vondell-swain:

animalplanet:

Man’s Best Friend…A 17ft Long 
Pet Crocodile

Chito made friends with the croc after finding him with a gunshot wound on the banks of the Central American state’s Parismina river 20 years ago. He had been shot in the left eye by a cattle farmer and was close to death. But Chito enlisted the help of several pals to load the massive reptile into his boat. He says: “When I found Pocho in the river he was dying, so I brought him into my house. ”He was very skinny, weighing only around 150 lb. I gave him chicken and fish and medicine for six months to help him recover. ”I stayed by Pocho’s side while he was ill, sleeping next to him at night. I just wanted him to feel that somebody loved him, that not all humans are bad. ”It meant a lot of sacrifice. I had to be there every day. I love all animals - especially ones that have suffered.” He says: “After a decade I started to work with him. At first it was slow, slow. I played with him a bit, slowly doing more. ”Then I found out that when I called his name he would come over to me.” At one point during his recovery, Chito left the croc in a lake near his house. But as he turned to walk away, to his amazement Pocho got out of the water and began to follow him home.

the list of animals that have warmed my heart grows steadily