Meet the foster dog who is feline fatherly

Abandoned kittens fostered by a Midland couple have brought out a caring instinct – in their pet dog.

While cats and dogs are usually seen as natural enemies, four-year-old Jack Russell 'D-fer' – short for 'D for Dog' – has become a father figure to the four-week-old kittens, even cleaning them and tending to them when they cry.

The three kittens were found in a box abandoned in a Walsall park and were taken in by animal-loving couple Christine and Craig Ismay, of Fourth Avenue, Brownhills.

Mother-of-three Mrs Ismay, aged 34, said the white and tan coloured canine was even letting the two female black and white kittens and black male kitten suckle him.