News and Thanks from Red Lake

First, there is a two-day animal clinic going on at Red Lake right now! A big THANKS to the Animal Humane Society and their medical van and staff and the Lawson Family Foundation for their financial support and all the volunteers. There will be animals surrendered at the event, so we need to find rescues willing to take these animals. Can you help?

Second, Karen will have help for ten weeks this summer from a very experienced volunteer-about-town, Barbara. I was so excited to get her note:

I've been granted a 10-week sabbatical from work (Ameriprise Financial) to work with Rosie's this summer from June 9-August 15. I'll be shuttling back and forth between Karen's and the Twin Cities, working on site at the shelter, preparing for RAVS and organizing & transporting donations. My focus will be on preparing for RAVS, gettting the shelter improvements completed, and setting up a filing and paperwork system for Karen. This is a fully paid leave-Ameriprise has a strong commitment to community service as evidenced by the full support of my co-workers, managers and the company.

Another big THANKS to Barbara and Ameriprise!

Last, but definitely not least, there will be a garage sale fundraiser for Rosie's this spring, at the last minute one of the metro support team volunteers came through with a location:

Hi. I have a friend who has offered her place for our RLRR Garage Sale. She has a nice big garage, has done sales before, and has helped me several times with animal fund raising projects with MN Humane. She lives in a development called Club West in Blaine. They have a community monthly news letter where we could advertise our sale, with 100% going to Rosies,& info. about the rescue. We need to let her know about possible dates ASAP as she can make her schedule at the hospital she works at. I say let's go for it! C.

In addition, we have a matching fund offer of $2500 for the money raised at the garage sale. So THANKS to the friend who offered us a location and the matching fund donor AND everyone who can make donations to and/or purchases at the sale. I will announce the date as soon as it is set.

Tamari finds a new friend and a home.

Once upon a time (about a year ago) this lovely cat named Tamari was living on Red Lake Indian Reservation. He and some other cats were transported to the Twin Cities into foster care with Pet Haven until they found new homes.

Tamari's Red Lake friend Kylie was very friendly and outgoing and she went to a new home soon, but Tamari was afraid at adoption events, so he wasn't chosen.

Eventually he met Ian, who was a young orange cat who was very outgoing and busy, and they became best friends. An adopter came to meet them at the foster home and the boys were adopted together so they can live happily every after!

Here is the latest update from their new home:

She said both cats are out and about all the time, making
full use of the house. She said they race through the house playing,
and are always tagging along with her and her husband where-ever they
are. The boys sleep on the human bed for half the night (Tamari is
already slinking under the covers to snuggle) and then they move to
their kitty bed where they curl up together for the rest of the night.
Karen said that anytime she and husband sit down, they have a cat on
them -- not on their laps but wrapped around their necks like a stole!

Aspen & Clover

Aspen & Clover were two kittens of a litter of six rescued from Red Lake last summer, fostered by BB and adopted into a home together. Who could have guessed that these beautiful kittens would grow even lovelier as adults! Here is an update from their new home:

Hi ARF (Animal Relief Fund),
Please pass along this photo to BB who was the foster
parent to Aspen and Clover, the brother and sister kittens that I
adopted last summer. They are smart, beautiful, thriving and loving
companions. Aspen is about twice the size of Clover now, at about one
year old. Thank you for your efforts to find cats and kittens a home.
Warmest Regards
V.

When I am old...

When I am old...

I shall wear Turquoise and soft gray sweatshirts
and a bandana over my silver hair
and I shall spend my Social Security Checks on Sweet Wine and My Dogs
and sit in my house on my well-worn chair and listen to my dog's breathing.

I will sneak out in the middle of a warm Summer night and take my dogs for a run,
if my old bones will allow
and when people come to call, I will smile and nod as I show them my dogs
and talk of them and about them
The Ones so Beloved of the Past
and the Ones so Beloved of Today

I still will work hard cleaning after them and mopping and feeding them
and whispering their names in a soft, loving way.
I will wear the gleaming sweat on my throat, like a jewel
and I will be an embarrassment to alland my family
who have not yet found the peace in being free to have dogs as your Best Friends

These friends who always wait, at any hour, for your footfall
and eagerly jump to their feet out of a sound sleep,
to greet you as if you are a God.
With warm eyes full of adoring love and hope that you will stay
and their big, strong necks
and kiss their dear sweet heads
and whisper to their very special company

I look in the Mirror
and see I am getting old
this is the kind of woman I am
and have always been.

Loving dogs is easy,
they are part of me,
accept me for who I am,
my dogs appreciate my presence in their lives
when I am old this will be important to me

You will understand when you are old
and if you have dogs to love too.

--Author unknown

Samson in his new home

Samson is a large black lab who was rescued 2 years ago. He had no hair from severe mange and the owner said she was trying to kill him by withholding food, but he would not die! The kids in the household threw rocks at him.

Now look at him- he is so beautiful and has a GREAT life. Makes it all worthwhile.

Karen


Here is the update on Samson from Animal Ark:

05/22/2008 - Samson update
Posted by Mary S
Updated on 05/23/2008

One of the dogs we have rescued from Red Lake in the past was Samson. He found a great home and today I received some photos of him and an update! I just had to share his "New life" with all of you, it warmed my heart & I'm sure it will warm yours too.

The following is from Samson's new mom:
When Sam first came to us, he would cower everytime we would raise our handaround him, and would cry in his sleep almost every night. The abuse he suffered must have been terrible. We are so glad the Animal Ark found him,and took him out of that terrible situation. The fact that Sam is probably the sweetest dog on the planet is a miracle, considering what he went through.

He is 108 pounds of pure love. He would sit there and let you pet him for hours. All he wants is love and gentle words, and of course, treats!He loves walking, playing fetch at the dog park, and going for rides inthe car. He knows when it is Thursday. Dan and I go out to Peking restaurant on Thursday's, and he comes along for the ride. He waits patiently in the car because he knows he will get a chicken strip for a treat. He loves to go anywhere in the car. He doesn't much care where, or if the car is even running. One day, I had to go out to the garage and he must have followed me out there. When I couldn't find him, I went back out to the garage, and there he was, sitting in the car (he jumped in thru theopen window), in the dark, almost as if to say "You won't be going anywhere without me".

He hangs out on the couch watching TV with us, and likes to sleep with us for about an hour each night. Then he hops down and goes to his own bed. He is not a "morning" person, and in fact he acts more like a second shift person. When we get up in the morning we let the other two dogs out first,and Sam just lays there on his bed. If you talk to him, he will crack one eye open and look at you, as if to say "just 5 more minutes, please".

All of our friends just love his mellow disposition, and after they hear his story, tell us how lucky Sam was to find us, when in fact, it is the other way around. We are the lucky ones to have found Sam.

RLRR Metro Support Team meeting, Tues., May 20

Anyone interested in learning more should attend!

We'll meet again at the Perkins restaurant in the Midway area of St. Paul (on University, just east of Snelling Ave.) at 6:30pm.

Agenda items:
1. Re-cap of clinic at Red Lake May 1-4 with Animal Ark and the Neuter Commuter
- Accomplishments
- Improvements to be made

2. Next clinic at Red Lake May 28-29 with the Animal Humane Society and their medical van with financial support from the Lawson Family Foundation
- Find rescues to take animals that will be surrendered at the event
- Transport animals before clinic to make room at the rescue
- Transport animals after clinic
- Volunteers for this event? It is a shorter event with more help already available. DeeDee and Crytal are planning to go up

3. Blog (www.redlakerosie.blogspot.com)
- Please look at it and offer story ideas and photos and suggestions
-Thanks to all who have already done so. I love updates on Red Lake animals.
- Send to Denise at d4luke@comcast.net

4. Garage Sale
- Lynn is in Ohio caring for her sick mother; she won't be able to organize this.
-Is anyone else able to take this on or do we skip this fundraiser this year?
-A matching fund is available and we hoped to use the money to pay expenses for Benay (next item)...

5. Benay(sp?) is a mature experienced animal rescuer who is willing to live and work at Red Lake Rosie's Rescue this summer to help Karen.
- Can we fund her appx. $5000 costs through directed donations? She won't be an employee of the Rescue.
- Karen will really need the help since she is planning to have foot surgery and Benay may be willing to do this on a longer term basis for several months of the year.

6. Other???

NOTE:
Projects for the summer:
1) HSUS Ravs animal clinic (July 22-27)
2) Well drilling and a well house
3) Pipe water into shelter
4) Dead Tree removal near the shelter (will contract help)
5) Install a large fenced in area (Tom and Nancy will help install)
6) Install 2 more 2/pod kennels and removal of dirt runs (will contract help)
7) Add gravel on the road (Trail Sand and Gravel)
8) Haul straw for winter. Switch to wood chips for the summer.
9) Clean woods and grounds all around the shelter.
10) Install a gate at both shelter entrances when fencing is installed.
11) Remodel shelter by installing new windows, flooring, a kitchen area and heating though out the shelter (need men to help)

Red Lake dogs come in all shapes and sizes

The recent clinic provided a good example of the many types of dogs living at Red Lake:

Neuter Commuter Clinic May 1-4

Below are updates from some of the volunteers who attended the recent clinic at Red Lake.

KAREN:

I will be reporting to all the RLRR committee and volunteers soon, but have a preliminiary count of 80 neuter/spays, and 27 dogs/pups and 25 cats kittens transported out by our wonderful volunteers to many organizations including Cause for Paws, Pet Haven (Both cats and dogs), Animal Ark, MARS, St. Francis of Assissi, and 7 pups to AHS. J took one small dog hit by car to receive medical treatment in the metro.

DD:

The Animal Ark veterinarian, Dr. Charlie, along with Mallory (vet tech) and Mary Salter neutered and spayed 80 animals; removed 1 damaged eye from a puppy; helped a dog who was having labor difficulties; examined and treated a gunshot wound, and treated a foot injured by a snare or ? A total of 52 animals were placed in rescue - 27 puppies/dogs and 25 kittens/cats.

Thank you to all of the volunteers who traveled north to help, and transported animals to the cities. Thanks to C for making loads of wonderful food - lasagnas, vegetable casseroles, asian noodle dishes, fried rice and more. Thanks to K for supplying delicious soups, bread, sweets and other munchies and to T who not only brought groceries, but also did food pick-ups and transport, as well.

Thanks to D who obtained a laptop for Rosie's so that we can create a database of people who come to clinics along with their animals' vaccinations, surgery, etc., and to K who created the excel spreadsheet for it.

Thanks again to everyone who helped support the clinic. We are making steady progress towards curbing the pet overpopulation at Red Lake.

COLLEEN:

Hi everyone- well I'm back from the Red Lake weekend--
once again it was fun but a great deal of work.
Animal Ark had been there a few days before we got there
on Friday nite so they were in full swing.

On Sat. 3 of us went with Karen to "pick up" animals
that people had said it was ok to spay and neuter. We also stopped
and picked up 9 kittens and 2 mother cats at a house
that had a FREE KITTEN sign on the front drive.
The next day we stopped at a free puppy sign and got the
last two of a litter. It is so sad to think of what would have
happened to these babies if we hadn't gotten them.

The drive through RED LAKE and REDBY on the way to the
clinic- was proof positive that we are making a difference. At first
glance there was only one dead puppy on the side of the
road. Over the next 3 days coming from different angles
we saw more- but the top count I had was 6. While that is 6
too many, it is a huge improvement over the beginning of this
journey.

There were many folks who came to the clinic with their animals
that were truly grateful for the help and you could tell they
really cared about their animals.
The folks who are bad for, neglectful of and downright abusive to
their animals are definately out there, but they do not account for
all of the people of Red Lake.
Just to tell you- there was a couple who stopped for an injured
wild rabbit that was on the road and they even brought that
little guy in for help. While the ARK folks we're too involved in
surgeries to help- there was a woman volunteer up there who
was quite knowledgeable about rabbits and she helped these
folks with information so they could take the rabbit home
and hopefully rehab him for eventual release.
I feel this is just the beginning-- of helping folks in that area
realize that compassion is positive and that it deserves to
spread in all directions.

Chow pups like stroller rides, too

I have attached a photo of a chow mix puppy that was found on the highway at Red Lake while we were there. He was very thin, although you couldn't tell with all of his fur. I brought him down in my load and he went to St Francis. His foster family takes him for walks every day, and when he gets tired, he rides in the stroller home.

DD

Life is looking up for the Red Lake kittens

Now that's more like it! The kittens look much happier now and I got more of their story from their foster mom:

Karen and C. were driving and saw a "free kittens" sign, so they stopped. There were two moms and six kittens. The kittens came down first without the moms, but they are only 4 weeks old and didn't even know how to eat, or even how to drink KMR (kitten formula) out of a pan, so we were hand feeding them.

M.A. got the bright idea to call up there and see if we could get at least one of the moms, so C. brought this pretty cat, Camille, back with her on Monday. She was full of milk, and within 12 hours, she was nursing them all. Some of them are her babies, but some are not. The other mom was taken to Animal Ark.
Great news for the kittens and we want to wish Camille a Happy Mother's Day for her efforts on behalf of all of them. She'll get a good home and a happy ending, too.

Red Lake kittens: Blue-eyed babies

Here are pix of some of the 6 kittens that Pet Haven (B fostering) took from the clinic. They are probably from two litters and came in with no mom. Two really needed a mom and C was still up there when B called, so she brought back a mom. Hopefully she will be willing to feed the two smallest ones (in the carrier in the photo). The kittens are 4+ and 5 + weeks old.

I'll try to get an update on these cuties ASAP!

Life is hard for the dogs of Red Lake

Attached is a picture of Crusty, a big white husky mix and D.

Crusty's owner brought him in because he had a gunshot wound. He had been shot from the side of his body, with the bullet exiting above his tail. The bullet someone miraculously missed hitting any vital organs. Crusty's owner stated that this is the fourth time Crusty has been shot and that he has always recovered and healed up well, even without vet care.

D. worked very hard to convince the owner that he should consider surrending him to have a better life in a safer place. The owner wasn't ready or willing to do that, so the wound area was shaved and antibiotics were sent home with the owner.

T.

Honey & her pups rescued from the dump

I received my first report from the animal clinic this past weekend at Red Lake. I got this story and photos from a volunteer:

Here are the photos I took up at Red Lake last Wed-Fri.

Honey gave birth under the burned-out trailer house behind the garbage heap.

There were 7 pups and Honey was eating and regurgitating to feed her pups.

T.