Dog stories beyond the March clinic

FLUFFY SHEP PUPS WENT TO ANIMAL ARKOftentimes, the clinic vets, techs, rescues, and volunteers end up taking animals surrendered at the clinic back with them for continued care, rescue placement or adoption. This clinic was no exception. I thought you'd like to meet a few of those dogs and the stories I got from the people who were there.

IGOR
Karen: On the last day of the clinic, Polly brought in this little small breed dog that she found on the highway with some larger dogs after it. She saved the little guy and brought him to the clinic.

IGOR
Volunteer: Igor had damage to one eye and Dr Roni thought the eye had ruptured for whatever reason. No one claimed the dog and no one stepped up to take on the care of this dog, so who do you think he went home with? Dr Roni! Yay!! Thank you for taking on the care for this poor soul!

Dr. Roni did surgery on Monday, removing his right eye, neutering him, removing a dewclaw, and retained deciduous teeth. As of this morning you would never know he had been through all that. He is bouncing around like nothing happened. He is a very sparkly little character!

AIDEN & HER PUP ASHLEY:
Karen: I got a call late one night that a dog had strayed into a yard and was having puppies. It was very cold and the next day when I went to get them, all the pups were frozen solid except one -- a little male I named Ashley. I named the juvenile shepherd mom Aiden and took the two to the shelter where they stayed until the clinic. Animal Ark took the little pair with them when they left and Aiden is receiving heartworm treatment.

Volunteer: Aiden is incredibly sweet and happy and wagged her tail anytime anyone came near her during the clinic. She got loose one night at the clinic and you should have seen her beeline right into Karen's lap!

SPECIAL ED
Volunteer: Special Ed's family brought 2 other dogs in and when a volunteer was helping them get the dogs out of the car, the volunteer asked about the pup. The owners said nah, he's too young and the other dogs had just attacked him. They had to talk them into letting him get checked out and neutered. It wasn't until examination that they learned that he had a deformity to his skull.

COCONUT HELMET FOR SPECIAL EDEd had a puncture wound on top of his head and, upon further examination, Dr. Roni discovered he has a soft spot on his head and his skull is separated halfway down his nose. They will be building him a helmet to prevent further injuries--the coconut shell was just a joke :-) Unfortunately he will need to be in a helmet for the rest of his life, but, on the bright side, vet tech Lindsay from Akin Hills Animal Hospital plans to care for him in her own home!

MY GUY

FROM ANIMAL ARK BLOG:So, it seems each trip we make up to Red Lake, we bring back a dog that was injured by being hit by a car. This one seems to be the lucky guy! This young boy was supposedly hit by a truck and was brought in by a 16 year old boy. We originally thought there may be a pelvis fracture or something with his hip . . . couldn't know without x-rays, so we decided we'd bring him back to the shelter and manage his pain in the meantime.

Each day he felt better and seemed to be using his back legs more. When we returned, and were unloading the Neuter Commuter, we found him in the drivers seat waiting for yet another trip? Dr's are thinking he had a deep muscle bruise or bone bruise, but he seems to be recovering well! We'll monitor him over the next few days, but it appears that he will be ready to find a new home once he is neutered and all health concerns are tended to! I call him "My Guy" - but he'll have a real name soon!

RED SHEP PUPS WENT TO ANIMAL ARK

March Clinic: 200 spay/neuter surgeries in 3 days

BAT DOGVets Perform 200 Spay/Neuter Surgeries in 3 Days During Huge Animal Care Clinic

March 17, 12:35 AM
Minneapolis Pets Examiner
Mike Fry

CLINIC SCENEThree days, two veterinarians, a mobile surgical hospital called "the Neuter Commuter" and a couple of dozen volunteers resulted in about 200 spay/neuter surgeries for animals on the Red Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota last week. The effort was one of a series of clinics being coordinated in order to help the poverty-stricken community address dire animal welfare concerns.

MESSY PUPS“When people live in poverty, the people and their animals suffer,” said Mary Salter of Animal Ark, one of the coordinators of the project.

KEVIN & KARENBy anyone’s measure, the residents of the Red Lake Reservation are some of the most impoverished in the state of Minnesota. The per capita income there was estimated at just over $8,000 in 1999. All of the conditions that come with poverty are rampant on the reservation including violence, drugs and crime.

CEDAR & TOPAZIn 1863 the Pembina and Red Lake Bands of Ojibwa Native Americans signed the Treaty of Old Crossing. This ensured their sovereignty on their land. It also made them some of the most isolated humans in Minnesota.

VOLUNTEER ELLEN“When we first started visiting the reservation a few years ago,” said Salter, “the situation was pretty dire.”

ONE OF THE GIGANTIC PUPSPacks of feral dogs roaming the fields and dead dogs and cats along the road were commonplace. However, after a few years of hard work and several spay/neuter clinics in which hundreds of animals have been sterilized, people are starting to see improvements.

CATS POST SURGERY“Things are clearly changing up there,” added Salter.

KAREN & DIANEAccording to some volunteers, residents of the reservation now look forward to the clinics and begin lining up for services hours before they are open in the morning.

MAGGIE & PUP“We open the gates at 8 AM. But, there are usually people lining up starting by 6:30,” Salter said.

AKIN SURGERYThe days were long, generally running well into the evening hours. In addition to spay/neuter surgeries, staff and volunteers from Animal Ark and Akin Hills Pet Hospital in Farmington handled a variety of emergency situations - a dog that had been hit by a car - a mother dog with hypothermic puppies. They also provided needed vaccinations, ear cleanings, nail-trimmings and other services.

CRYSTAL'S TRANSPORTDogs and cats that required more medical care than could be provided during the 3 day clinic were taken back to the Twin Cities where Animal Ark and Akin Hill Pet Hospital are providing the care they need. Once they are recovered, they will be available for adoption.

MELVIN & KEVINThe animals on the reservation live in a very communal environment and tend to be very well socialized to people and other animals.

BREAK TIMEThree more clinics are scheduled for this year. Volunteers and donations are needed. If you would like to help, visit the Animal Ark web site.

BEAR PUPWatch the Red Lake Rosie's Rescue blog and website for more information, too.

Animal Ark reports on RLRR March 2010 clinic

FROM ANIMAL ARK BLOG:
We have freshly returned from the Red Lake Clinic and are all exhausted, yet feeling very satisfied with the work we've done! We accomplished around 200 spay/neuter surgeries in three days, along with other health promoting services, education, and providing supplies for folks who are in need. I believe it was truly a rewarding experience for all!

This photo is some of the crew - but obviously not all of our faithful and hardworking volunteers/staff who made the long trip up to the reservation to make a difference! As I receive more photo's from them, they will be posted and I hope many of their stories will be told through our blog - the stories are not only powerful, they are meaningful, heartfelt and some are life changing! Thank you to Curt - a volunteer, adopter and the person who took this photo. We will post other photos on the blog as they come in.

I also have to thank the "back ground" crew who make these trips possible, like all of the folks who donate the animal food to provide to the families, the food for the human volunteers, the crew at Animal Ark shelter who care for the animals we bring back, the foundations and grants that provide the funding for us to hold these clinics, the many volunteers who work so hard to help organize these clinics, the community folks who are bringing their animals to the clinics . . . I could go on and on, it really does take a village to make a difference and it's all in the spirit of making animals' lives better! So to wrap up these long few days, thank you to everyone who has helped in this effort.

Mary S.
Animal Ark

March spay/neuter clinic starts tomorrow

See cute notice in Red Lake Net News.

Thanks in advance to Animal Ark's staff and mobile Neuter Commuter, Akin Hill Vet Clinic staff and all the volunteers contributing time, food and money to make this possible.