A PROTECTIVE dog rescued a litter of piglets rejected at birth by their mother — and took on her new role with such fervor she began lactating.

    The miniature piglets were born last weekend on a farm in Knotts Island, North Carolina, the U.S., to their birth mother Sophie.

    But Sophie showed no intention of caring for her babies and refused to let them nurse, WTKR reported.

    That is when Dottie Jayne, a 12-year-old Jack Russell terrier, came to their rescue. She had been watching them closely since their birth.

    Dottie Jayne began caring for the babies as if they were her own and allowed them to try to nurse, even though she hadn’t carried them and therefore hadn’t produced any milk in preparation for the piglets.

    But Dottie Jayne eventually started to lactate as the tiny piglets nursed. She has kept caring for them and has established herself as their new mother.

    Her owner, Courtney Culpepper Waterfield, owns a horseback riding club in Virginia Beach, not far from Knotts Island, called The Barn Life.

    “Dottie Jayne, you are a saint of a dog to have fostered these piglets,” Waterfield said according to WTKR.

    “God is amazing. How he has blessed me with such a wonderful dog.”