Blair Braverman is a journalist, author, and a dogsledder who lives in northern Wisconsin. She and her husband, Quince Mountain, live with 21(!) Alaskan huskies on a farm.
One of her pups, four-year-old Flame, is "obsessed with cuddles and attention," Braverman told BuzzFeed News. Flame races on Braverman's team along with her dad and siblings.
The couple also raises chickens, and so Braverman said they needed to teach their dogs, like Flame, how to interact safely with the chicks on the farm.
So, Braverman and her husband began to "chicken train" Flame to ensure she could peacefully co-exist with her feathered family members. Braverman documented the whole training on Twitter.
At first, Flame wasn't a huge fan of the whole thing.
.@QuinceMountain started the training with just two chicks on her bed. We supervised sternly. She quivered and droo… https://t.co/4XFWD6KMva
"After a minute or two, we whisked the chicks away and rewarded her with a delicious ham sandwich," Braverman wrote.
They began to bring the chicks over more and more, and Flame eventually stopped drooling when she saw them.
"Pretty soon she'd thump her tail when she heard those peep-peep-peeps coming closer," Braverman said.
Eventually, Flame let the chicks, cautiously, on her back.
The chicks loved her. They often jumped on her back and settled in to soak up her warmth, which concerned her, but… https://t.co/USVRwrigTE
Then, Flame started licking the chicks. Braverman would take them away, but she wouldn't stop.
"She kept doing it. A chick would hop up to her, she'd put her nose next to it, and super-quick she'd slip out her tongue for a lick," Braverman said.
As Flame became more and more interested in the chicks, Braverman said they realized Flame had claimed them as her babies. She wanted to be a chicken mama, because she had never had puppies of her own. 💔
Flame is spayed. But her whole life, she's been obsessed with puppies. She practically raised the minis after Jenga… https://t.co/ZRaUcMOeJY
"All that licking the chicks, and snout-butting them? She was grooming and teaching them. Trying to teach them to be baby huskies," she said.
Braverman said Flame "can't get enough of them."
"She's SO HAPPY when she hears them coming, and immediately inspects them to make sure they're ok," she wrote. "She's trying to teach them to play, but they don't quite get it. So for now she just licks and nuzzles and thumps her tail like crazy."
OMG ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
The best mama EVER.
People on Twitter totally fell in love with Flame and her new gaggle of chickies.
@BlairBraverman I am dying. DEAD.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
They said it was "adorable."
@BlairBraverman This is adorable! Thank you for sharing!
It really made people's days!
@BlairBraverman I ❤ Flame, the 11 chicks and you for doing & sharing this. It made my day.
"It's things like this why I have a Twitter account," one person said.
@BlairBraverman It's things like this why I have a twitter account.
Braverman said having the chicks has been great for Flame.
"She can be a bit of a loner with the other dogs, so maybe now she's found her tribe," she said.
She said she is glad that her story has warmed so many people's hearts.
"It makes me happy to see people getting to know and love the dogs individually and learning more about the sport," she said.