A love Story

A love Story

  

Humans  have so much to learn from animals...          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...and such is the  order of God's Creation....