From the Strange But True Collective:

Yeah, But Does She Burp Them Afterwards?

From the country that brought you the Serpent Sediment Sluicing System and the paper clip comes yet another coupler in the inexhaustible chain of fantastic Norwegian ingenuity.

The Aftenposten reports that Kine Skiaker, a Norwegian mother, already nursing her own infant son, took a litter of puppies to her own breast when her dog died giving birth. Yes, that's right, breast feeding her own puppies.

In researching the issue of dog diets, for some crazy reason, I was unable to come across any literature on the benefits of human breast milk for dogs. Of course, I don't have access to Norwegian medical journals but nevertheless, I wondered if the lack of information might have something to do with the question of what kind of maniac breast feeds puppies?. Imagine my surprise to learn that dog's milk, or Lac caninum, is a medicine with a strong action on the human female hormonal system and a great remedy for agressive PMS sufferers.

Of course, when a "normal" person's puppy loses its mother during birth, the "normal" person might consider Esbilac milk replacement formula rather than ripping open her blouse and slapping the poor pooch's puppy lips to her breasts to indulge in some sort of bizarre ritualistic Norwegian milking fantasy. More frightening still is that she was using the same teet to breast feed her own child! "A dog's mouth contains a lot of bacteria," says Dr. Gary "Ask the Vet" Clemons. "Remember, a dog's tongue is not only his wash cloth but also his toilet paper." Yum.

In the end, both the mother pup and three of the puppies died, while another three died later but Ms. Skiaker was able, with her quick thinking and heavy lactating, to save eight puppies, one of whom may grow up some day to become a proud member of the Norwegian Royal Family, from a tragic breast milk shortage.

No word yet on when Ms. Skiaker is expected to stop peeing on fire hydrants and beggging for food scraps from her husband at the kitchen table.