Unwanted by his mother and left alone to die, Jewel went 18 hours in the freezing cold without a drop of milk before he was saved by the power of love. He was found by an animal sanctuary in rural Bulgaria called “4-Legged Friends”, and taken in to be saved even though it didn’t look like he would make it.

A dog called Mirka immediately adopted Jewel as her own. Within 3 hours of getting love from Mirka, Jewel miraculously stood up and completely recovered. This animal sanctuary has rescued and given a home to many other animals, most of whom were severely abused and neglected. All of them became the best of friends and are teaching the visiting children how to be compassionate, caring and tolerant of those who are different from them.

The sanctuary depends entirely on donations and currently their financial situation is very grim. The extreme cold and wet weather in Bulgaria is making it very hard to keep the animals dry and fed. Vera and her husband Viktor are working unselfishly to keep the sanctuary and to keep the animals alive, however they can not do this without help.

More info: youcaring.com | Facebook

Jewel with one of his friends at the sanctuary

Jewel and Mirka staying warm in front of the heater

Even after helping Jewel to recover, Mirka is still very protective and doesn’t leave his side

Jewel quickly started making other friends too. Winning the cat’s affections was tricky, though

But eventually even the cat couldn’t resist his love and charm

There are also some other unusual friendships between previously-abused animals

Such as Mirko the donkey and his piggy friend!

Or the chickens and the pig, keeping one another warm

They teach visiting children compassion, tolerance and love

Lily was rescued mere hours before being slaughtered. Now she brings joy to so many children

Jewel, Petko, Coco and Mirko all living in harmony and enjoying the sun

Borko the donkey offers his services as a taxi to the chickens of the sanctuary

Vera and Viktor work very hard to ensure that the animals are protected, safe and warm

Medication and supplies are expensive though and the sanctuary survives solely on donations

Due to the extreme weather in Bulgaria, the sanctuary is more desperate than ever for donations

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