Heart-melting photos capture unusual friendships at Arkansas animal refuge


It looks like a scene from a Disney movie – puppies, tortoises, fawns and zebras living together in harmony – but at the Rocky Ridge Refuge it’s reality.

Happy together: Cheesecake the capybara kisses his puppy pals as he takes a dip at Rocky Ridge Rescue – an animal shelter in Midway, Arkansas where all the animals live together in harmony

The non-profit organization in Midway, Arkansas is home to as many as 60 animals at a time – and the wide range of species have grown into one big, loving family.

Helping each other through: Bazinga the miniature horse is comforted by Butterbean the bull terrier after undergoing surgery to correct her tendons

Owner Janice Wolf set up the shelter 20 years ago to help wildlife and pets in need of medical care, allowing them to heal and find new homes – although some have moved in permanently.

Party time: Some of the animals share a watermelon during 4th July celebrations

Among her long-term residents are Cheesecake the capybara, Crouton the African Sulcata tortoise, Barcode the zebra, Butterbean the bull terrier and Bazinga the miniature horse.

Their play pals are puppies, deer, lambs and most recently, Brad the Meishan piglet – and he’s fitting in pretty well so far.

‘Brad has a crate in the kitchen to sleep in and the dogs have taught him how to use the the dog door – so he soon became one of the pack,’ Wolf says.

Inquisitive: Crouton the African Sulcata tortoise allows a new litter of puppies to introduce themselves

‘Butterbean my bull terrier and ‘Chief Nanny’, sleeps with him and stays very close otherwise.’

She added that the puppies have also taken to the new addition.


‘When they met Brad, they decided he would be a fun playmate,’ she said. ‘They got him running through the house playing chase with them and the rest of us can only get out of the way because that pig has no traction on my tile floors!’

Wolf, who studied social work and counseling before working as a technician for a veterinarian, set up the shelter to rescue and raise wildlife and sick pets after long caring for animals.

Among her former residents, she has raised a one-eyed Llama, an orphaned Water Buffalo and a baby Nilgai Antelope with a fractured leg.

Most famously, she cared for Lurch the African watusi steer – who grew to be the Guinness World Record holder for largest horn circumference.

She launched a Facebook page three years ago and her adorable photos became so popular that every year she now sells Rocky Ridge Refuge calendars, which help raise funds.

‘I am a small, one woman operation and always have been,’ said Wolf, who is able to carry out many of the medical treatments on the animals herself.

‘I will continue rescuing as long as I am able and hope to train someone to take my position when I can no longer operate as needed.’

She hopes to continue raising funds through her website.

‘My mission has been to alleviate suffering more than anything,’ she said. ‘In a world with so much need, I know I can’t save all and know the reality is that many die every day.

‘It is sad, but living a life of misery, loneliness, neglect and abuse is far worse. Anything I can do to ease another’s way is my goal.’

Agencies

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