A peculiar phenomenon has taken place in East Africa. A female dog found an abandoned toddler in a dumpsite and carried it with her mouth for nursing. She actually stayed with the toddler for some time breastfeeding it before it was discovered. The kid looked healthy and was not harmed in any way. Another thumbs up for man's best friend.
Years ago, I'd be totally amazed by this but I'm not. Animals have proven that they are capable of being humane themselves. There had also been other cases of dogs taking care of abandoned children and taking them in as their own for awhile. Dogs have been around humans for so long and their instincts have developed to the point that they knew what to do when humans are involved. The dog who found the child could've harmed it but she nursed it herself. A newborn was carried by a dog and left it where other humans have found it. They are sometimes more human than we are.
The story is similar to what I have heard many years ago about "wolf child". Wild wolf raised abandoned human child through breastfeeding and then they hunted together as a pack when the kid was older. Not sure how true the story was, but the story of "wolf child" came up on more than just one occasion.
Cross species nursing in general are amazing stories if they are true. I guess dog milk and wolf milk actually met the requirement of a human baby. It is hard to imagine though how the child's nutrition requirement could be met by dog diet or wolf diet alone. They are carnivore, so they can live on nothing but meat. Humans need some veggie and fruit to be healthy. There are just so many vitamins and minerals not available from meat alone.
I think that a long as the baby is nursing on milk, there is not that much difference in the nourishment that is received from the milk of a different species.
As humans, we use milk from cattle, goats, sheep, and even camels, all of which are vegetarians. Yet their milk has all of the required nutrients for humans to use it even for infant formula.
I have had dogs that nursed kittens and raised them, and it seems perfectly likely that a dog, or even a wolf, as @Thor mentioned, could nurse a human child and it would survive, as long as it was getting as much milk as it needed.
The difference would come when the child (or whatever infant) was old enough to eat food, because then the diet might be limited to whatever the parent species ate.
Different digestive systems are designed for different diets.
For example, a cow can grow to over a half ton by only eating grass, which would not sustain a dog or wolf, because they have a totally different digestive system.
It seems like many animals have a tendency to want to help any babies, even when they are from a different species. Dogs, especially, are very protective of children, and will give their own life to save children who are in danger.
Well this is something new I'm hearing about! Yes, I knew that animals, especially dogs, can sometimes be very human-like and able to take care of even babies - but this is something I wasn't ready for! It's really fascinating how 'man's best friend' can sometimes be more capable of doing the things a human can't offer. Would it physically being there for you or feeding a kid! What an amazing world we live in. Sometimes I can't help but be amazed!
This is a heartening story that is good for 3 hoorays for that mother dog. Truly there is a natural bond between man and dog that's why the moniker man's best friend. It is a given that when man goes hunting, the dog is his side kick. When a man is lonely, the dog is the first one to cheer him up. Pardon me if you are a cat lover but cats cannot come near the level of dog's closeness to man.
I had seen on tv an excerpt of a youtube video where a female dog and a female cat were lying down side by side. Between them are the kittens and the puppies that are nursing in a confused manner - some puppies are getting the milk of the mother cat while some kittens are busy with the nipples of the mother dog. It's not only funny but amusing and interesting to see the peaceful co-existence of a dog and a cat.
I've noticed that mother animals have a tendency to want to adopt any type of infant. I've heard of mother cats actually nursing ducklings or baby chicks... any cute little round fuzzy creature who needs a mama. Okay, so human babies aren't so fuzzy... but the theme is still the same as they are little, round and cute. The mama instinct is quite powerful and it can even cross genders a little bit at times as well. I have personally seen neutered male cats trying to 'nurse' baby kittens, with the male cat and the kittens thoroughly enjoying the experience. So, while it is a bit surprising to hear about a human baby suckling on a dog, it makes sense in a way, because mama animals are very protective of babies, and the more, the merrier. They will even adopt other babies because they just can't get enough of those warm, squirming little guys. In situations where there are multiple mother cats, I've seen the mama cats sharing babies, nursing whoever shows up at the lunch counter without regard to who actually belongs to whom. It's really quite interesting how the mothering instinct takes over and causes them to help out anyone in need like this.