The started the sweetest routine ❤️🕷️
Apple Valley Farm Sanctuary in Penrose, Colorado, is home to around 100 rescued animals lovingly cared for by Deanna and Weldon Downer. While their focus is farm animals, the sanctuary recently welcomed a very different kind of resident — a tiny jumping spider named Ocho.
It all started last December when Deanna was watering an orchid in her bathroom and noticed a tiny black spider perched on the lip of the planter.
“I watered the plant, and he went after the water,” Deanna told The Dodo. “So I grabbed a Q-tip, wet it, and set it down next to him.”
It seemed Ocho was thirsty — and remarkably unafraid. The very next day, he returned to the same spot, and Deanna offered him another water-soaked Q-tip.
What began as a simple gesture quickly turned into a daily routine. Deanna even found herself chatting with Ocho as she got ready in the bathroom each morning.
“I absolutely loved our daily chats,” she said.
Months went by, and six months later, Ocho is still around — though he’s since ventured beyond the bathroom to explore other parts of the home. He still makes occasional appearances out in the open, and Deanna always knows it’s him.
Deanna cherishes the friendship she’s formed with Ocho and hopes others will open their hearts and homes to creatures like him.
“We’re so conditioned to believe insects or spiders, snakes, etc., are ‘scary,’” she said. “I want to show people they really aren’t scary at all. All they want is to be respected, just like us. My hope is that others will be kind to the spiders they see in their homes instead of killing them.”