OWASSO, Oklahoma -
An Owasso family celebrated a new litter of puppies this week, but it was bittersweet, as not all the pups survived.
But a mother's loving instinct to tend to her lost pups was on rare display in the backyard.
It was Della, the Rottweiler's, first litter, and she's still learning the ropes of being a mother.
The puppies came earlier this week, eight of them, and they're fat and happy.
But on that first day, two of them didn't make it.
That day, Paul Nosak was able to capture some heart-wrenching video of the mysteries of the animal world.
"She took the pup over to the far side of her run and dug a hole with the pup in its mouth, and then set the pup in there, gave the pup a kiss, then covered it over," Nosak said.
Driven by whatever instinct, Della buried that dead pup in the backyard, and then she went for the other that had died.
"She went all the way around and dug another hole underneath the rabbit cage and put it right in there—did the same exact thing. Dug a hole, set it in the hole, and covered it up," Nosak said.
Before Paul disrupted her, and she stopped, Della buried the second puppy.
She came back later and removed the body and, the family figures, buried it someplace they've not been able to find.
The next day, when the runt of the litter died, Della buried that one, too.
How does a dog know to bury its dead? To take on the qualities and manner that we humans associate with the loss and heartbreak of the end of a life?
Della's not talking. She's got her mouth full of responsibility right now.
But at the Nosak home, they figure they've seen a little bit of the mystery that ties us all together as living beings—in life and death.
"I definitely was put in awe of it, you know, and shocked," Nosak said. "It was really amazing.
Della, at home in Owasso with her puppies.
Paul Nosak caught the surprising moment on video.
