When Rosie the golden retriever arrived at Neuse River Golden Retriever Rescue, she was pregnant and had a big tummy. The volunteers there were relieved that this lovely golden retriever mix was rescued in time to get the help she needed.

Katie and John Black, two big-hearted-hearted doge lovers, took Rosie into their home before the big day.

Since they started fostering dogs, the couple has taken care of more than 20.

This time, they were expecting to meet the puppies in Rosie’s belly.

The couple anticipated a big litter since Rosie was so big. But they didn’t expect what would happen when it came time for Rosie to give birth. They’d never seen anything like it!

Rosie had four beautiful, healthy puppies, but they didn’t look at all like their mother.

“Not quite what we were expecting. Our foster dog and golden mix gave birth yesterday. To baby cows,” Katie wrote on Reddit.

It turned out that the golden retriever puppies weren’t as golden as you would have expected. They looked more like cows!

The puppies were white with black or brown spots.

Everyone who saw the puppies thought it was the strangest thing they’d ever seen. But Rosie and John didn’t skip a beat.

“She is one proud Mama,” Katie says.

Since the puppies looked like a herd of tiny cattle, Katie and John decided give the puppies classic “cow names,” including Daisy, Betsy, Clarabelle, and Moo.

And even if they don’t know who the dad is, Katie and John are sure he’s not a golden retriever.

For now, Katie and John are helping Rosie take care of her puppies. Then when the puppies are old enough, they’ll be put up for adoption along with their mom.

In the meantime, Katie and John are having a lot of fun with all the puppies.

The fact that a dog has puppies that look very different from them isn’t as unusual as you’d think. And in particular, mixed breeds often result in special combinations and colors.

“When it comes to non-pedigree dogs, mixed breeds and deliberate crossings of two breeds or the subsequent offspring of mixed crossings-like the Labradoodle and Cockapoo — there is a lot more scope for variance, to the point that the color or other manifestations of physical appearance can be quite variable within the same litter,” writes Pets4Homes.