First visit to Red Lake for Dr. Vicki of Act V

VICKI & KARENDr Vicki of Act V Rescue & Rehabilitation and her son Derrick visited RLRR on August 2nd and 3rd.

DERRICKThey got lots of work done including cleaning and organizing the storage barn, immunizing and worming shelter animals, as well as an all-day trip to Red Lake and Redby communities making home visits and feeding and medicating animals along the way.

KAREN'S DOGSWe went to nine homes and were well received at all of them.

QUILL REMOVALAt one home there were two dogs with porcupine quills which Dr. Vicki was able to skillfully remove.

DUMPSTERSWe found many dogs and pups with mange and many hungry animals that we fed.

KENNEL
KENNELWe ended up picking up 3 dogs that were surrendered by residents on our adventure and 2 puppies that were in the Red Lake holding pen.

BLUE-EYED PUPIt was a great pleasure to have Vicki and Derrick visit the shelter for the first time, and we hope to see them again.

TIDY SHEDThey brought food and supplies which are appreciated and needed.

KAREN'S PROPERTYWe are so blessed to have so many volunteers visit us at Red Lake. Thank you all.

Karen

Jill's first visit to Red Lake Rosie's Rescue

The skeleton of a deer dragged in by a dog...

A dog that walks on its front two legs because both rear legs are injured...

Either of these could be the strongest impression from a first visit to Red Lake Rosie's Rescue, but Jill told me that she was most impressed by the work that Karen and the other volunteers that live at Red Lake do every day.

Plenty of mud this spring for the dogs to romp and lay in, not as much fun for Karen and Geri.

Karen doing her morning dog chores with her entourage.

Karen in the cat house preparing meds for the dogs.

Geri distracting the dogs with treats so Karen could exercise Batman, a beautiful German shepherd, without interference.

Geri caring for her beloved cats.

Karen dropping off donations of stuffed animals, blankets, food and toiletries from the RLRR volunteers to Carol Priest at the Red Lake Homeless Shelter.

Similar donations were also dropped off at the Battered Women's Shelter and stuffed animals were dropped off at the Red Lake Day Care.

Karen dropping off dog food and a preparing mange treatment while Geri documents the stop.

Jill told me that she loves the pictures of updates and encouragement of successful adoptions, but she's thinks that the family of RLRR supporters, whether they have the opportunity to visit the rescue or not, need to understand the daily work. She said "Karen is the heart and soul of the Red Lake Rosie's family."

KAREN SAYS:
Jill, one of the RLRR volunteers from the metro, is a very community-minded supporter, who accompanied by Karen and Geri, delivered food, toiletries, stuffed animals for the children and blankets to the Red Lake Homeless Shelter. Carol Priest, Director and Rita Weise accepted the gifts which are very useful to the residents of the shelter.

From there we went to the Red Lake Daycare Center where we delivered stuffed animals for the children. Then on to the Red Lake Women's Shelter with more toiletries, stuffed animals, and breakfast cereals. In the past Jill has also delivered school supplies to Red lake School District #38 as well as helped at the Animal Clinics.

Thank you Jill for your generosity and support of not only the animals, but also the people of Red Lake. Mee gwitch!

Karen and Geri, RLRR

Nick's first visit to Red Lake Rosie's Rescue

Several weeks ago I was privileged to spend a weekend at Red Lake Rosie's.
It was a wonderful experience. The shelter, and Karen, are models for the rescue community.

The animals that Karen takes in have suffered such atrocities, such violence, that it is amazing to see their turnarounds. Dogs that came in emaciated a mere 10 to 14 days ago have put on weight and are looking healthy. I would have never guessed that they had come in nearly starved to death not even 2 weeks ago.

I enjoyed just watching the dogs run around, frolic and play, living how dogs are *supposed* to live. At Red Lake Rosie's dogs are free to live according to their nature, running, lounging, and investigating all the beautiful, exciting and curious mysteries and happenings of their surroundings.

The animals are cared for so well. Karen Good, and the rest of the RLRR team, are so thorough and dedicated. I don't think people realize how dangerous it is for the animals, and potentially so for those that have the courage to stand up and say "no" to those who would dole out harm to the innocent.

I hope to go up and stay again soon.

Nick

Special Guests at RLRR

We had special guests visit the Red Lake Rosie's Rescue shelter on Friday, June 18th. Patti and John Simonette, Second Hand Dog of Claremont paid a first-time visit to the shelter.

PATTI & JOHNPatti has through the years been very helpful in taking many of our german shepherd adult dogs, training and rehoming them. She has been one of our most faithful friends of the Red Lake shepherds.

During our visit Patti was eager to help with the evening chores and assessed some of our feral and semi-feral shepherds and huskies. Much to my surprise she was able to leash and walk Ginger!

Ginger has been at the shelter for 3 years and we just assumed she would never leave. She was part of the pack with Grandpa and Hazel. She has never been collared and when leashed, she made a point that she did NOT like it one bit.

Well, Patti gave us the great surprise that she would take Ginger on July 10 and would work with her and get her a forever home.

Thank you Patti and John!!

Sincerely, Karen

First visit to RLRR: Lisa Jaster, photographer

Lisa Jaster, a photographer, came from the Cities and photographed Red Lake Rosie's Rescue and the clinic and helped for two and a half days. Here are her impressions and a selection of her beautiful photographs:

Working with Pet Haven has given me the opportunity to have many new experiences and feel good about the work I do to help animals. Like many volunteers I never feel like I'm doing enough.

I've heard about the Red Lake reservation and seen animals rescued from the area, and when Marilou put out a call for volunteers for the spay/neuter clinic in Red Lake I had to help. The reservation was on my mind after reading the disturbing story of a shepherd that was beaten to death on the reservation. I heard about Rosie's, but seeing it for myself was a new experience.

As a photographer, visuals are important to me. They help me internalize things and see them with a new perspective. I wanted to take this opportunity to assist with the spay/neuter clinic and help in any way that I could, but I also thought it was important to document the process through the lens of my camera. I saw it as a chance to show others what was being done, how bad things are, as well as how much good Rosie's is doing and how better things are than they were just a few years ago.

As soon as I drove onto the reservation, I saw four dogs running in the ditch on the side of the road, all with collars on. I thought this was a good sign of what was to come. On my drive to the warehouse that first night I saw a few dogs on the side of the road just sort of hanging out not really going anywhere. Then I saw a few dogs that were on the side of the road wanting to cross; I laughed when I saw them literally look both ways before crossing-they seemed to know what they had to do to be safe.

I was at the warehouse long enough that first night to get a glimpse of what was going on and was able to help a bit before heading back to the hotel to get ready for the next day. I had no idea as I fell asleep that tomorrow would be one of the hardest days of my photographic career.

I arrived at the warehouse the next morning bright and early waiting for the “lines of people” I had heard about. Again, I was pleasantly surprised when there were no lines; this too seemed like a good sign. Just a few minutes later the people started arriving; some dropping off their cats and dogs for their spay/neuter and vaccinations and a few just to surrender them.

There were a few people that even brought animals belonging to a friend, neighbor, or family member to the clinic. This showed me that the residents on the reservation were learning, the work that was being done by MNSNAP, Pet Haven, Rosie’s and many others was working. Things are improving, but there is much more work to do.

As I saw people dropping their animals off, it was amazing to me how many of the cats and dogs just wanted love; they just wanted a safe place to be. My heart ached when the owners would bring their animals in and the animals would run to the kennels to be in a safe environment. The amount of neglect was astonishing; I never thought people had to be told to feed their dogs more food than what they were getting because they were underweight. The things we know about animals we take for granted, but many people have no idea how to keep a dog or cat healthy and happy.

It broke my heart to see the chains sitting on top of the kennel. I had no idea what type of person would keep their dogs chained up outside. I wanted to steal so many dogs that day. What was I supposed to do? I wanted to grab the dogs and take them home with me. At least these dogs were brought to the clinic. Not everyone did.

As more dogs were brought in I saw the care that each and every volunteer was giving to the dogs and cats. It was as if this was their only opportunity to show the animals some of the love and caring they don't get at home. Some dogs came in terribly underfed and infested with ticks.

The sheer number of ticks on some of the dogs was amazing; enough to fill up coffee cups as we picked them off. I can’t imagine how terribly uncomfortable that would have been for the dog and how great it must feel to have them removed.

How great it must have felt to the cats and dogs there to have such soft, caring hands of the volunteers on them, petting them and holding them. It's not just about spaying and neutering a few animals, it's a chance to check up on them, give them some good food and the human touch they might not get at home.

The photos from my two days in Red Lake tell the story better than any words ever could. The pictures document the MN SPAN work, the volunteers, the people of Red Lake. Most importantly, they document the animals and the lives they lead.

I am forever changed by the experience and will use my photos to tell the story of what the animals’ lives are really like up there. I hope to educate more people and encourage them to help in any way possible.

Also, if people want to see all of the images they can view them here:
http://www.lmjoriginals.com/galleries/RLRR/

Lisa Jaster
lmj originals
www.lmjoriginals.com