A serendipitous find!
Yesterday, I published a post under the title of Forecasting Wonderful ‘Blu’ Days!
There was an exchange of thoughts between me and Susan Leighton, who is the author of the blog Woman On the Ledge:
(In part:)
Susan: Dogs can be such a comfort when life becomes overwhelming.
Me: For nobody can escape those moments when life becomes overwhelming. A loving partner is precious beyond words at those times, but there’s still something comforting beyond that love when it comes to our dogs.
Susan: Very true, Paul. A dog has saved me many times!
Later on yesterday, when I was looking for something for today’s post, I came across this video:
Published on Jan 5, 2015
Hantu the White German Shepherd Plays Surrogate Mum to Poncho the Opossum at the Rare Species Fund, South Carolina, USA.
Poncho the opossum was found clinging to his mother’s back after she had been hit by an oncoming vehicle, a common hazard for nocturnal animals. Under veterinary supervision, Poncho was brought to the Rare Species Fund in South Carolina where he has nursed to health. Opossums are the only New World marsupials and, in the wild, spend the first several months of their lives clinging to their mother’s backs. Having had no puppies of her own, Hantu seems a more than willing foster mum and mode of transportation for Poncho. Robert Johnson of the Rare Species Fund says, “They are both playing important roles in each other’s lives. When Hantu goes for her daily walks through the woods, she won’t leave the house until Poncho is securely mounted on her back.”
http://www.RareSpeciesFund.com
http://www.MyrtleBeachSafari.com
Just thought that was a lovely reminder of the unconditional love offered by our dogs; for humans and for other creatures!
Learning from Dogs 
I have seen other stories like this where dogs have acted as surrogates to other species. If only humans could be tolerant of differences, what a wonderful world this would be! Dogs are marvelous teachers. Inspiring story, Paul!
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Don’t mean to sound trite, but there truly is so much we can learn from our dogs! Susan, have a very peaceful weekend.
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You too, Paul!
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There was a serious scare at the O’Hare airport in Chicago yesterday: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Possible-Plane-Crash-Reported-at-OHare-Airport-399071991.html
When interviewed about the rescue operation, the fire chief said something along the lines of “…all 60 people and a dog were escorted safely off the tarmac.”
And I thought how that phrase, “and a dog,” instantly humanized the ordeal.
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That is a wonderful example of how close our dogs are seen in terms of our society. Neither everywhere nor all the time but still sufficiently frequent for our dogs to be seen as a ‘humanizing’ element. Thanks, Emma!
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A lovely post and endearing as well. Such a sweet dog. I’m glad that you posted this.
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Yes, such a sweet, loving dog. Don’t we love our dogs!
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I love hearing about beautiful stories like this Paul, it warms the heart.
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They are beautiful because they are so pure. Uncluttered instincts from one animal towards another. Endless examples of what we can learn from our dogs.
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I think these stories are always wonderful Paul I so love how often it is dogs adopt others species as their own .. Showing us they accept unconditionally their differences.. Love holds no barriers.. And a Big Awwwww to this post.. ❤
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Sue, as I have said many times before, and no doubt will continue saying, it’s the response from so many good people, such as yourself, that keeps me going. No, I should put it more strongly than that: That makes me love to do it every day of the year!
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And I so enjoy my sporadic catch ups here Paul.. 🙂 And I agree with you, it is the interaction with our fellow bloggers that makes blogging Sooo worth while.. 🙂 Thank YOU!
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Hugs!
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Love this article. Dogs love us no matter what. We are lucky to have them in our lives.
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Oh, that is so true. They are the most wonderful animals and we humans are so lucky to have them in our lives.
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Yes we are. Dogs help us so much, both physically and mentally. Plus their friendship just can’t be beat especially as they get older.
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I would expand on what you wrote by saying that especially as both us humans and our dogs get older. (Pharaoh is approaching 13 1/2 and I’m 72 next week!)
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That is a wonderful suggestion. It really personalizes it.
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😊
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