God's Kingdom

Yesterday, I sent around a YouTube video about a duck named Maria as my daily update of my blog. I received the following from one of my blog readers after that, and I thought it justified to share it for today's post. Its another great animal story. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Thanks Lauren!

"This story warmed my heart and hit very close to home! I rescued 5 Toulouse geese from suffering and starvation that were abandoned on the Erie Canal in Pittsford. I used to own a boutique in the village there and my shop's backyard was the canal. I started to care for them when I realized that they are not indigenous to the area and they needed food year round. I took care of them year round. When I closed my shoppe, I moved them to a sanctuary where they would be fed and sheltered year round.

There was a female that I named "Lucy" and her mate "Jim", after my parents. They were all sweet and acted as watch dogs whenever a customer pulled into the parking lot. Lucy had a leg that dangled and she couldn't walk on it. We think she fell through the ice in the canal and broke it. She limped in pain and also had a tumor or growth on her belly. I trapped her and took her to the vet. She had to have half of her foot amputated. The tumor was just a large fatty growth. For the entire month that she was gone, her mate called out every day, looking for her. He was so sad. The day I returned her to the canal, Lucy called out for her mate. He heard her call from across the canal and I heard a huge splash as he tried to get to the other side of the canal. Lucy hobbled as fast as she could to the waters edge and swam to him. You could hear "cooing" as they swam off together and they actually hugged each other with their necks. I had tears in my eyes, as I realized how these geese were more than just animals.

I think the geese were about 4-6 years old when I found them. I created huts for them out of large bales of hay and the next year for the first time, Lucy & Jim had a baby. They hadn't had proper nutrition or shelter to make a nest, so that was a big deal!

Thanks again for sharing the youtube link, it warmed my heart."