A proud dog has become a foster mum to a litter of new-born puppies, after she suffered a phantom pregnancy and began producing milk.
Nancey Boerner, who runs Boerner's Bloodhounds in Texas, US, shared the story of Lacey and Belle on her TikTok account that went viral online.
In the video viewed by 850,000 people, she explains that Bernese mountain dog Lacey began experiencing a false pregnancy - which is common for female dogs after each season.
Nancey said: "Yesterday when our Bloodhound Belle went into labour, Lacey decided she was going into false labour - and started carrying a ball around, nesting with it and shaking it.
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"Anyway, I checked her this morning because she was acting very depressed and she's actually got milk."
It seems as though it was meant to be, as Belle gave birth to 15 puppies and struggled to keep up with all their demands.
"So we're slowly transitioning some of them over here to Lacey," Boerner explained.
"I just can't believe how well she's taken to them.
"She is super happy and I'm sure Belle is going to be very relieved as well."
You can see in the video just how pleased and proud Lacey is to be helping out - and it's even more special knowing she had previously had two false pregnancies.
In later update videos, Nancey confirmed that puppies and both adult dogs are doing well - with Belle caring for eight and foster mum Lacey caring for seven.
TikTok users were over the moon with the "wholesome" news, with one person commenting: "She understood the assignment" and another saying: "Co-mamas for the win!"
A third wrote: "She was made for motherhood" and a fourth said: "Lacey was 100% meant to be a momma."
Many dog owners could relate to Lacey's phantom pregnancy, having experienced it with their own pets.
One viewer said: "Our oldest went into false labor when our other female gave birth to 12. So amazing."
Nancey has been training and breeding hounds for 20 years, and often shares their journeys on her TikTok @boernersbloodhounds - where you can keep up-to-date with Lacey and Belle.
Do you have a dog story to tell? Contact nia.dalton@reachplc.com.
