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By Rachael O'Connor
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The internet has fallen head-over-heels for a golden retriever determined to act as a father to a litter of kittens.
Jax the golden was caught on camera cuddling up to the litter in a bath—as the kittens' mother stood by, letting it happen.
The dog's owner, Marina, shared a video to her TikTok page @marina.crowe, on March 11, which in just three days has racked up more than 550,000 views and close to 60,000 likes.
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It begins with Marina talking to a cat who is hovering by the door of the bathroom, staring inside, as she asks her "what's going on, Pepsi?"
Marina then walks into the bathroom and finds male golden Jax has climbed into the bathtub with the kittens, and is trying to settle down with them.
"Jax," Marina says sternly, but he ignores her, until he finds a comfortable spot in the bath with all his kittens and then looks up at her with a smile.
"What are you doing?" she asks, as the kittens all pile around him, getting close to his warm fur.
She posted the video with the words: "Golden retriever playing Dad."
TikTok users were in awe, as one wrote "he may not be the bio dad but he's the dad that stepped up," as another joked: "He is their father and I will not hear any slander saying otherwise."
"His smile! He's happy to help," another commenter wrote, as one pointed out mother cat Pepsi "don't even care."
And one user admitted, to the tune of more than 2,000 likes, "I also want to lay in a tub of kittens."
While dogs are descended from wolves, and male wolves help with pups in the pack, male dogs don't have that same parental instinct, according to an article from the American Kennel Club (AKC).
Dr Carlo Siracusa, associate professor of clinical behavior medicine at University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, told the AKC that a male dog could injure the pups in play even be jealous of the litter. It can also be a distraction and stress out the mother, leading her to become aggressive toward the male.
However, with time and patient introduction, the adult dog will likely become amenable to the puppies and become a role model in helping them learn how to act.
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While dogs and cats are generally seen as rivals, the two breeds can get along well if introduced patiently and slowly.
Newsweek has contacted @marina.crowe on TikTok for comment on this story.
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