Elephants Shirley and Jenny Reunited After 20 Years. Keep your tissues handy...

[1monster]

[zeemike]

1. That was a tear jerker.

And it looks like they did not want to be apart for even a second...but now a happy ending.

[Voice for Peace]

2. I must have seen this already ten times and it never fails to make me weep

[Laffy Kat]

3. OMG. That was one of the most beautiful and bittersweet things I've ever seen.

[calimary]

12. No kidding. Welcome to DU, Laffy Kat!

Glad you're here. So touching! Beautiful. Life-affirming. Redemptive. I wish we humans would help - or just get out of the way.

[Laffy Kat]

13. Thanks, calimary! I've actually been lurking around here for years.

[IrishAyes]

4. What big beautiful hearts.

[roguevalley]

38. when I die I want to be on the other side to welcome the souls of animals.

I want to take care of them. This was so sad. They have society and family. I HATE CIRCUSES! I always have.

[IrishAyes]

39. You might've found your true life's calling already. That's a beautiful ambition,

one you may well realize.

[roguevalley]

44. i hope so.

[Uncle Joe]

5. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, 1monster.

[12ZTR]

6. Maybe happy endings,

For all animals,after man is gone from the Near Term Human Extinction we are bringing on ourselves.

[calimary]

15. Welcome to DU, 12ZTR!

Good to have you with us! Funny - you're saying that. I find myself thinking that same thing. Remember that show that I think was on the History Channel or Nat GEO some such thing - something like "After Man" or some such. And it hypothesized about how the planet would fare if humans were wiped off the face of it. It saddened me to realize that deep down inside, I watched that show and thought about the many different reasons that might be a good thing. Sometimes it just makes me cringe to think what we and our reckless, shortsighted, cavalier attitudes are doing to this planet.

[IrishAyes]

40. Kurt Vonnegut (I think) suggested Mother Earth sees humanity as an infection of which

Last edited Sun Nov 17, 2013, 09:16 AM - Edit history (1)

she must ultimately rid herself or die. Shameful, but that's how too many of us behave - as infections rather than good stewards.
............................................................................

Awoke this morning crying to myself, "No, no! It was HEINLEIN who said that!"

[calimary]

48. Sad. And true. I still reference Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land."

I've discussed "grokking" with so many people by now. One of the best verb concepts ever!

And I'm not surprised by that quote. I'm shamed by it. I feel like, as a human, I'm compelled to take ownership of it. And it just makes me agonize about how the faith I was born into (Catholicism) has bred this utter horror - of the whole Crapture thing (well, that's what I call it, 'cause it's complete CRAP) and the religious freakazoids (who seem to be multiplying rather distressingly) think that the more we befoul the Earth, the sooner JEEEEEEEZUSS will come back and fix everything. Like He's some sort of heavenly Maytag repair man or something.

[IrishAyes]

49. Well, I've heard Jesus called worse, but the fundies do believe the more they pillage, the better

pleased God will be with them. It's somewhat like a murderous paramour saying "I love you so much I'm going to kill you." Totally insane - and evil. They will pay. I just hate to see the innocent swept into their maelstrom because when it all collapses, nobody will be safe.

And this business of Dubya trying to convert Jews; talk about carrying coal to Newcastle.

[calimary]

50. Yeah, no kidding, IrishAyes! Just ICK-making.

But then again, ANYTHING involving that dumb-ass unindicted war-criminal is ICK-making.

[brer cat]

7. That requires a big hankie.

But I'm so glad I looked.

[sakabatou]

8. All my feels!

[yuiyoshida]

10. totemo sugoii ne..

ii kimochi desune!

[ffr]

11. Thanks for sharing that. Wonderful to witness.

[Kingofalldems]

14. Made this old timer cry...

[applegrove]

16. I've seen it before. Love it.

[Casandia]

17. Here's a link to the sanctuary in Tennessee

[link:http://www.elephants.com/aboutSanctuary.php|

[Auntie Bush]

47. Thanks. Nice to know so many people actually care/love the elephants and are doing

something to really help them.

[dgauss]

18. What goes on in the mind and emotions of an elephant is more than we'll ever know.

But I know that was a good thing.

[benld74]

19. Humans are the most dangerous animals on the planet

[cui bono]

20. Aw...

so nice to see her lounging around in the water at the end. So relaxed.

[sarge43]

21. "She won't have to wear that chain no more"

[freshwest]

22. Box of hankies. No more chains. Thanks for posting it.

[MoreGOPoop]

23. Beautiful!

Solomon's tears got me.

[Ferretherder]

24. Shirley came from our zoo, here in Monroe, LA.

It is so wonderful to know that she will live out her days in the company of her best friend and companion! Sometimes life offers us some beautiful things to help us cope with the almost constant heartless greed and indifference we see all around us, these days.

...definitely made me cry.

[red dog 1]

25. K&R...Thanks for posting.

Shirley and Jenny are lucky they don't live in Africa, where the illegal ivory trade continues, and where these beautiful, gentle giants are slaughtered for their tusks.

[1monster]

33. !

[Historic NY]

35. sniff, the noble elephants....

they have more compassion and empathy then the party thats uses them as a symbol.

[ailsagirl]

27. Home at last

Free at last

Tears falling

[JNelson6563]

28. That gentleman's love for Shirley

is one of the most beautiful things I have seen in a while. Absolutely loved this, hadn't seen it before. *sniff*

Julie

[secondvariety]

29. Jenny died way too young.

She had ten wonderful years at the Sanctuary after a lifetime of mistreatment.

[FLyellowdog]

34. More info on Jenny here.

http://www.elephants.com/jenny/jennyBio.php

[Flaxbee]

30. thank you so much for posting this. beautiful.

I wish I could visit the Sanctuary...

[mike dub]

32. Thanks for this, 1monster. Beautiful!!

I've been to this sanctuary. The sound of elephants' trumpeting, echoing up the ridges and down the holler, is Joyous. The elephants are truly free, here.

[kaiden]

36. Bawled like a baby, I did.

[tavalon]

37. I made it to the last minute

Wow, that is beautiful and what happened to them both is so wrong.

[Elfin Yeti]

41. Here is part one

Thanks for posting this! I'd seen it a few years ago and contacted Carol Buckley at the sanctuary because I thought it was the Shirley I knew a long time ago. I used to take photographs at an equine hospital in Illinois and a circus elephant named Shirley came in with a broken leg (right rear). I photographed the surgery and lost track of her so never knew the outcome. Carol and I did some research and found they were different Shirleys and "mine" did not survive more than a few months after her surgery. The hospital personnel went to great lengths to help her but in the end the injury was too severe. Makes this even more painful to watch but this is a great story. Thanks again 1monster!

[840high]

42. Thank you.

[SunSeeker]

43. ...

[gopiscrap]

45. that's really cool

[JimboBillyBubbaBob]

46. Thanks for that.

I have to go clean up mountains of leaves now. I will be thinking of that scene the whole time. Wow!!

[myrna minx]

51. *Sobbing.*