There’s no use crying over spilled milk, as the old saying goes — and the same goes for spilled watermelons. That was the case recently, after one produce mishap led to a sweet opportunity for some thirsty animals.

According to People, a truck was carrying over 100 watermelons and cantaloupes from Yak’s Produce to the Louisiana Watermelon Festival in Farmerville.

But unfortunately, the truck was in an accident that left the melons all over the road.

The melons were crushed and bruised, and obviously couldn’t be sold to customers. In most cases, they would’ve been scooped up and thrown away — but in this case, one woman stepped up with a different idea.

Leslie Greene is a Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator who runs a nonprofit rescue on her property. She has 42 animals, like beavers, skunks and raccoons — all animals who are happy to eat a watermelon, even if it has been crushed.

She reached out to Yak’s for permission, and the owner was happy to let her take the produce, saying it was “wonderful” that the fruit wouldn’t have to be discarded after all.

Leslie fed the watermelons to her animals, who happily ate them up, enjoying them as a perfect summertime treat.

“They absolutely love it,” Leslie told People. “With it being so hot and humid, it’s the perfect snack.”

“Watermelon is 92% water,” she explained on TikTok. “It’s a great way to keep the wildlife hydrated in this summertime heat! It’s also packed full of nutrients including vitamins A & C.”

Not only is it healthy, the animals love it. One video shows a beaver happily chowing down on a piece of watermelon.

Leslie thanked Yak’s Produce for donating the melons to her instead of throwing it away. After her story went viral with half a million views on TikTok, she says many people reached out to the company to thank them.

And according to People, Yak’s offered to give Leslie any of the produce they could no longer sell.

“It turned out to be a big win for us and the wildlife,” Leslie said. “I appreciate Yak’s and appreciate all the animal lovers who did reach out to Yak’s and tell them thank you.”

What a sweet story. It’s great to see people making the most out of a bad situation, especially when it means rescued animals get a tasty treat.

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Natural disasters bring havoc to lands and property, and everyone in the community is affected.

They smash homes and wreck livelihoods. The devastation that they can bring is unimaginable and the amount of damage they leave behind is immeasurable.

They force newly-homeless families to move which, most of the time, comes with a huge sacrifice; leaving their animals behind.

Keith Benning is an animal lover that knows this type of story all too well.

Keith is the founder and shelter manager of the Turtle Mountain Animal Rescue (TMAR) located in Rolla, North Dakota. He is also a Deputy Sheriff and Municipal Judge in the county.

He started the non-profit way back in 2015 and since then, they have already rescued thousands of animals.

Keith is a hero he never thought he would be to these animals, but that’s not quite how he puts it.

According to him, saving animals is no act of heroism. It’s our responsibility.

“I’m not a hero. We domesticated animals as species and we’ve got a responsibility to them. I’m just doing my part,” he said in a YouTube video by The Dodo.
Keith and his team rescue animals who are stranded in the middle of a natural disaster’s aftermath.

Most of the animals are trapped in deserted homes in the middle of the flood. These poor animals get left behind by their families.

Sometimes it’s because their families don’t have the means to bring them and, tragically, sometimes it’s because they feel their pets just aren’t worth saving.

Here is where Keith and his team step in.

They go to the affected areas and search for any stranded animals. Then, they will rescue these helpless pets by taking them into their shelter. From there, they will re-evaluate them and do medical assessments.

Once their wounds get treated and they are free from any illness, they will try to search for their owners in the hope of reuniting them. Otherwise, they place them in adoption programs to find them their forever homes.

To Keith, there’s nothing more fulfilling than being able to rescue animals and reunite them with their families. He’s happy to play a small part in saving them.

Turtle Mountain Animal Rescue operates out of a 40′ x 60′ metal building. Keith and his team live in the same building.

One-third of the building is a house while the other two-thirds is a shelter.

According to him, they struggled during the first two years. It was hard just to keep things going for the entire animal rescue team. Even still, they managed to bring in approximately 20 to 30 rescue animals per month.

Now, however, they are taking in about 60 to 100 rescue animals a month.

Over the last 5 years, they have rescued somewhere between 4,000 to 5,000 animals.

TMAR is a 501 C3 non-profit since 2015 and their goal is to:

“Offer resources for the surrounding communities such as low-cost spay and neuter, vaccination clinics, and a place to care for homeless animals in addition to providing jobs within the shelter. Youth involvement programs, where kids can participate in the rescue and care of homeless animals in addition to helping solve the bigger problem of overpopulation and animal homelessness is paramount.”

Thanks to this guy’s huge heart, thousands of animals have been rescued from terrible, life-threatening situations.

He may not think of himself as a hero, but we certainly know otherwise. We only hope that his message hits home and others start feeling inspired to play their part in saving animals’ lives whenever the opportunity strikes as well.

Thankfully, if you need a little more inspiration, TMAR provides it by sharing their journey in a short video.

Visit their official website if you want to donate, adopt, or just want to know more about the Turtle Mountain Animal Rescue.

Watch Keith’s journey to becoming a hero to homeless animals in the video below.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

The post Guy rescues thousands of animals from disasters and shares his own home with them appeared first on G2a-ltc.

In another story of humans helping others during this difficult time, a 9-year-old Michigan boy set out to raise money to purchase donations for his local animal shelter. His goal was mighty, but he surpassed it and even had enough leftover to help out the hardworking staff, too. Young Dylan’s story is an inspiration to us all.

Dylan Made Signs Asking for Donations

The young philanthropist made signs that he placed at strategic locations around town. The sign asked people to donate to help animals in need. His goal was lofty but with the help of his parents and generous community members, he exceeded his goal! He even purchased pizza for all the hardworking shelter staff members to say thanks for all that they do to help animals in need.

“Click on “Read more” to continue reading this story”. . .

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