Reese is inseparable from her best friend Morgan. The two senior rescuers eat, nap, and snuggle together as often as possible. But things changed for the bonded couple when Morgan, then 12, died of kidney disease, and Reese’s mourning took its toll.
Alina Hauptmann
“I made her special puppy cupcakes and then slept on the mattress on my living room floor for a while so she could sleep with me,” Reese’s mum Amy Thatcher told us. “I even took in some foster puppies for a few days because Reese loves puppies. Nothing seems to help.”
Reese’s health deteriorated rapidly. She stopped eating and spent most of the time shaking in bed. As nothing seemed to ease Reese’s pain, Thatcher decided to find another mate for the distraught dog to help fill the void of losing Morgan.
“Jeep’s handsome face caught my eye while browsing the dogs available for adoption,” Thatcher said. “Before Jeep, I had only adopted older dogs. Since Reese didn’t handle Morgan’s passing well, I couldn’t risk another loss for her and decided to adopt a younger dog.”
Thatcher met the 1-year-old Jeep and fell in love with him immediately. She knew that even though he was different from Morgan, Reese would love him too.
“He greeted me with a rocking butt and a big smile,” Thatcher said. “I was sitting on the floor and he immediately came over and sat on my lap. At that moment, he stole my heart.”
Thatcher adopted Jeep and when she introduced him to Reese, she loved him too. Slowly but surely, her heart began to heal—the two were now inseparable.
“The Jeep showed Reese’s youthful, playful side,” Thatcher said. “She turns 14 next month and still wants to play with her ‘little brother.’” She doesn’t like when he’s not home, he’ll be excited when he returns. “
You can watch Morgan, Reese, and Jeep’s story here:
Reese will miss Morgan forever, but Jeep reminds her everything will be fine – something Thatcher feels too.
“Morgan made my life better by being her, and I’ll never forget her,” Thatcher said. “But when my heart was broken like Reese’s, Jeep came into my life. He got us through a tough time and I don’t know how we would have gotten through it without him.”
