Dog mom with 9 Newfoundlands gets huge online following and even has her own meme
Someone took a photo from Mackenzie Makatche’s Instagram account and turned it into a meme – luckily, it was a wholesome one.
Makatche and her mom Diedre both loved the giant, bear-like Newfoundlands and started adopting them years ago.
In fact, it was Dierdre who hoped to start a therapy organization in which the dogs would visit hospital patients.
Alas, the first patient the Newfoundlands would end up comforting was Diedre herself, after she was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in 2016.
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As a way to chronicle the family’s adventures with the pups and share the struggles of Diedre’s diagnosis, Makatche started an Instagram account for her “Newf Crew.”
These days the crew has over 57.8k followers and she’s posted over 3000 photos!
“I was like, here’s this audience, I might as well see if anybody’s willing to send some prayers up for her. … It meant a lot to my mom that people cared,” Makatche told the Philadelphia Inquirer last year.
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Sadly, Diedre passed away in April of 2019. But her daughter and caregiver was by her side.
When the Instagram following reached 50,000 fans in October of 2019, Makatche thanked everyone for allowing her to share her journey as a daughter and dog-wrangler:
“Thanks to you I’ve found not only a place to collect the hoards of dog photos I take but a much-needed and unexpected outlet for my overwhelming thoughts surrounding the loss and grieving process of the most important person in my life, my mom.”
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The “Crew” now consists of 9 giant (as if there were any other kind) Newfoundlands!
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Their names are Coeli, Duncan, Belle, Oliver, Aisling, Storm, Skyy, Murphy, and Guinness.
Makatche breeds her dogs and she is using social media to be transparent about the process.
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The puppies are trained to be therapy dogs and the eventual goal is to fulfill her mother’s dream of starting a nonprofit Newfoundland therapy group.
And the iconic photo that became a meme is still something Makatche celebrates as she raises her furry family.
Despite all the care, money, and attention she’s put into raising 9 dogs, she insists that they’re the ones who carried her through her grief.
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These days, the furry family is endorsing various products on Instagram as pup-influencers, and trying to maintain social distance despite being social media superstars.
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You can follow their adventures online at @thenewfcrew on Instagram.
To hear more about Mackenzie Makatche’s journey from caregiver/ daughter to dog mom, be sure to scroll down to the video below.
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