definitely have a strong bond that will last forever.
References:
1. Peter G. Hepper, Long-term retention of kinship recognition established during infancy in the domestic dog, Behavioural Processes, Volume 33, Issues 1–2, 1994, Pages 3-14, ISSN 0376-6357. DOI
