Abandoned pony misses mommy so badly that he uses a teddy bear as his surrogate

In 2013, a newborn pony was rescued by the Dartmoor National Park after it collapsed and suffered from severe dehydration. Unfortunately, the rescuers can’t find the pony’s mom so they immediately brought it to their equine sanctuary located in Devon, England. At only three days old, he was very weak and sickly.

They nursed him back to health, gave him the antibiotics that he needed, and showered him with love and attention that he deserves.

The rescuers decided to name the orphan sweet pony, “Breeze.”

After one week, Breeze responded positively to the care and medication from the rescuers. His health improved little by little but they noticed that he was still depressed. He misses his mom. So they thought of giving him a 4-foot stuffed jumbo teddy bear they called “Buttons” to snuggle up with him. Surprisingly, Breeze had an instant attachment to this stuffed animal.

In fact, he is treating it like a surrogate mom. The staff noticed that Breeze would cuddle up in the bear’s warm lap where he would usually take a nap. The teddy really helped him to feel more relaxed and at ease in this unfamiliar environment.

Syra Bowden who is the executive director of the Mare and Foal Sanctuary said, “It’s been wonderful to see Breeze interacting with his new teddies and cuddling up to them when he goes to sleep. They are great company for him and provide comfort to him during the brief periods when his carers (sic) are not present.”

Since then, Buttons has been Breeze’s best friend and companion. There are even pictures of him giving Buttons a kiss which looked so adorable. The sanctuary staff decided to leave Buttons on Breeze’s stable for a while because they see that the pony is getting better and better with this stuffed animal around. He started to become more at ease with his surroundings.

One month later, the sanctuary shared an updated video of Breeze showing that he was already doing much better. Breeze is much more active and he loves playing in the field with the other foals! One of the rescuers shared that Breeze would often get into trouble because he loves picking up stones and sticks and the workers would have to take it out of his mouth.

In 2016, three years later after Breeze’s recovery period, he has reunited once again with Buttons at the Mare and Foal Sanctuary. Even though he is already all grown up, he still recognizes Button who has been with him during his time of need. It is pretty obvious that he never forgot his cuddly teddy bear.

Nicola Anstey of the Mare and Foal Sanctuary shared that after they reunited Breeze with Buttons, they can see how pleased he was. “There was a lot of sniffing and licking, then Breeze decided to give Buttons a tour of his new stable and carried him around by his ear,” Nicola added.

Even though Breeze had a rough start in life, he developed a goofy personality which everyone loves of him. Thanks to the help and support from the dedicated rescuers who never stopped caring for Breeze. And most especially to the jumbo teddy bear who acted like his comfort pillow and help him make it through these hard times.