The Family That Rescues Together Stays Together

Think back to your childhood pet memories. Were animals always a part of your life or did you get into the furmily idea later on?  The reason I ask is because today I have a multi-generation rescue story and it is as fascinating as it is heartwarming.  The story begins with Rosco. 

We have shared him here on the blog many many times, because he is such a perfect example of how amazing a rescue dog can be and how much it can change someone's life. Rosco lives with Katie and Matt, a little kitty named Moose, and will soon be joined by a baby human brother. 

Both Katie and her mother, Claraann, are regular blog readers and what Wiley and I like to call FOTB, Friends of the Blog.

  This is Claraann in her younger days, soothing a baby deer.

 

And this is Claraann in her even younger days, and King.

   


While they are in this story, it actually begins with Claraann's mom and dad. 

 You see, as far back as Claraann can remember, her parents were caring for both domestic and wild animals. They rescued three deer at various points in time whose mothers had been killed on nearby roads.  

Two of the deer were released on non-hunting state game lands, but Bambi was actually raised along with Claraann.  Her older sister said she always had to double-check to make sure she wasn't mixing Bambi's and Claraann's bottles between them. 

Her parents actually had Bambi wear a red sweater so people would know he was tame.

 

Her mom rescued this crow when he had a broken wing and she nursed it back to health. He stuck around and Claraann says there are family members of hers who claim the crow could even say hello. 

 The other bird is probably a pigeon, Claraann says, but they also had parakeets through the years.

The large farm they lived on had rescued dogs and baby rabbits and even a pony. 

I'm going to be honest readers, this sounds like everything I wanted most as a child growing up.

So how does all this fit in with Rosco?  Well sadly Claraann's father's health deteriorated to the point where he had to go to a nursing home back in January. At that point her mother, now 81 and alone in the house, began to feel very lonely and uncomfortable by herself. As time went by, and her husband passed away in March, Katie would visit her with Rosco. It was then Katie suggested a dog might be helpful.

Like all responsible pet owners, Katie contacted Hillside SPCA, the same shelter where Rosco (and Wiley) had come from, and described exactly what she needed.

 

 Grammy couldn't handle a hyper yip-yipper or a big wild guy or a high-maintenance dog like Wiley.

 

Luckily, Katie got a lot of help from Alex and Sarah, two young women who were there, and Grammy was able to be matched up with Brady!  

Brady now follows her everywhere. If she moves too far away from her in the yard he sits and cries until she comes back. Friends and neighbors come to see Brady and take him for a walk because they love him so much, and that means Grammy is getting even more company now too! 

 

Look at Brady and Rosco having fun together!

 Grammy and Brady won the rescue lottery right now. Look at Brady: from a shelter to heaven on earth.

Those of us who feel called on to open our homes and hearts to all of God's creatures do it because it's the right thing to do, and when we do the right thing we feel pretty good about ourselves.  But there is so much more to it than that, and it is so fitting that Grammy has an animal's love to help her through her loneliness and give her the quality of life she deserves.  Good luck Grammy and Brady, and thanks so much to Claraann for sharing this wonderful story about the legacy of kindness established by your parents.

Readers, all rescue stories belong on this blog so please share yours, or your parents', or your grandparents'. We want to hear them. Email me at pabibliophile@gmail.com.

Follow us on social media:    
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rescuedogblog
Twitter: @RescueDogBlog
  Instagram: @rescuedogblog