See how six families managed to reunite this litter of rescue pups years later

After Teresa Cherpeta's family adopted a rescue dog in the summer of 2017, her teenage daughter discovered on Instagram that another puppy in the Calgary area had the same birthday. 

The family got an idea: Wouldn't it be interesting to reunite their dog, Beaux, with all five of his surviving siblings? 

"I never thought in my wildest dreams that we'd actually find them," Cherpeta said. 

Locating the five siblings took years, but it resulted in forming a community of dog owners that supports each other with dog sitting, play dates and information on health concerns. One of the dogs was recently diagnosed with cancer. 

An Instagram search 

Cherpeta reached out on social media to the owner of the pup her daughter saw on Instagram, and the first connection to one of Beaux's siblings was made in August of 2017.

Her name was Phoebe, and she also was adopted from Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS). The organization doesn't release information on who adopts dogs, but it does display an animal's birthday.

In just days, Beaux and Phoebe were in puppy training together. The two needed to be separated because they couldn't stop playing with each other. 

The next connection was made months later, in October 2017, when Lauren Potocki and her dog, Jamieson, came into the fold. 

The three dogs and their owners met at Calgary dog park. 

"When we get the dogs together, you get this immediate sense of connection," Potocki said. 

The fourth connection came several months later, in the summer of 2020, when the owners of Radley, who live in Edmonton, discovered the sibling group on Instagram. 

Radley's Instagram account posted a message to one of the dog's pages, saying: "I think I'm your brother." 

A mysterious letter 

The group had been searching for the remaining two siblings by filtering searches of Instagram hashtags related to AARCS, the organization through which all six of the dogs were adopted. 

Cherpeta also posted on the platform, telling Beaux's Instagram followers that they knew there were two more puppies out there. 

Then, in September of 2020, an anonymous letter appeared in Cherpeta's mailbox. She opened it, and it contained the contact information of the two other owners. 

"I was jumping around, I was super excited," she said. 

The letter had no return address, Cherpeta added, noting she didn't contact AARCS, as the organization doesn't release information on where a dog's litter-mates end up. 

Almost immediately, Cherpeta reached out to the people in the letter, and explained how it was she got their information. 

It turned out that the owners of the last two dogs, Auggie and Ozzie, had already found each other independently. As it happened, their kids were in the same daycare.

On Oct. 17, 2020, all six of the dog siblings were reunited for the first time. 

"When the dogs see each other, there's this immediate familiarity," Potocki said.  

"For me as a dog owner … it's been invaluable, being able to create a sense of community not just for us as owners but for the dogs."

The owners and their dogs meet up a couple times a year in Calgary, with Radley's family making the drive from Edmonton. The meet-ups generally happen at River Park Off Leash Dog Park or at Southland Dog Park.

Pack mentality 

The families keep in touch and share photos via an Instagram group chat. They also help each other out with dogsitting. 

Recently, health concerns have been a topic of discussion, as Jamieson was diagnosed with lymphoma late last year. 

"We just immediately reached out to the other owners to share what we were going through," Potocki said.

Other dogs in the group have also had serious health concerns. Phoebe had cancer cells removed from her neck, and Radley had a total hip replacement for a severe hip dysplasia. 

"It's nice to be able to share the information to know that these are what the dogs are going through," Cherpeta said. "It's also nice to be the support for the families and the dogs, knowing that we will help them in anyway we can."

For Cherpeta and her family, bringing together all the dogs in Beaux's litter has been nothing short of life-changing. 

"I will reschedule my life to make sure I go to these sessions," she said.

That six families have the interest and willingness to connect again and again over their adopted dogs strikes Potocki as something rare, to be cherished. 

"We're really happy that we have this in our lives," she said.