Dog Treating Her Toy as One of Her Newborn Puppies Wins Pet of the Week

This week we've heard how a litter of puppies were found dumped by a Texas roadside and laughed at a cat demanding his owner tumble-dry his bed.

As well as viral animal videos, we've been enjoying reader-submitted pets for our Newsweek Pet of the Week lineup.

If you have any funny or adorable videos or pictures of your pets, we'd love to feature them on Newsweek. Follow the details at the end of this article to find out how to get involved.

Winner

This week our top dog is Rylee, a 2-year-old cocker spaniel who lives in Massachusetts.

Rylee has recently given birth to her first litter of puppies. But in an adorable twist, the new mom seems to think she has one more.

"She thinks her ball is her other baby," owner Gail Mazzarelli told Newsweek. As well as looking after her newborn puppies, Rylee also put plenty of time into caring for a small red football.

"She had never showed any favoritism to that ball until she started her labor. Her favorite toy did not interest her just that silly football," said Mazzarelli.

In fact, the dog's new obsession with the ball meant that the object had to be hidden away.

"I finally had to hide it from her. She was nervous that my other adult dogs would take it so she kept hiding it in odd places," said Mazzarelli.

Now just over 3 weeks old, the puppies will go to their new homes: "Only then will I take that squeaky toy out of hiding," laughed the dog's owner.

Finalists

Our first finalist this week is Basil, the cavalier King Charles spaniel.

"[It's] pronounced the British way like 'baz-uhl,' because my British husband named him," owner Lindsay Malloy told Newsweek.

"We have had him a few months and I probably have no fewer than 3,847,682 photos of him," she said. "He loves snuggling and licking faces and chasing his own tail and occasionally barking at his own reflection in the fireplace."

Despite never really being a "dog person," Malloy said that she now cannot imagine life without Basil.

"He is definitely my third baby now," she said. "We love him to pieces and even got professional photos done of him."

The next finalist this week is black and white tuxedo cat Isabella.

The 12-year-old cat lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with owner Anu Moorthy.

"An old roommate found her walking around the apartment I used to live in many years ago," Moorthy told Newsweek. "She is my protective, loyal, loving, soft kind companion."

Her favorite things are love and attention, closely followed by being brushed and groomed.

Last but not least, our final Pet of the Week finalist is Blue Heeler and black Labrador mix Bella.

A rescue from Tennessee, she now lives in Minnesota with owner James Anderson. With adorable big ears, Anderson joked that Bella is "a mutt from a long line of mutts."

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.