Aasha had a very difficult beginning to her life.
She was extremely small and had obvious health problems. When she was 9 months old she still only weighed 30 lbs, which is about what a cub should weigh at around 3 months. There were patches where her fur had fallen out and her skin was also cracked and often bled.
An inspector for the United States Department of Agriculture heard about Aasha’s situation.
They approached the founder of In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue and Educational Centre in Texas, Vicky Keahey, in the hopes that Aasha would be able to be transferred there.
Vicky recalled to the Dodo, “I asked how could a 9-month-old tiger be that small?”
The inspector told Vicky that Aasha had previously belonged to a traveling circus.
“Aasha’s bald spots covered almost her entire body, and her skin was dry [with] cracked, darkened areas and bleeding,” Keahey told The Dodo.
“Every day, twice a day, I would go in and give Aasha medications and spend time with her. I knew I was going to have to handle her in order to get her well.
Aasha had to take medicated baths as part of her ringworm treatment. At first, she really did not like this. After a while, however, she got used to it and began splashing around in the water. Her health also began to improve!
After Aasha’s health had started to improve, the center wanted to see how she would act around other tigers.
They placed her near Smuggler, a bigger tiger who took quite the liking to Aasha! In fact, it appeared he began to fall head-over-tail for her.
The staff at the rescue center noticed the budding love story between the two tigers but were hesitant at first. They wanted to make sure that Smuggler wouldn’t hurt Aasha, so they organized some supervised “dates” in order for the two tigers to get to know each other.
It wouldn’t be long before the two were sharing the same pen permanently.
It has now been four years since these two tigers were put together and their relationship has never been stronger.
Aasha went from being a neglected tiger with a traveling circus to sharing her home with someone she loves and the great people at the wildlife center.
Aasha’s story is a beautiful example of why we should never stop fighting for a better life. If she would have given up, she would have missed out on loads of love and happiness.
In a world that’s constantly trying to tear you down, be like Aasha and keep pushing forward- you never know what love awaits you just around the corner.
To learn more about this beautiful big cat love story, watch the video below.
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