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JASMINE THE GREYHOUND: FOSTER MOM OF THE WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

WARWICKSHIRE, UK -- Police in Warwickshire, England, opened a garden shed and found a whimpering, cowering dog. It had been locked in the shed and abandoned, was dirty and malnourished and had clearly been abused.

In an act of kindness, the police took the dog, a Greyhound female, to the nearby Nuneaton Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary, run by a man named Geoff Grewcock and known as a willing 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.

But Jasmine had other ideas.

Nobody remembers now how it began, but shortly after her rehabilitation in 2003, Jasmine started welcoming all animal arrivals at the sanctuary. It wouldn't matter if it were a puppy, a fox cub, a rabbit or any other lost or hurting animal, Jasmine would peer into the box or cage and, when possible, deliver a welcoming lick.

Grewcock says, "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."

She's like that with all of our animals, says Grewcock. "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 formerly 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 numerous fox cubs, badger cubs, chicks, guinea pigs, stray puppies and rabbits - plus one roe deer fawn. Tiny 11-weeek-old Bramble 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 mom role. She showered Bramble with affection and, with her long greyhound tongue, made sure none of Bramble's fur was matted. Jasmine continued to care for Bramble until she was old enough to be returned to woodland life.

When that happened, Jasmine was not lonely - she was too busy showering love and affection on the next arrival at Nuneaton Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary.


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