A Cape Flats woman shares more than puppy love with her newborn husky.
And it seems the happy pup is truly Reneé Pearce’s ‘breast’ friend.
Two-week-old puppy Whisky is blissfully unaware of the fuss his daily feedings cause.
And mother of four Reneé says she enjoys nursing Whisky more than a human baby.
The Hanover Park woman says she takes the cute husky everywhere she goes, a treat her own one-year-old son Torique isn’t privileged with.
“Babies wake you in the middle of the night for a feed, but my puppy sleeps through the night, but then during the day when he comes to me then I know that he’s hungry or thirsty,” says Reneé.
“I got the puppy from my neighbour and when I tried to feed him baby formula with a bottle, he didn’t want it and then I tried my breast,” says the proud mom.
“He didn’t want to let go of it, he’s just too greedy for my milk.”
The unemployed mother says it’s economical to breastfeed the puppy.
“It doesn’t cost me a thing, I only buy porridge,” she says.
She surprised the community on Monday when she whipped out her breast to feed little Whisky in public, the pictures soon making it onto Twitter.
Sakeenah Baradien, 38, who is still breastfeeding her daughter, says she finds the odd couple amusing.
“I can’t imagine my breast in a puppy’s mouth, it’s not normal,” she says.
“It was my first time seeing anything like it, the puppy even sucks like a real baby.
“The puppy sucked so nice and didn’t want to let go of the breast.”
And Reneé tells the Daily Voice she has no regrets and enjoys being a second mother to her little Whisky.
“I fell in love with the puppy.. He is my baby and I love him so much,” she says.
“And I don’t know what will happen when he grows sharp teeth, but at the moment it’s not painful.”
But an animal welfare group has slammed Reneé’s actions.
Senior Inspector Moyo Mqabuko of the Cape of Good Hope Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said her behaviour was unacceptable and sends out the wrong message to pet owners.
“Whilst this is not an animal cruelty case, the Cape of Good Hope SPCA believes that this is ethically and morally unacceptable,” he said.
“The claims that Ms Pearce is meeting the animal’s nutritional needs are highly questionable and the young puppy should be nursed by its mother.
“We do not condone this as it sets a precedent for irresponsible pet ownership.
“When the novelty of the cute puppy wears off and the dog grows older, people may no longer... be able to afford to adequately care for the animal,” added Moyo. - Daily Voice