Reese and her best friend, Morgan, were inseparable. The two senior rescues ate, napped and snuggled together as often as possible. But things changed for the bonded pair when Morgan — who was 12 at the time — passed away from kidney disease, and Reese’s mourning took a toll.
“I made her special doggie cupcakes and slept on a mattress on my living room floor for a while so she could sleep with me,” Amy Thatcher, Reese’s mom, told The Dodo. “I even picked up some foster puppies for a few days because Reese loves puppies. Nothing seemed to help.”
Reese’s health quickly declined. She stopped eating and spent most days shaking in her bed. Since nothing seemed to ease Reese’s pain, Thatcher decided to find another companion from Best Friends Animal Society for the grief-stricken dog to help fill the void of losing Morgan.
“While scrolling through the adoptable dogs, Jeep’s handsome face caught my attention,” Thatcher said. “Up until Jeep, I had only ever adopted senior dogs. Since Reese didn’t handle Morgan’s passing well, I couldn’t risk putting her through another loss and decided to adopt a younger dog.”
Thatcher met with 1-year-old Jeep and was in love with him right away. She knew that, although he was different from Morgan, Reese would love him, too.
“He greeted me with a wiggle butt and a big smile,” Thatcher said. “I sat 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. Her heart slowly but surely began to heal — and now the two are inseparable.
“Jeep has brought out this youthful, playful side of Reese,” Thatcher said. “She turns 14 next month and still wants to play with her ‘little brother.’ She doesn’t like it when he’s not home and gets so excited when he returns.”
You can watch Morgan, Reese and Jeep’s story here:
“Morgan made my life better by just being her, and I’ll never forget her,” Thatcher said. “But Jeep came into my life when my heart, like Reese’s, was broken. He got us through a tough time, and I don’t know how we would’ve gotten through it without him.”