Sue Ogrock / AP

After a stroke, and a debilitating depression, and an attempted suicide, Christie Carr found new meaning volunteering at a wildlife refuge, where she met Irwin, a five-month-old kangaroo who had partially paralyzed himself after hopping into a fence.

The town of Broken Arrow unanimously voted to create an exemption to their exotic animals ordinance so that the inseparable Carr and Irwin could continue their lives together.