Usually it is the humans who do the adopting from animal rescues, but this time a dog is stepping up to the task, for a litter orphaned by the Oklahoma tornadoes.

JoAnn Palko, president and founder of Second Chance 4 Pets Network, said a volunteer with her group posted information on her Facebook page about a stray 2-year-old Rottweiler mix at a South Bend animal shelter that was ready to give birth and scheduled to be euthanized.

"One of our volunteers said she'd take her," Palko said.

When volunteers from Guardians for the Green Mile — a group dedicated to transporting dogs slated for euthanasia to rescues in Northern Indiana — went to pick up the dog, she was already in labor.