Jill Duggar Defends Feeding Her Dog Breast Milk

Former Counting On star Jill Duggar Dillard defended her decision to feed the last of her breast milk to her dog. Jill, 30, shared a photo of her dog drinking the last of the milk on Instagram Saturday, surprising many who wondered if this was really healthy. Jill and her husband Derick Dillard are parents to two sons, Israel, 6, and Samuel, 3.

Jill revealed that she had one last bottle of breast milk sitting in her freezer for a couple of years, noting that she stopped breastfeeding Sam when he was around 2. “I know I know…it’s probably a freezer-burnt nutrition-less substance now,” she wrote. One day, Samuel asked her if he could try the bottle. She thawed it and let Samuel taste it. As she expected, he took two sips and did not like it. “Needless to say, now all 3 of my children have now had breast milk,” she jokingly wrote. “Anyone else feel sentimental about their ‘liquid gold’? Whoever coined the phrase, “no use crying over spilled milk” certainly never pumped!”

Sensing that some of her followers were just waiting to pounce, Jill wrote that her dog was fine and she would never have fed the milk to her dog if she thought the dog would get sick. “Also, before any of you jump on me for feeding it to the dog, she’s fine. She’s totally fine. I wouldn’t have given it to her if I thought it would make her sick,” Jill wrote. “So just chill mkay?!”

Many of Jill’s fans defended her too, noting how dogs often eat many other questionable things. “This! Dogs eat poo and who knows what else… I wouldn’t worry if someone gets on you for giving it to your dog! He’s your baby too,” one person wrote. “She’ll be the healthiest dog on the block now,” another commented. “It’s frozen milk,” another chimed in. “It’s not the worst thing the dog will ever eat (it would be a miracle if it was!)”

For those wondering, there is no benefit to dogs drinking breast milk, notes Wag Walking. According to the site, many dogs are lactose intolerant and will not be able to digest the nutrients. It is not fatal, but it could be dangerous for a puppy, causing potential “unpleasant gastrointestinal signs,” including diarrhea. “Typically, you won’t need to take your dog to the vet for drinking a bit of breast milk, but if your pup has an adverse reaction that doesn’t seem to go away, take your pup to the vet right away,” the site notes.

Jill and Dillard, 32, married in 2014 and left Counting On in 2017. Last year, the couple revealed they are no longer in close contact with Jill’s parents. The two previously told Us Weekly they are considering expanding their own family, but are “content” as a quartet. “We’re definitely open to wherever God leads us,” Jill told the magazine in February. “And we’ve also talked about adoption possibly in the future… Derick’s uncle was adopted.”