All kinds of tragedies can befall us in this cruel world. One of the most painful is definitely the loss of a loved one.
Then, our whole world collapses and the further path of life seems so difficult. However, a glimmer of light often appears in that darkness in the form of unconditional friendship that can heal even the most serious wounds.
Today’s story testifies to a friendly love that is so strong that it is able to restore life.
Devastating Loss
Karla Swindle never hid her great love for animals. This led her at one point in her life to start S & K Quarter Horses in Fayette, Alabama, where she would care for horses and other animals.
Over the years, she has heard numerous stories of happy and sad animals she has worked with. But there was one that was indelible in her heart.
One day in March, a 22-year-old mare gave birth to a foal. If only seven days later the mare had not become seriously ill and quickly died, it would have been just another beautiful story about the love of mother and child.
Given that the foal was shattered by this loss and had no one to rely on at such a young age, everything smelled like a catastrophe.
But the support and affection he sorely needed arrived from an extremely surprising source.
An Unexpected Shoulder To Cry On
Source: YouTube
Just after the mother died, Swindle made sure to spend a period of time with the foal in the barn to give her all the support she needed to overcome this crisis.
Unexpectedly, her dog, Zip, appeared with her that night. To her pleasant surprise, Zip didn’t want to leave. Instead, he wanted to stay and sleep with Tye, as they later called the foal.
“He was whining,” Swindle said. “You could tell that Zip knew something was wrong that night.”
Zip definitely felt that Tye was grieving the loss of his mom, so he wanted to do everything he could to comfort him and make it easier for him.
When Karla saw this, she was so moved that she started to cry herself, so crying and whining were the only sounds that night in the barn. It was a unique composition of tears of joy and tears of mourning.
But, not everything stopped that evening full of emotions. On the contrary, for the next six weeks, Zip wouldn’t let Tye out of his sight, and that was even more amazing.
“Every time I would take off to the barn, Zip would run to the stall, and stand in front of the stall and wait for me to get there,” Swindle said. “He would beat me to the barn every time.”
And, truly, when Zip was around, Tye was relaxed and happy. Zip was a balm for his wounded heart.
Growing Into A Beautiful, Healthy Horse
Tye overcome all the hardships he had experienced in his early years, put on weight, and developed into a stunning, robust horse after a few months.
Naturally, Zip, his adopted father, who bears the primary responsibility for Tye’s success, observed all of this with pride.
Naturally, their paths parted a little bit as Tye now spends much of his time training his elder sister to act more like a genuine horse.
Source YouTube
However, Zip understood this very well and was happy at the very fact that his favorite foal was on the right track.
Although they didn’t spend as much time together, both of them still had a big part of their hearts beating for each other.
Word quickly spread in Fayette about this touching story of friendship, but it didn’t stop there. After Karla posted a video of these two on her Facebook Profile, she quickly melted thousands of hearts across the U.S. and around the world.
This dog and horse, regardless of their differences, showed the whole world the power of true love and friendship.