10-year-old Yellow Labrador, Fred is the resident dog at beautiful Mountfitchet Castle in Stansted, Essex, UK.
He spends his days strolling the grounds, wading in the moat, and accepting belly rubs from castle visitors – or he did until nine fuzzy ducklings came into his life!
Castle staff noticed the baby birds waddling around the grounds alone last Thursday, their mother nowhere to be found. But all concern for the ducklings’ safety quickly fell away when Fred stepped up to foster the orphans.
The dog’s owner, Jeremy Goldsmith said:
“We brought the ducklings into the house as they are too young to fend for themselves, and Fred just took them under his paw – rather than his wing.”
A short video of Fred and the adorable foudlings quickly took the internet by storm, making the senior pooch an overnight star.
According to Goldsmith, the ducklings sleep in Fred’s dog basket with him and toddle along behind him wherever he goes – even following him into the castle moat for a swim!
“He’s got a lovely nature and has grown up around rescued animals,” Fred’s owner reports.
Mountfitchet Castle is a safe haven for a menagerie of animals, including chickens rescued from battery farms, unwanted pet goats, and deer injured or orphaned by road accidents.
H/T to BBC
Featured Image via Facebook/We Rate Dogs
via Whisker Therapy