Jasmine the Abandoned Greyhound

In police in Warwickshire, England, opened a garden shed and found a whimpering, cowering dog which had been locked in the shed and abandoned. The dog was dirty, malnourished, and clearly been abused.

The police took the Greyhound female, to the nearby Nuneaton Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary, a haven for abandoned, orphaned animals.

The sanctuary staff went to work to restore the dog to health. They named her Jasmine, and they started to think about finding a home for her. But Jasmine had other ideas. No-one remembers now how it began, but she started welcoming all arrivals at the sanctuary. A puppy, a fox cub, a rabbit or, any other lost or hurting animal, Jasmine would peer into the box or cage and, where possible, deliver a welcoming lick.

Here is Jasmine


Geoff (the owner of the sanctuary) relates one incident. "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."

Here she is with a fox


"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 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 sanctuary's resident surrogate mother, a role for which she might have been born. She has cared for five fox cubs, four badger cubs, 15 chicks, eight guinea pigs, two stray puppies and 15 rabbits.

And one roe deer fawn. Tiny Bramble, 11 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."



Here she is in a "family portrait". From left, Toby, a stray Lakeland dog; Bramble, orphaned Roe deer; Buster, a stray Jack Russell; a dumped rabbit; Sky, an injured barn owl; and Jasmine.



Please visit the sanctuary's site at http://www.warwickshirewildlifesanctuary.co.uk/index.htm