Hi Everyone,
This beautiful story was sent to me via email. I didn’t write this story, but I thought it was so heart-warming that I would pass it along to the rest of you. I hope you like it as much as I do.
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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 centre, 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.
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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.
And, just in case you wondered, Snopes.com, ( found at: http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/jasmine.asp )
has verified the truth of this wonderful story and the reality of these photographs which accompany the story.
So you can pass this story on, and maybe make someone else’s day to be just a little brighter!
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I think the world needs more Jasmine’s!
Doesn’t she have just the most beautiful spirit?
We people have so much to learn …
I hope you enjoyed this story.
Warmly,
Kathy
Copyright © 2008-2014 Kathy Broady and Discussing Dissociation
“for a few seconds we felt like all was well with our world . . .”
Yes, exactly! My apartment is howlingly lonely without them bc I live entirely alone. I can’t afford to take care of kitties now, not enough money because I am disabled. Also because my place is such a mess that any new kitties would get lost in the stuff and possibly get hurt if I missed kitty-proofing anything.
I already knew that posting even here on this safe website feels dangerous because we think punishment is just around the corner. But we also have been realizing that it is just as dangerous because we mostly fall between the cracks. Sometimes not getting a response, or the response we need, is just as bad as getting punished. Once again, I am on the outside looking in. Sometimes being us is just not worth it.
Sorry MissyMing, don’t mind me. I guess today is not a good day at all. I’ll be better tomorrow. Promise.
fran (GWTTH)
No apologies necessary, fran (GWTTH)….We totally get the thinking “punishment is just around the corner”…..sometimes we can’t figure out if we did right or wrong in posting anything….we just know that being alone with all this is HARD….and we get the “panic” that hits if we are left “hanging” because there was no response……so many directions of onslaught…”We don’t exist; we are invisible; we are not heard again; we said something wrong and we don’t know what kind of trouble we are in; we said too much or just plain made stuff up and we don’t know what we are talking about; we just typed into thin air and there actually is NO ONE there; etc, etc….Yeah – we know the turmoil……But we keep doing it anyway……T keeps telling me “People get busy….!”…..Our “brain” knows that – we just have to keep working on the “panic” side of it all……We keep working on it……
If we did not give you the type of response you needed…we are so sorry……If we missed giving you any response – sorry again……Sometimes I get a bit behind coming here and then the list on the side has gotten longer and I missed something somebody said until I am reading other posts from people and come across it……Just my disorganized self……
We hope you had a better day today, fran…..believe me…we have been there more times than we can count…..
MissyMing
07/21/20
MissyMing,
You and I/we have such a gut reaction bc we are in such desperate need ourselves, a longing to just be able to receive and give that kind of deep open love, a longing to find–and recognize–a refuge and people who will never betray our trust. Even here, I am on the outside looking in. I am afraid anything good will be snatched away. Reaching out feels so dangerous. I fight the old wounds by risking these few words.
I wish I could forgive and love with a pure heart like Jasmine.
Take care {{{MissyMing}}} (virtual hugs if you want them)
7/17/20
Well said all around RainSinger…..Yup – there is so much “gut reaction” to so many things that I sometimes wonder where my “brain” went ….and reaching out does feel “dangerous” sometimes – but we keep trying….But it is weird that it is the confusion of what feels like “betrayal” that throws us so much….Is our perception of the situation all wrong?….We never seem to know for sure…..Wish we knew what it felt like to have “solid” ground under our feet….Thank you, RainSinger…..To be honest, we are not sure what to do with “hugs”….but your heart behind them is appreciated…….
MissyMing
07/17/20
And oh – RainSinger….We are sorry to hear about your kitties….We have lost ours, too – mostly old age…..We have young parts who especially miss them big time…..When they would be at the door waiting for us to come home – for a few seconds we felt like all was well with our world…..wish we knew how to always have that feeling……
MissyMing
07/17/20
I read this story and on the “surface” it sounds AWESOME…so WHY is there so much swirling of turmoil Inside…..some numb, some crying, some crying and “terrified” because they don’t know how to “trust” it, some angry, some wishing that happened to us, some wishing we could “be” like that but have no idea “how”…..it is hard when things that should be “simple” to look at cause so much turmoil and Inside conflict…..I love this story…so why has it “exhausted” me……go figure…..
MissyMing
07/17/20
Joey and Sammie-Sue, my two precious tuxedo kitties died a few months ago at the age of 19. Other humans have their own lives. Our kitties were faithful and gentle. They never did anything wrong, they just loved me. I owe them so much more than I could ever repay. I am so lonely i wish they were still here with me.
This is a Mother’s Day card. I hate the real deal. Good for you Jasmine! Do you adopt people’s?
This story is amazing and made us cry! What a beautiful spirit dogs have. I know cause we have our guide dog, Nitro, who helps us find our way everywhere! He’s our shining star.
Thank you for adressing the issues that you do. Fathers day consists of all 3 dad exaples that you put above and I am very happy it is over. Did you go to school to learn how to heal this kind of trauma?
You are very welcome. I am glad any time that this blog is helpful.
I went to school for lots of years, (I have my Masters in Social Work), but I can’t actually say that I learned these kinds of things from school itself. In fact, when I went to school, I was taught that there were only 200 people in the whole world with DID (then called MPD, multiple personality disorder). So… no, school did not teach me anything about working with dissociation!!
What I’ve learned about trauma, dissociation and delicate, complicated family dynamics primarily came from listening to trauma survivors, and spending hour after hour for 25+ years of time with the real experts in the field.
I wish you the best in your healing journey.
Kathy
I love this story! I find that while in therapy, I often get very self-focused. While that is understandably necessary during the healing process, its very important that there be a balance because for me, I turn inward and isolate. Its my favorite…but unhealthy place. So I’ve started to do outward things purposefully.
Nothing major, just small things like doing a little stretch when the muscles are sore. I’ll go somewhere where people are on purpose even when I don’t really want to…just for the stretch. Gotta be careful not to over-do and constantly check in to see that everyone’s ok. It helps me to stay grounded even when I want to fly away and do you know what else I found out? Its not all dangerous out there and much to my surprise, its not so scary either.
This is why animals are good and people suck. Because people are jerks and even animals know how to fucking be nice others. We
Need to rip peoples hearts out and
Replace them with dogs hearts. Dogs are kinder and more loyal and dont lie to you. Dogs dont go trampling on your heart when youre already down.