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Mackenzie in a red collar with flowers

Patches, one of Home for Life®'s medical miracles, visits a young patient at the U of M/Fairview University Hospital as part of our Sit*Stay*Heal program.

As a cancer survivor and all-around happy dog, Patches brings hope and joy to all of the patients he visits.

Sit*Stay*Heal, our collaborative program with Fairview University Hospitals, is just one of several HFL programs that allow our animals to give back to the community.

For more information:

More about Ben

cat snoozing on blanket
Ben lounges as though the very concept of relaxing was invented by him.

Every now and then someone who helped rescue one of our residents in the past reads the animal's story on our website and writes us to fill their history. We recently heard from a former caretaker of Ben, our haughty black Siamese cross. Following are excerpts from her letter.

"My name is Julie Goldberg. I was the woman who originally brought Ben into the Animal Ark in Hastings. We waited three months to get him in there because there was a long line for black kitty cats to be accepted.

I kept Ben in my apartment and cared for him during this time. I wanted to keep him but my apartment building would not allow pets.

I obtained Ben from a neighbor girl who lived there with her boyfriend. It was the boyfriend who used to terrorize Ben. When I would stop by to visit the cat, he would always be hiding in the closet.

One day, the girl told me she was moving and I asked her what she was going to do with Ben. She said, "I don't know what to do with him."

I was appalled that she didn't seem to care about him. I told her adamantly that I would take Ben and find a home for him. She did give me Ben and I loved caring for him for the time I had him. He was very affectionate and clingy once he got used to me.

I do remember he was not into eating that much. Since I read his story, I now wonder if he always had the "dental problem" and if that was why he never seemed to eat much.

Most cats are focused on food, but not Ben. He was so starved for attention, he would rather cuddle with me than eat.

I surely miss Ben. Thank you for taking such good care of him."

Thank you, Julie, for filling us in on Ben's past, and for caring enough to intervene on his behalf.

Previous Animal Updates: January 21, 2008

Home for Life® Outtakes

Photographer Mark Luinenberg visits the sanctuary frequently to take the beautiful portraits that grace our website and newsletters. Despite Mark's considerable talent, the animals don't always strike the most flattering poses when the shutter snaps. Sometimes they have other priorities.

We thought our visitors would enjoy seeing some of the "bloopers" that we get to see when viewing the photo shoot results. Below is the first installment of what we hope will be a semi-regular feature for Animal Updates.

Icy, 360°

cat with her head twisted around, facing her back

Very few things can come between a cat and her sense of dignity. One of those things is the need to groom. That's what happened to Icy, when her portrait session coincided with an urge to groom a hard-to-reach spot on her back. The result is the eye-popping head rotation shown above.

Murphy's bad hair day

At the other end of the grooming spectrum is Murphy, a cairn terrier who is quite capable of looking clean and well-coiffed, but who chooses not to.

By the time Murphy's portrait session rolled around, he had achieved the tousled, tail-in-the-electric-socket look seen at your right. This particular photo is one of the few where Murphy's eyes are actually visible.

If only we all looked as adorable as Murphy when we have a bad hair day!

Big blue bones are more important

What's a dog to do? Sit still for a photo or defend her ownership of a big blue bone? For Crystal, the choice was clear.

Of the 20 pictures taken of Crystal on the day in question, she stood still and faced the camera in one. The other photos feature Crystal running by herself, Crystal running with or from other dogs, Crystal running with her bone, and Crystal running towards her water dish.

It hardly makes sense to publish a photo of Crystal standing still.

 

3rd annual The Faces of Home for Life® feeds lots of animals for a day!

Home for Life just wrapped up our 3rd annual The Faces of Home for Life® event at Macy's Courtyard at the Mall of America (MOA). The event's theme was "Feed an Animal at Home for Life® for a Day," and our generous supporters came through with almost $29,000 in less than three weeks!

This event is a special time for Home for Life® and our volunteers because of the goodness, kindness, and generosity demonstrated by people who visit the display and our animals at the MOA. Faith in humankind is restored! Our volunteers met supporters from many states from across the country and visitors from as far away as Norway and Germany.

Animal ambassadors from the sanctuary were on hand in two shifts of 3–4 hours most days, together with the great HFL volunteers we are so proud of.

five girls pet Pierre, a large dog sprawled on the floor at the mall
Pierre, one of HFL's ambassadors, charms young shoppers into showering him with attention.

Thank you to all of the wonderful volunteers who make this event possible each year. Special thanks and recognition go to Nancy Jenks, our volunteer coordinator. The event was flawless, due in no small measure to Nancy's hard work, savvy, calm in a crisis, and diplomacy. Thanks also to our lead volunteers, Jen, Rachel, and Stacy. Thanks must also go to Doc Desio, guardian angel of Home for Life, who raised a phenomenal $2,175 from the Road King Riders bike club to help feed the animals at the sanctuary.