Previous Animal Updates: October 26, 2009
Getting ready for winter
This month, we feature the photography of Katie Thering of Kage Imagery. Katie donated her time and talent this September, visiting Home for Life® to photograph our residents for sponsor updates.
Although the weather was still warm, Katie photographed many of the animals inside their residences, where they seemed to be preparing for the coming winter — curling up on blankets, cushions, and futons as if practicing for the season ahead.
Good idea! So brew a cup of tea, enjoy Katie's photos, and read about a few of the animals she photographed. To see more of Katie's photos from Home for Life®, including a slide show set to music, see her blog entry on the experience.
Tang is feline leukemia positive and came to Home for Life® all the way from Arkansas nearly three years ago. He arrived with four of his housemates, all leukemia positive. Tiger and Shadow have since passed away, but Trey and Jackie continue to thrive, along with Tang, in our feline leukemia facility. After three years, they've even become accustomed to the seasons in Wisconsin, which are definitely more dramatic than in Arkansas.
Tang is a staff favorite — he gets along with everyone and never causes trouble. His best friend is Puggy, an elderly paraplegic Pug who resides in the feline leukemia building. Tang likes to rest beside Puggy, and to give him kitty kisses when Puggy is crying.
When he's not resting though, Tang is busy taking care of cat affairs, socializing with the other felines and exercising in the large outdoor run. He does take periodic "coffee breaks" to check on Puggy and make sure he is OK.
Lacey
came to Home for Life® as an older kitten. She
was found in rural Wisconsin last fall, hungry and forlorn. Many cats and
kittens are abandoned in the Wisconsin countryside near the sanctuary. People
unwittingly believe that farmers or rural home owners will take them in.
Lacey was starving when found by a neighbor to Home for Life®. He did not know what to do with her but did not want to see her suffer. We asked him to drop her off at the vet clinic so that she could at least be warm and dry.
Despite Lacey's beautiful dilute tortoiseshell markings, like a soft impressionist painting, and her gentle, loving personality, she was unable to find an adoptive home when blood tests revealed her to be leukemia positive. Thus, Lacey came to Home for Life® and has been a cherished member of our feline leukemia cattery ever since.
Ernie's nap time approaches.
Ernie and Piper are roommates and joyful members of an eclectic dog group headed by Wyley, a German shorthair pointer. Both Ernie and Piper have epilepsy, and Wyley possesses the astounding ability to foretell when seizures are about to occur. Indeed, Ernie, who is lieutenant and second in command to Wyley, will often go and lean on Wyley if he feels a seizure coming on.
Thankfully, both Piper's and Ernie's seizures have been well controlled for the past several months with careful monitoring and administering of medication and regular blood tests to ensure that the blood levels are accurate.
Ernie is a beautiful red setter who loves to run. He is also a therapy dog, having completed our Renaissance Program last spring.
Piper
(at left), is a small golden retriever who came to Home for Life®
from Ragom, the Minnesota chapter of the Golden Retriever Rescue. Piper
is a sweet and happy dog who suffered brain damage from an unknown cause,
whether accident or abuse. She can walk in a straight line if she focuses,
but also tends to spin in circles. Ben,
another dog in Wyley's group, also spins as a result of brain damage stemming
from abuse. Piper and Ben formed a fast friendship, and it is touching to
see them spin towards and around each other in play.
Under the watchful, kindly leadership of Wyley, all three dogs have found acceptance and a place to call home at our sanctuary.
Cocker Spaniel times six!
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When photographer Mark Luinenburg visited Home for Life® in August, he held a special photo session featuring our senior Cocker Spaniels. In the last year, Home for Life® has accepted three elderly Cockers whose owners have either passed away or lost their homes. Honey, Elmo, and Tucker joined our existing resident Cockers Goldie and Joe Cocker. Since the photo session, yet another Cocker Spaniel has joined the group — 19 year-old Maddie!
Each elderly Cocker came to Home for Life® suffering from various health issues, including skin allergies, dry eye, and ear infections. All of these maladies have been cleared up thanks to the hard work of our dedicated staff. The entire gang lives together, and all are congenial, sweet dogs.
Elmo is all black but considered a black-and-tan because of his brindle eyebrows. Elmo came to Home for Life® through a veterinary clinic that took him in for an elderly owner who moved into a nursing home. At age 11, Elmo's prospects for adoption were slim. He had many health problems — chiefly, dry eye and skin problems. At Home for Life®, he has responded well to treatment that involves daily eye ointments and regular baths. He even looks forward to the attention and dog cookie he receives after every treatment.
After a harrowing ordeal that nearly cost her life, Goldie has been safe and happy at HFL for over three years. Now age 14, she is a little more gray around the muzzle but seems otherwise unchanged. Unlike our other female Cocker Spaniels, Goldie has always been a little wary. One of Goldie's kind sponsors, Michelle, bought her a wonderful sheepskin-covered dog bed that we placed in the kitchen of the feline leukemia building. Goldie loves to cuddle in her bed with one of her roommates. As a bonus, the bed's central location keeps Goldie aware of everything going on in her vicinity, which puts her mind at ease.
Honey, also age 14, is as gentle and sweet as her name implies. You can actually see her sweetness in her facial expression. Honey belonged to couple who divorced. After the breakup, there were little to no resources left for Honey's care. The husband, who was Honey's advocate, hid Honey in his small apartment when his wife refused to keep the old dog in the family home. He tried to find her a new home, but Honey's age made it difficult. The husband begged for Honey's life, and after meeting her it is easy to see why he lobbied so vigorously on her behalf of this precious dog.
Tucker, our largest Cocker Spaniel, is a 12 year-old gentle giant. We met him through our work with the veterans at the VA Medical Center. One of the VA nurses learned of Tucker when one her patients had to leave his apartment to be admitted to long-term care. The patient was poor and could only afford to feed Tucker sporadically, and then whatever he could afford — breakfast cereal, crackers, and the like. After his owner was admitted to long-term care, poor Tucker was left in the apartment alone, with neighbors doing their best to care for him. Lonely Tucker was relieved and happy to come to Home for Life®, where he has plenty of company, including several Cocker Spaniel in his age group.
Joe Cocker, age 12, is another beautiful golden Cocker. His owners surrendered him to the Humane Society, even though they were informed that Joe would be euthanized due to the difficulty of finding an adoptive home for a dog his age. When we learned of Joe's plight, the Humane Society allowed us to bring Joe to our sanctuary. That was a year ago.
Upon Joe's arrival at HFL, he was a very vigorous senior dog who enjoyed the outdoors and exercising in the meadows. He formed a fast friendship with Laren, a beautiful black Field Cocker Spaniel who was Joe's age. Joe and Laren were never far apart and slept each evening in the same kennel. Sadly, Laren died about eight months ago, and Joe was very lonely. Although he can get along with anyone, the rest of Joe's roommates were younger and feistier. He did not bond to any of them after Laren was gone. At one point, he started sleeping outside by himself at night. It was then we decided to try integrating him with our other Cocker Spaniels. Being with his own kind seems to have lifted Joe's spirits once again.
A final note: Although dogs of different breeds and vastly
different sizes can become fast friends, we've notices that many dogs also
recognize and form an instant camaraderie with dogs of their own breed.
Every dog is a unique individual, but dogs of a given the breed do share
characteristics of temperament that encourage friendship. It is amazing
to watch our dogs recognize when one of their own joins the sanctuary. Far
breeding contempt, familiarity seems to facilitate friendship between dogs
of the same breed.
So it is with our group of Cocker Spaniels. Although one of America's most
popular dog breeds, we did not intentionally set out to create a Cocker
Spaniel retirement facility. It just so happened that a number of older
Cockers who had fallen on hard times needed our help. This summer, we realized
that we had five wonderful senior Cockers in residence and decided it was
time for a group photo to commemorate this unprecedented occurrence.