“Animals also have that sense of loss.”
An appropriately named three-legged golden retriever named Tricycle is a local celebrity who seems to have it all. He has good looks, lots of friends, and is adored by pretty much everyone that sets eyes on him!
It goes without saying that he’s used to being the center of attention. But, this adorable doggy probably wishes he wasn’t always in the spotlight, especially when one of his best friends crosses over the Rainbow Bridge.
Tricycle is a gorgeous, golden-furred blonde who calls the Horse Creek Stable Rescue Sanctuary in Mineral Bluff, Georgia, his home. When rescues like him arrive here, they are often battered, bruised, and pretty much tired of life.
But, they’re also the luckiest animals on the planet! That’s because Lester Aradi, a retired police chief who runs the sanctuary with his wife, Diane, make sure that they’re never let down by anyone ever again. He told PEOPLE:
“We are a foster home for many larger animal rescue groups who place animals with special needs in our care.”
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Life at the sanctuary can be a pretty amazing experience for these blessed animals.
Tricycle gets to frolic around with his buddies all day, and he doesn’t even care what species they are. The more different and “special” they are, the better!
This pup’s current posse of pals includes a beautiful array of animals like alpacas, donkeys, llamas, goats, horses, and other doggos.
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Tricycle’s adventures on the farm are so popular, he even has his own children’s book on Amazon.
It’s about “a group of rescued animal friends and their journey of serving as therapy animals for children with special needs.”
How cool is that?
“Heartbreaking scene when we found Tricycle sleeping on the grave of our recently buried alpaca Vixen.”
But there’s another side to Tricycle, too, and it’s not a happy-go-lucky one.
When Tricycle is plopped down on the ground near a pear sapling like this one, it’s not because he’s tired from playing all day.
He’s actually mourning the loss of one of his friends. In this case he’s crying over a sweet alpaca named Vixen, and is holding vigil right by her grave.
“He normally spends his day laying on the gravesite until he comes in at night.”
Sadly, this isn’t the first time that Tricycle has had to grieve over one of his pals. You could even say he’s an old hand at it.
“Like many of us, there is a sense of loss that we all need to work through.”
Tricycle’s heartbreaking routine started about four years ago when Lester and Diane buried Major, a St. Bernard/mastiff mix, on their property. The next day, the two spotted the retriever lying on top Major’s grave.
“It touched us so much that we posted pictures on Facebook.”
Lester and his wife take their role as caretakers very seriously. They’re very respectful towards their extended family, even after they’re gone.
“Every animal that has passed over the Rainbow Bridge has been buried on our farm so their spirits can live on where they spent the latter years of their lives.”
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Smaller animals like cats and dogs have their graves on a marked with a circle of stones. Larger animals, like Vixen, have a fruit tree planted on top of their grave.
It helps continue the circle of life in a beautifully profound way. When children visit the sanctuary, they can pick fruit like apples, pears, and cherries from those same trees, which in a way are infused with the spirit of these animals.
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Even though Tricycle’s method of mourning is breaking hearts everywhere, it’s also reminding us that compassion and love is something that isn’t unique to our human makeup.
Thankfully, Tricycle’s loss isn’t all doom and gloom. After his photo went viral, a rescue got in touch with Lester and Diane. Now this lucky guy has a new friend to play with, another three-legged golden retriever with lots of love to give, just like him!
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