Some dogs like being the center of attention, perfectly happy as the only pup in the house. Others thrive with a pack of furry friends around them. A rescue dog named Monte clearly falls into the second category—and he became the ultimate foster dad when his owner started bringing home newborn puppies.
Monte has since retired from his days as a foster helper, but his mom recently shared a heart-melting throwback video that shows just how seriously he took the job.
In the clip posted on March 8, Monte can barely contain his excitement when he meets one of the tiniest foster puppies. The newborn is so small it can hardly play yet, but that doesn’t stop Monte from trying his best to engage.
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The little pup seems far more interested in sniffing and gently nipping than joining in Monte’s playful energy. Still, the patient rescue dog doesn’t seem bothered at all. He simply stays close, clearly fascinated by his tiny new friend.
Viewers instantly fell in love with the wholesome moment.
“Aww, how adorable,” one commenter wrote. “I could literally watch that all day. You’re so lucky. He seems like a very good boy.”
They’re not wrong. Not every dog naturally understands how to interact with fragile newborn puppies. Some can be too rough or overly excited. But Monte appeared to instinctively know how to be gentle and careful around the tiny foster babies.
Many viewers joked that they wished they could play with the puppy themselves. One person especially loved “how excited he got when the pup nipped him,” though Monte’s cautious mom admitted she wasn’t completely comfortable letting the tiny pup roam freely just yet.
Instead, she found safer ways for the two to interact while keeping the little one protected.
What makes Monte even more special is that the puppies weren’t his biological offspring. But that didn’t seem to matter to him in the slightest.
Throughout his owner’s fostering journey, Monte stayed right by her side, happily welcoming every new litter that came through the door. To him, each puppy was simply another tiny friend to care about.
Whether he was watching over the babies or trying to play with them, Monte proved that fatherly instincts don’t always depend on biology.
He may technically be a foster helper, but to those puppies, Monte wasn’t just a stepdad.
He was the dad who stepped up.