Well, we are freshly back from the Red Lake Indian Reservation and feeling pretty exhausted - physically, mentally and emotionally . . . mostly physically! However, it was fun and fulfilling work all at the same time! We had a GREAT crew of volunteers and two vet teams that all worked famously together. They were very long days which includied: set up, intake, organizing, surgery, recovery, cleaning, the process of scubbing/packing/steralizing surgical instruments, moving/walking/feeding/watering animals, managing supplies/donations, transporting animals, attempting to fix broken appliances, laundry duty, preparing human food to sustain us, clean-up, jump-starting cars, and who knows what else . . . were all taking place on site. I was "isolated" in the Neuter Commuter for the majority of the time - but not immune to all of the functions taking place! Thank you to everyone working so hard at all stations and being so flexible and staying so positive!!It's an adventure when we make our trips up to the Reservation and we are always welcomed with hugs and warm greetings - as well as sent home with the same! We held what I would call a "mini" clinic this trip - a two day clinic rather than our usual three day clinic. However, we did accomplish over 120 surgeries within that time frame which was beyond my expectations. So, YEAH TEAM!!
We never know what to expect when we make our trips up there - to be honest, we sort of just fly by the seat of our pants & hope for the best. That's what I like the most about our team - they just go with the flow & we just make it work!!
There are lots of stories, as usual, and I'm hoping this time that some of our volunteers may blog about their experiences up there if they feel brave enough to share.
However, the strongest one that weighs on my mind is whom I affectionately have nicknamed "broken legs dog". Her real name is Mahengun (Mah-en-gun means Wolf in Ojibwe). She is a small husky puppy who was hit by a car and her two front legs are broken. She was hit by a car last Tuesday and brought to our mobile clinic, in much pain, on Friday. We all bonded strongly with her because she resided 24/7 in the Neuter Commuter - we managed her pain with medications, fed, watered, cleaned her and comforted her when things got tough. Throughout the clinic we hoped someone or some organization would step up to take on her "case" - which was getting pretty dismal feeling. To say the least, no one stepped up . . . including myself.
As the treating Veterinarian, Dr Charlie, came to me and pleaded that even if he had to foster the pup, he wanted us to at least try to give her a chance at a quality of life & not just give up and euthanize her. Well, what do you say to that . . . so we brought her home with us.
We don't know what her future will be, but at least we are giving her a chance at a good life. We'll have her legs x-rayed and perhaps she'll have to have some orthopedic surgery performed, or depending on what we find, we may have to consider other alternatives. All I know, is that we didn't give up on her and we'll do the best we can for her.
Miracles sometimes happen. We hope for your good thoughts!
Mary
Animal Ark
SPECIAL DONATIONS FOR MAH-EN-GUN CAN BE DIRECTED TO ANIMAL ARK.
1 comment:
How can we begin to thank you for
the incredible love and compassion
that you provide all the animals
you continue to help, and especially for Mahengun. You do
work miracles, and each day we
remember how wonderful Animal Ark is and are so grateful to you. Thank you all who worked and volunteered at the recent spay/neuter clinic. You truly are
the best of the best. Thank you.
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