Elizabeth Spence and her husband do not shy away from a challenge. With three children and five rescue pets, home life is anything but calm.
But despite the chaos, their home is filled with love and their children have been taught to love and respect their five animals, who all came from tough backgrounds.
The family’s latest furry addition, rescue dog Nora, had come from a background of abuse and was, unsurprisingly, scared of everything — until she met the family’s youngest child 11-month-old Archie.
Over the years Archie and the 8-year-old English pointer dog have developed quite a bond and the two of them have so many fun adventures together.
“Archie is an extremely laid-back, happy, good-natured baby and all the animals seem to really respond to that, particularly Nora,” Elizabeth told The Dodo.
“She (Nora) came from an abusive background and is afraid of almost everything. Not Archie, though. She absolutely adores him!”
Elizabeth said the two of them have been inseparable since Archie was a baby and Nora follows him around everywhere.
“If Archie is having a bath, Nora is lying on the bathmat waiting for him to get out.
“If he’s going through my cupboards throwing all the dishes on the floor, she’ll be there cheering him on,” Elizabeth tells The Dodo.
The two spend hours together in the family playroom of their home in Manitoba, Canada, even enjoying a cup of hot chocolate together.
The two take a nap together on a daily basis, but when they’re not sleeping soundly they love getting into trouble and wearing matching outfits.
Archie’s two siblings are also huge animal lovers.
“We taught the kids from a very young age to respect the dogs and to treat them well, so the dogs trust and love the kids very much and are quite comfortable hanging out with them in any manner,” Elizabeth said.
Although Nora has had a tough life, this friendship shows that love can heal wounds and a troubled dog can be happy and loving again, given the right company.
Such a beautiful friendship! These two are so lucky to have each other.
Please share this story with all the animal lovers you know.
