According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), approximately 5 to 7 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide each year. Shelter intakes are evenly divided between animals relinquished by owners and those picked up by animal control. I visited with representatives from four local organizations to find out more about these animals and what people can do to help.
The High Tail Horse Ranch and Rescue, located in Hawley, Minnesota:
Charlotte Tuhy, Owner:
JL: Tell us about your organization:
CT: We are a 501c3 nonprofit equine rescue program. We also help other animals when the need arises, and currently have llamas, donkeys, geese, ducks, chickens, turkeys, two kittens and a dog. In addition to the rescue program, the ranch also offers lessons, training, trail rides, conditioning for endurance or competitive trail, pet boarding and grooming, and equine boarding, pony birthday parties, adult education classes, and kid’s camps. We are in the process of developing a program for disadvantaged youth, and are currently writing grants for that program.
JL: What kinds of horses do you currently have at your ranch?
CT: We have many. Two draft, several ponies, several pregnant mares with foals coming any day, yearlings on up to aged horses. There are Arabians, Paints, Quarter Horses, Saddle Bred, Quarter Ponies, Miniatures, Shetland size ponies, and everything in-between. Many of our horses are trained and ready for riders, others are waiting for their turn on the trainers’ lists. Most are now healthy; some are still working at getting there.
JL: As a general rule, where do your horses come from? What does the recovery process entail?
CT: We have received 22 horses and 3 llamas to date that were seized by a sheriff’s department and needed some place else to go. We also have several that were surrendered to us by owners who could not or would not continue to care for their horses. We have horses that were strays, and we have horses that were headed to slaughter before someone intervened.
The recovery process can be different for each horse. Our worst case to date was a stallion we called Zane. He condition was so bad that we were not sure that he could even survive the trip to our ranch. Once he did, the situation was critical for the first eight days. He went down on us on four different occasions during that time, and it took a lot of help and a lot of prayers to get him back up again. He has such a strong will to survive. Zane has now been adopted and his new owner very much loves him!
Some horses have been abused, and it takes a lot of time to rebuild their trust in people again. In addition to standard veterinary care, dentistry and farrier work, we also use several holistic healing modalities in our efforts to help these horses regain their health: Homeopathic and flower essence therapy, Masterson method, healing touch, chiropractic care, animal communicators, herbal supplementation, energetic healing, and much more.
JL: What misconceptions do you think may exist regarding animal rescue and/or pet adoption?
CT: One misconception is that rescue horses are not as good as other horses. There are rescue horses competing successfully in many disciplines. My daughter was a top contender in endurance on a rescued horse, and that gelding has now retired from his racing career and is one of the favorites in our lesson program. We have several rescued horses that are in new homes teaching children how to ride.
JL: What role do volunteers play within your organization? What is the best way to help?
CT: We have a very active volunteer program, in fact our organization has no paid employees, and it is run entirely by volunteers. Without them there would be no program. Volunteers clean stalls, keep up with the barn, dishes, laundry, feeding ,yard work, fencing, fund raisers, networking, training, and so much more. We need carpenters, plumbers, dirt work, skid steer operators, hay haulers, horse handlers, manure pickers, groomers, etc. etc. Anything that needs to be done on any working ranch needs to be done here. Volunteers also help with our therapy pony program, parade entries, and other tabling events. We have bookkeepers and coordinators that volunteer.
JL: Are there any special events in the near future that you would like to make readers aware of?
CT: Definitely! We are having an open house May 11th. There will be several mini clinics and chances to learn new things, and a consignment auction fund raiser. And best of all a chance to meet the rescues that are ready for new homes. This is a great time to get rid of things that you are not using for a great cause! 30% of the sales go to the horses, and 70% goes back to the consigner. We can sell horse related items, cars, boats, furniture, etc., or maybe there is something you need. We have a car, antiques, saddles and tack, furniture, household goods….lots of things to sell.
CATS Cradle Shelter in Fargo, North Daktoa:
Gail Ventzke, Executive Director:
JL: What is CATS Cradle Shelter?
GV: CATS Cradle Shelter is the only brick and mortar cat only rescue in the area. We are a grass roots, volunteer based, non-profit 501(c)3 no-kill rescue shelter run completely on donations that takes in cats and kittens on death row, gives them the veterinary care needed including de-worming, vaccinating, FIV/felv testing, microchipping and Spay/neuter surgery before adopting them out into loving forever homes.
Our shelter is a cage free, community style shelter where the cats live in comfortable rooms in colonies of 5 to 10 per room. The only time they are caged is when they are either in the 7 day isolation period, recovering from surgery or recovering from illness. We believe that living cage free helps our cats not only socialize with people but makes introducing one of our cats to a new home with existing pets less stressful.
JL: What misconceptions do you think may exist regarding animal rescue and/or pet adoption?
GV: People have the misconception that they can just dump their cats at a shelter when (for one reason or another) they do not want, or cannot keep their cat. Most of them do not even make an attempt to find new homes for their pets and just expect that rescues will take them. What they do not realize, is that we have limited space and staff and resources to care for these animals.
JL: What role do volunteers play within your organization? What is the best way to help?
GV: Our volunteers are the core of our existence, without them we could not function. The morning volunteers scoop litter boxes, administer medications and make wellness observations. In the evenings we have volunteer groups who maintain a more rigorous cleaning schedule which include fresh laundry, clean food and water dishes, floor, shelf and wall cleanings, AND of course-treats and playtime! We also have volunteers who help by doing follow up calls on previous adoptions, thank-you notifications, data entry, keeping our petfinder updated, as well as our website, photos, fundraisers, etc.
We also use volunteer foster homes to care for our kittens under the age of 8 weeks, some with mothers, and some without. It is a daunting job bottle feeding kittens every 2 hours around the clock but they do it. Some cats with special needs also go into foster care until they are ready to come back to the shelter. We have the most qualified and dedicated fosters available.
If you cannot support the shelter by adopting, there are always ways to help through moral support, financial support and volunteer opportunities. Our motto is….”One cat can’t change the world, but WE can change the world for one cat”.
JL: Do you have any inspirational stories you could share with our readers?
GV: I think our most inspiring story would have to be that of Corky the Cradle Cat, from an abandoned deformed kitten to a worldwide inspiration of courage, love and determination. Here is his story:
March 20th, 2012 CATS Cradle Shelter rescued a beautiful 7 month old kitten from the Moorhead Pound. We were told by the staff at the pound that he was found dragging himself down a sidewalk on Main Avenue in Moorhead. The moment that we saw him we knew that there was something familiar about him; this kitten had “backwards and crisscrossed legs.”
Once we took custody of him he was transported immediately to NDSU for the radiographs, and examined by the staff veterinarians. After a search for a qualified vet we found Dr. Burchill who performed the Bilateral Arthrodesis of the Tarsus on Thursday, April 5th, 2012. Ultimately the procedure did not take due to necrosis and the difficult decision had to be made to amputate the troublesome leg which was done on Thursday April 26th. Corky was hospitalized from April 5th until April 30th, the majority of that time was spent on various types of therapy to try and save that left leg. I am happy to report that Corky has been released from the hospital, is now living in with a CATS Cradle Shelter Director and her family and seems to be doing just fine, in fact his spirits are better now than they were before. He seems happy, playful, and alert, and enjoys playing with his 3 canine siblings and 3 feline siblings.
Corky has garnered world fame, he has had over 100 articles written on him by various media outlets, from MSN, CNN, AOL.com, Yahoos homepage, Huffington Post, YOU Magazine, and many more, he has been on TV shows “Right This Minute” twice and has even been mentioned on Australian TV Soap Opera “Neighbours” which has been on the air since 1985. Jeanne Moos did a feature story on him for CNN’s “The Situation Room” with Wolf Blitzer. He has friends from all over the world and is grateful for each and every one of them.
JL: Are there any special events in the near future that you would like to make readers aware of?
GV: We have open house adoption events every Tuesday from 4-7pm and every Saturday from 10 am-4 pm. You can also call us at 701-356-7877 for a private appointment at your convenience. You can also view our fabulous felines under the Adoptable Cats tab of our Website or come meet them in person at one of our open houses located at 9 – Ninth Street South Fargo, ND.
Humane Society in Fargo, North Dakota:
Heather Clyde, Shelter Manager/Veterinary Technician:
JL: What can you tell me about the Humane Society of Fargo-Moorhead?
HC: The Humane Society Fargo-Moorhead is a pound-rescue organization which rescues cats and dogs, primarily from the 3 local pounds, and finds them new, loving homes. We are a non-profit and do not receive funding from the state or HSUS (Humane Society of the United States). Our operational budget comes from corporate and individual donors who believe in our mission. Each year, we adopt out more than 600 cats and dogs. Our shelter is small in size, with only 9 dog kennels, 17 cat kennels and 6 kitten kennels, but with the assistance of foster families, we generally have 60-70 animals in our care at any time.
JL: What misconceptions do you think may exist regarding animal rescue and/or pet adoption?
There are a LOT of misconceptions in animal rescue and adoption. One is that animals that are at shelters are “damaged goods,” meaning there is something wrong with them either physically or behaviorally. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, we do see neglected or abused animals occasionally, but the majority of animals in shelters are here because of a human problem (moving, new baby, allergies, not enough time, etc.). Most are just animals that ended up in the wrong home and need a second chance.
Another misconception is that all shelters put animals down after a certain time. This is also false. Each individual shelter has their own policies on euthanasia. Our shelter does NOT euthanize for space. There is no time limit. The only time euthanasia is used at the HSFM is to relieve the suffering of an animal that has a medical condition that cannot be treated or if the animal is considered dangerous (aggressive). All shelters have their own policies and each is operated individually from one another, so yes, there are some shelters that do euthanize for space, but no-kill shelters are becoming more and more common all the time.
JL: What role do volunteers play within your organization? What is the best way to help?
Volunteers play a major role within our organization. We have over 120 volunteers that come in on a weekly basis to socialize our animals. Every day of the week, volunteers are coming in to walk our dogs and play with the cats outside of their kennels. We also have adoption assistant volunteers who assist with matching adopters up with animals in need, as well as special events volunteers who assist with fundraisers and adoption events. And we can’t forget our foster families, who allow us to save more animals when our shelter is a maximum capacity.
Any help is appreciated! We are always looking for dog walkers and cat socializers, adoption assistants and special event volunteers. But if you have a special talent, don’t be afraid to let us know! We can always use handymen, photographers/videographers, etc. too—if you have a talent that you think could be of use to us, don’t be afraid to ask!
JL: Are there any special events in the near future that you would like to make readers aware of?
Our next fundraiser, the Paws Walk, won’t be until September 14th. However, we also have a microchip clinic coming up on June 20th from 5-7pm, where the public can bring their pets and have them microchipped (a form of permanent identification) for $30/pet.
JL: What else would you like to share about your organization?
I would just encourage anyone looking to add a pet to their family to check out their nearest shelter or rescue. There are so many wonderful animals just waiting for a second chance at love. And if you can’t adopt, consider fostering, volunteering, or donating! Everyone can make a difference in the lives of homeless animals.
4 Luv of Dog Rescue, Fargo in North Dakota:
Dr. Ellen Brisch, Volunteer:
JL: How did you become involved with 4 Luv of Dog?
EB: In the fall of 2007, I had to put my dog, Curie, to sleep and was heartbroken. After putting her down, I had a dream where Curie told me it was ok, that I had made the right choice and she would still be with me. In April of 2008, I had dinner with friends and it was suggested that I check out a litter of puppies at 4 Luv of Dogs. I saw Scout at the shelter and she just picked me. After adopting her, I became involved as a volunteer.
JL: What can you tell us volunteering at the organization?
EB: Volunteers are very important. People can donate money and items for the animals like blankets, food, bed, and toys. People can also serve as foster parents.
The rescue has 4 – 8 dogs in the shelter at one time. They are fed twice per day and walked three times a day. I volunteer to clean kennels on Sundays and also walk dogs several times a week. I also help with the fundraisers. I’m just a worker bee. I have so much respect for all the other people in the organization.
JL: Tell us about your experience fostering dogs?
EB: I have fostered five dogs. The first one was L.J., who had been tied up and left outside. After the owner surrendered him, L.J. lived with me for 8-12 weeks before being permanently adopted. Another foster dog was named Teddi. He was hit by a car and his owners didn’t seek medical attention. Eventually, one of his legs had to be amputated. I found a woman to adopt him, however, and still babysit for her when needed. It is really hard, sometimes. As a foster family, you get really attached and care so much about the dog. It is hard to see them leave, but ultimately you want them to have a good home.
JL: Is there anything else you would like to share regarding animal rescue?
EB: There are so many good dogs out there. If you are ever considering a dog, I highly encourage you to look at rescue shelters. Some people think that pure bred dogs are more desirable than mixed, but that isn’t the case. Mixed breed dogs are often healthier than some pure breeds and as a biologist, I know that there is a lot to be said for hybrid vigor.
To find out more information about animal rescue and how you can help, visit the following websites or call for more information.
Hightail Horse Ranch and Rescue: www.hightailhorseranchandrescue.com or 701-526-3734
CATS Cradle: http://catscradleshelter.org or at 701-356-7877
Human Society: www.humanesocietyfargomoorhead.org or 701-239-0077
4 Luv of Dog Rescue: www.4luvofdog.org or 701-205-0190
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