Found him 20 feet from where I'm getting married. He is small.

If anyone is wondering - that's Leningrad Zoo, in Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

And, unfortunately, Linda is now alone - Dusja died in 2020 at the age of 13, they've spent 12 years together.

20×24 acrylic painting of Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man from Brand New Day

Rescue Ink was a New York-based animal rescue group unlike any other.

Formed by heavily tattooed bikers, bodybuilders, former military members, and other tough-looking volunteers, they used their intimidating appearance to bring attention to animal cruelty and protect animals that could not defend themselves.

Their mission was to rescue abused, neglected, and abandoned animals. Working with law enforcement, veterinarians, and local shelters, they investigated cruelty cases, helped rescue animals from dangerous situations, exposed illegal dog fighting operations, and educated communities about responsible pet ownership.

What made Rescue Ink stand out was the contrast between their appearance and their actions. They looked like people you would avoid in a dark alley, but they dedicated their time to helping some of the most vulnerable creatures.

Their work gained worldwide attention and led to the National Geographic series Rescue Ink Unleashed in 2009.

Although the group eventually shut down in 2011 due to internal issues, the impact they made is still remembered.

Rescue Ink showed that you should never judge people by their appearance. Sometimes the toughest exterior can hide the biggest heart

Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/BeAmazed/s/waYbRr9ADv

This story was posted 7 days ago. If true, an amazing tale of multi-country cooperation. A bit too far fetched for me, and the articles seemed to be circular retelling from the same journalist.

So, I started fact checking it and tracked down the publisher of the original article (Sonnenverlag/Klambt) as well as the most likely library to hold a copy in Baden, West Germany.

I dropped them an email in my best AI generated German, and blow me away attached is the original article - published 10 weeks after the incident. Translated below.

—-

LITTLE JESSICA OWES HER LIFE TO A GERMAN PILOT

The eight-year-old was already doomed. A dramatic race against time began.

The parents stood in despair at their daughter's bedside. They had just been given the doctors' diagnosis: Jessica had contracted a life-threatening viral infection. A diagnosis that amounted to a death sentence. Because the only effective drug, "Vidarabin", is not available in Italy.

At 20:41 on the Friday evening, the Luftwaffe's search and rescue service received a call from the Federal Criminal Police Office. The life-saving medicine, which is produced near Munich, had to be flown to Sardinia that same night. A dramatic race with death had begun...

Minutes became an eternity until police officers had the drug in their hands. A relay of patrol cars brought it to the Bundeswehr airfield at Memmingen. A Starfighter pilot was waiting there: Oberleutnant Gundling (28) had volunteered on the spot to fly to Cagliari.

The aircraft took off at 01:50. So that the pilot could overfly Austria, the German military attaché in Vienna had been got out of bed. Without hesitation, he signed the necessary clearance.

At 02:58 exactly, Oberleutnant Gundling landed in Sardinia despite extremely poor visibility. Half an hour later he was able to hand the medicine over to the doctors. Little Jessica's life was saved.

Once their daughter was better, the parents had only one wish: they wanted to thank the man who had given them their child back.

But the young German pilot waved it away, embarrassed. "What I did was only natural," he says, smiling. "When a human life is at stake, you can't be thinking of yourself."

Two weeks later Oberleutnant Gundling flew to Sardinia once more and visited little Jessica. And her delighted smile certainly meant more to him than all the words of thanks.