What a great story PF.
+10This was in my e-mail this morning:
In 2003, police in Warwickshire , England, opened a garden shed and found a whimpering, cowering dog. The dog had been locked in the shed and abandoned. It was dirty and malnourished, and had quite clearly been abused.
In an act of kindness, the police took the dog, which was a female greyhound, to the Nuneaton Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary, which is run by a man named Geoff Grewcock, and known as a haven for animals abandoned, orphaned, or otherwise in need.
Geoff and the other sanctuary staff went to work with two aims: to restore the dog to full health, and to win her trust. It took several weeks, but eventually both goals were achieved. They named her Jasmine, and they started to think about finding her an adoptive home.
Jasmine, however, had other ideas. No one quite remembers how it came about, but Jasmine started welcoming all animal arrivals at the sanctuary. It would not matter if it were a puppy, a fox cub, a rabbit or, any other lost or hurting animal. Jasmine would just peer into the box or cage and, when and where possible, deliver a welcoming lick.
Geoff relates one of the early incidents. "We had two puppies that had been abandoned by a nearby railway line. One was a Lakeland Terrier cross and another was a Jack Russell Doberman cross. They were tiny when they arrived at the center, and Jasmine approached them and grabbed one by the scruff of the neck in her mouth and put him on the settee. Then she fetched the other one and sat down with them, cuddling them."
"But she is like that with all of our animals, even the rabbits. She takes all the stress out of them, and it helps them to not only feel close to her, but to settle into their new surroundings. She has done the same with the fox and badger cubs, she licks the rabbits and guinea pigs, and even lets the birds perch on the bridge of her nose."
Jasmine, the timid, abused, deserted waif, became the animal sanctuary's resident surrogate mother, a role for which she might have been born. The list of orphaned and abandoned youngsters she has cared for comprises five fox cubs, four badger cubs, fifteen chicks, eight guinea pigs, two stray puppies and fifteen rabbits - and one roe deer fawn. Tiny Bramble, eleven weeks old, was found semi-conscious in a field. Upon arrival at the sanctuary, Jasmine cuddled up to her to keep her warm, and then went into the full foster-mum role. Jasmine the greyhound showers Bramble the roe deer with affection, and makes sure nothing is matted.
"They are inseparable," says Geoff. "Bramble walks between her legs, and they keep kissing each other. They walk together round the sanctuary. It's a real treat to see them."
Jasmine will continue to care for Bramble until she is old enough to be returned to woodland life. When that happens, Jasmine will not be lonely. She will be too busy showering love and affection on the next orphan or victim of abuse.
Pictured from the left are: "Toby," a stray Lakeland dog; "Bramble," orphaned roe deer; "Buster," a stray Jack Russell; a dumped rabbit; "Sky," an injured barn owl; and "Jasmine," with a mother's heart doing best what a caring mother would do...
Please pass this along, and maybe make someone else's day just a little brighter!
There are a number of rescue orgs throughout the US and Canada that get the retired dogs (I think they are usually 3-5 years of age) from the tracks in FL and other states that have dog racing. Rehabilitated/rescued greyhounds have made a very important contribution to canine health, thanks also to Dr. Jean Dodds (founder of Hemopet--link below).Nice story and pics PF. Our neighborhood has quite a few greyhound rescues/ retired racing dogs. Can't figure where they all come from because the closest dog-track has been closed for serveral years. There is a local greyhound specialty rescue org so they may have them brought in from various places. There's one that's 3 legged and gets around the n'hood pretty good too.
+1. Everytime I see one, I stop, let them smell me and then I pat them. I realize I am interuppting the joggers pace, but I don't care. I can't help myself. I also make it a point to ask if the dog is a rescue. The answer is alway yes. I make it a point to thank the owner.
Not too far from where I live was the Wonderland Dog Track for Greyhound Racing. Our citizens voted to end greyhound racing in the State. As a result, hundreds of folks were put out of work and a very large number of dogs no longer had a home. A lot of the dogs lived at the track. When it came the day to close the track, the owners had to make a choice. Find a home for the dogs or put them down. A lot of the dogs found a home right here in Eastie. They make great running companions for those into jogging. They are such gentle loving animals. Everytime I see one, I stop, let them smell me and then I pat them. I realize I am interuppting the joggers pace, but I don't care. I can't help myself. I also make it a point to ask if the dog is a rescue. The answer is alway yes. I make it a point to thank the owner.
+1
Adopting a rescued animal--whether it be a dog, chicken (yes, there are rescue orgs for battery farm chickens), cat, parrot, horse, goat, sheep, etc. is a wonderful act of showing one's humanity.
+1 I've only had one dog that came to me as a puppy--he was a "thank you gift" that his mother gave me (she was in whelped and whelped puppies 3 weeks after I picked her up). He wasn't planned, but man, did I love that boy for the 13+ years he shared my life. From the moment I breathed life into him until he died in my arms. Miss him still.For as long as I can remember, all my pets are/have been rescues.
Our sweet, nutty boxer, Harley, came to us nearly two years ago from our local shelter and all of my kitties over the last 20 years have been strays or offspring of our strays. I couldn't love them more.
Well, if she is super fast, she will probably escape your roommate. No one (except cats) is allowed to kill spiders at my house. Spiders in Quebec don't bite people, but they do eat things I don't like.I actually come to think of the spiders in my house as pets. Yes I am a little nutty lol. There is a big one in the kitchen that I haven't seen before.
View attachment 15650
Must have moved in after room mate's fiancé killed the one that hung out by the garbage can. See? Kill one, and another one twice it's size will take its place. Wish I could catch him and bring him to our new house so she doesn't get him... He's super fast tho.
Addie said:We have these small Brown Spiders. They don't look dangerous. Bite an adult, they can make an adult very sick. Bite a child, the child will most likely die. What really makes them so dangerous is that they don't need to be provoked to bite.
When I lived in Tacoma, my in-laws paid me $10 each to go to their homes and clean out spider webs or kill the spiders. The whole family was terrified of them. Even the men. I would have done it for nothing, but they insisted. I am not afraid of them, I just know how dangerous some of them can be. They may be one of God's creatures, but they can have the bite of the Devil.