Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Gilligan has matured into Gill in a year


UPDATE FROM FOSTER MOM:
I called this group of pups that came to me in August 2014: Gatsby, Gomer, Grover, and Gilligan. I still use their pix on my facebook page :-)

Linda Ratay
All Dog Rescue


UPDATE FROM ADOPTERS:
Today is our 1 year anniversary with Gill! He is an awesome dog and has really become a huge part of our family. He loves going for rides and trying to get the cat to play with him. I was sick with bronchitis earlier this month, he wouldn't leave my side.

Here is a comparison picture for you :)

Thanks!!
Carol and family

Monday, November 16, 2015

Goldie/Bella finds a home and her smile :-)

GOLDIE/BELLA (center) AND FRIENDS
I was so happy to receive a call from a lady named Krissy with updates on a dog we named Goldie last summer. This little girl came to Red Lake Rosie's Rescue with a Housing employee who said that the people where he found Goldie did not want her. She came very hungry and dehydrated and scared. It is wonderful news to see how her life has changed now!

Thank you, Dale and Krissy and all our supporters who make this possible for Goldie, now Bella. All Dog Rescue took her and found this great home for her!

Karen :)

GOLDIE AT RLRR

UPDATE FROM ADOPTERS:
We had lost our beloved dog Daisy July of 2014. I knew we were eventually going to get another. We were thinking of the following spring or summer. We happened to be out shopping for a birthday card when we came upon the adoption day at Petco in Eden Prairie. My husband said, "You don't want to look at those dogs over there do you?"


That was the beginning. I saw Bella and she was so cute just sitting there with her foster mother. It was love at first sight. Then I remembered my cats. Thank God she said that Bella did like cats.

Then she told me that Bella did have lyme disease. Well, I was already in love with her. And I researched lyme disease and it's not a death sentence. It's actually not that big of a deal. Like a cold, sometimes you have symptom, sometimes you don't. They treat with antibiotics. 


We have had her a little over a year now. She so sweet. She loves her sisters, the cats Poozie and Princess. She actually licks them real gentle. Loves people and other dogs. She goes to the dog park every weekend. And gets two walks a day. We are so happy with our Bella.

Dale & Krissy

Monday, November 9, 2015

Moje (formerly Robin): Another five-year RLRR alum!


UPDATE FROM ADOPTER:
Just sending an update on a puppy we adopted from you in 2011.....mostly because he's just so darn cute, I like to show him off!

ROBIN AND BATMAN AT RED LAKE AS PUPS
This is Moje - formerly Robin. He's turning 5 this winter, and he remains a joy. He is obsessed with chasing balls (and jumping off the dock for them in the summer), running around in the woods, and chasing/being chased by/wresting with his sister, and is continuing his quest to have at least one person (preferably more) touching him and/or playing with him at all times.


 I do wish he didn't always pull the stuffing out of his toys within the first 5 minutes, 


that he would sometimes settle for sitting in the back seat of the car, 


and that he would let me read a bit more. 


But he's an absolutely awesome dog with a big personality who loves everyone and everything. 

Thanks for everything you did for him, and all you do for all of the other dogs & cats who come through your doors.

Friday, November 6, 2015

Sora's Nosework Journey Continues

Red Lake Rosie's Rescue is always so happy to receive updates on our dogs and cats. We have been following Sora's story since she left us as a pup named Crimson in 2011. I think we are almost as proud as her mom about her achievements!


NOTE FROM ADOPTER:
Update on Sora (RLRR class of 2011, Oct. Spay-Neuter Clinic)
Sora and I have been training in K9 Nosework since she was about 6 months old. As a puppy and adolescent, Sora was so skittish in busy places (such as parking lots and pet stores) that I couldn't imagine taking her to an obedience class - actually, we did try one, and she had a bad experience with some puppies that weren't being controlled by their owners or the trainer, so we didn't go back - but not to worry, I've been a trainer for 12 years, so she didn't lack for training, just the socialization experience that offered). One of my other dogs was taking agility classes at a school I really liked, and when the offered nosework classes, and I found out that it could help with her fearfulness, I signed her up.


K9 Nosework is like detection dog training (think sniffer dogs of any kind: drugs, arson, fruit, etc.), except our dogs search for 3 specific essential oils - birch (like wintergreen), anise and clove. Dogs learn to search in 4 'elements', containers (boxes, luggage, cans, etc), interiors (just what it sounds like, indoor rooms), exteriors (outside) and vehicles (only the outside of just about anything with wheels). To attend a trial, a dog must demonstrate that they know what odor they are searching for. Each title level adds an odor, Birch for NW1, Birch and Anise for NW2 and Birch, Anise and Clove for NW3. The test to demonstrate they know what to search for is called an Odor Recognition Test (ORT), and one must be passed for each of the 3 odors.

Sora passed her first ORT for birch in February of 2013, and received her NW1 title in July of 2013. For this title, she had to find one birch hide in each of the 4 elements, within 3 minutes time.

Since then, we've had a lot of training challenges: getting her to many many new and unfamiliar places and not being too anxious to search, getting her comfortable with going under things, and in narrow places, teaching her 'close' isn't 'good enough' most of the time, as well as passing her Anise ORT (October of 2013) and after 3 tries, her Clove ORT this past January.

This year we entered an Element Specialty trial (4 searches, all in the same element; they follow the levels of the other trials, so Level 1 is like NW1, one birch hide), but it was a very hot day in early spring, and she was too warm to compete well (a dog can't sniff and pant easily). Next we entered an NW2 trial in Hudson over Labor Day weekend. For NW2, she has to find birch, anise or a combination of the 2 odors, and there are multiple hides, always in interiors, and possibly in the other elements, as well as an additional challenge of having 'distractors' in the containers (such as toys, food, etc.). At that trial, despite heat and humidity, she did very well - getting 7 of 8 hides, including the container search that foiled most of the dogs there.

This past weekend, at Buck Hill Ski Area in Burnsville, MN, we finally earned an NW2 title. She successfully found 7 hides, 1 in containers, 2 in the exterior area on a deck, 1 on the 4 vehicles, 1 in a small interior space and 2 in a larger interior space. She rose above all her insecurity, was able to focus, relax, was resilient to my needing to be told more than once that she'd found the hide; what an incredible feeling to be really working as a team.


Check out previous posts about Sora:
http://redlakerosie.blogspot.com/2012/05/crimson-is-now-sora.html
http://redlakerosie.blogspot.com/2013/03/sora-is-training-her-nose.html
http://redlakerosie.blogspot.com/2013/09/sora-gets-her-canine-nosework-1-title.html
http://redlakerosie.blogspot.com/2014/12/sora-continues-her-k9-nosework.html

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Buy an Xbox or help save an animal?

Young Jayden Lussier and his brother Alan decided they would rather help save a dog or cat.

ALAN AND JAYDEN DELIVERING THEIR DONATION

The two Red Lake Reservation community members, ages eight and seven, brought their savings jar with $30.93 into Red Lake Rosie’s Rescue’s October community spay/neuter/vaccination clinic. The brothers had been saving their money to buy a Sony Xbox game system, but had a change of heart and decided to donate the money to help animals. This was our best clinic donation ever!

JAYDEN

We shared the story on our Facebook page, and within hours, an amazing thing happened. One of the 20,000 FB viewers, Kevin Smith, contacted RLRR with an offer. He wanted to reward the boys’ generous act of kindness and buy them their own Xbox system.

ALAN

Kevin had volunteered as an addiction counselor on the reservation, so he was familiar with the community. He knew that the boys’ unselfish act was especially significant, because the reservation has a very high poverty level.

KEVIN AND LARRY
There was another reason Kevin was so touched by Jayden and Alan’s donation. Several years ago, Kevin struggled with depression. He and his wife adopted a rez dog, Larry, a cute black and white terrier mix. Kevin says that “With Larry here, I’ve returned to feeling joyful more often than not and look forward to what adventures are waiting for us once we walk out the door. That’s the power of his companionship.”

“It’s clear that without individuals like Jayden and Alan supporting rescue work, I wouldn’t have Larry, and that would be a shame,” Kevin said. He was reminded that all the good in the world starts with someone, in this case, two boys only seven and eight years-old.


On October 20th, just 10 days after donating their savings, Jayden, Alan, and their mother arrived at Red Lake Rosie’s shelter. Jayden and Alan toured the shelter and met some of the rescued animals and then, much to their surprise, Karen Good and Jo Tallchief, president of the RLRR board, presented the boys with Kevin’s gift. They were overjoyed!


A HUGE thank you to Jayden, Alan, and Kevin. You are all examples of true generosity of spirit!

Monday, November 2, 2015

October clinic



Another successful Spay/Neuter Clinic! The October clinic was the final Red Lake Rosie’s Rescue clinic for 2015. With MN SNAP’s help, 94 animals received surgeries, and another 37 animals received wellness checks and vaccinations by our volunteer vet Dr. Katie Cartledge!



We had plenty of donated doggie jackets and sweaters that we were able to give away to those small dogs that needed them, especially those 20 dogs that were groomed.



The larger dogs were able to receive a dog house and straw to help them stay warm through the northern Minnesota winter. A total of 63 houses were given away thanks to the Native American Humane Society.


This is the first year we asked the RL residents for a suggested donation of $10 for services received. Nearly 80% of the residents were able to donate, many offering more if they could. Two boys, ages 8 and 9 years old, had been saving for an Xbox, but had a change of heart and decided to donate to help the animals of RLRR. They brought in their savings jar and donated $30.93! They didn’t even have animals receiving services! More about their story in the next blog post.



Since our last clinic, a favorite local volunteer, Destiny Harris, age 14, created a poster board for RLRR to display at our clinics. It shares many photos of the animals and volunteers, and shares the mission and goals of RLRR. Thank you Destiny!


Once again we had a volunteer crew from Thompson-Reuters. Thank you Thompson Reuters for being such a generous company! They not only pay their employees to volunteer but also donate to the charity for which they volunteer. Red Lake Rosie’s Rescue is fortunate to benefit from such wonderful volunteers!


Again, our volunteers were awesome, and we couldn’t do it without them! A super heartfelt THANK YOU to Claudia, who works behind the scenes to prepare all the meals and snacks so that the volunteers have plenty to eat. And thank you to Tera for the homemade desserts! They were yummy! Special THANK YOU to all our volunteers who shared their time and energy with us- Karen, Jill, Kim, Wendy, Steph., Jackie, Lynn, Loretta, Britta, Destiny, Dr. Katie Cartledge of St. Francis Animal Hospital (a RLRR partner clinic). And Thank You to the staff from MN SNAP who were fabulous as always!