Yahoo Finance Tom Brady Quietly Volunteered at an Animal Shelter During Final NFL Season: 'Helping His Community'
Ashley Bragg Ryan/Instagram
While playing in what would be his final NFL season, Tom Brady moonlighted as a Tampa Bay, Florida animal shelter volunteer.
On Wednesday, Ashley Bragg Ryan, wife of Buccaneers player and Brady's former teammate Logan Ryan, shared a picture of the quarterback volunteering at a shelter last year.
The picture showed Brady, along with his son, Benjamin, 13, and daughter, Vivian, 10, holding puppies along with Ashley, Logan, and their daughter.
"I guess I'll chime in with my Tom Brady story.. but it's not the one about 7 Super Bowls or being down 28–3 or his last pass as a Patriot," she wrote in the Instagram post. "We all know those. It's the one about the dad who volunteered at the animal shelter with his kids throughout an entire football season. The one where he bonded with his kids over naming puppies and bottle feeding kittens."
RELATED: New England Patriots Share Hilarious Reaction to Tom Brady's Retirement News
The post continued: "The one where he silently showed up every other week to make a difference for his family and his community. The one where 2 dads just got to be dads and beamed with pride every time their kids said 'Please can we just stay a little bit longer?!' The one where two little girls built a friendship around their love of tiny baby kittens and did their part in making the world a better place for animals."
Ashley wrote that the picture was taken at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, just weeks before the start of the 2022 season.
"These pictures were from August and we didn't take many more after that. Not publicly at least. It wasn't about publicity, fundraising or recognition," she wrote. "It was about being a human being. It was about Tom taking the very thing his little girl loves the most and turning it into an opportunity to spend time together. It was about Tom reaching out to his friend, asking how to get involved, helping his community by giving something far more meaningful than money.. his time."
RELATED: Gisele Bündchen Comments on Tom Brady's Retirement Announcement: 'Wishing You Only Wonderful Things'
"Greatest QB of all time, no doubt," she added. "But I'm humbled most by the person you are off the field, TB! Congrats!"
Ashley's post also features a video of Brady and Logan petting the puppies inside a kennel.
RELATED VIDEO: Tom Brady Says He's Retiring 'for Good' After 23 Seasons in the NFL in Emotional Video
Brady, 45, announced his retirement from the league for a second time on Wednesday in a video shot on a Florida beach.
"I'm retiring. For good. I know the process was a pretty big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning I figured I'd just press record, and let you guys know first," he said in the video, which was shared to his social accounts.
"It won't be long-winded, you only get one super-emotional retirement essay, and I used mine up last year, so. I...really thank you guys...so much," he continued. "To every single one of you, for supporting me, my family, my friends, teammates, my competitors. I could go on forever. There's too many. Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream."
"I wouldn't change a thing," Brady ended his message. "Love you all."
