Making Hay

A common fantasy among those who rescue dogs is having an animal sanctuary. I think most people know it will be a lot of work but they'd be doing something they love and just think of all the dogs they can save!

Less common is considering things like making sure you have enough hay for the cows and horses, slaughtering your own beef for food (for the dogs), or dealing with snow removal.


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Humanely Slaughtered Meat

I posted about this subject vaguely the other day. I regretted that I did not have enough time to search through a favorite blog of mine to link to an excellent article about the subject.

Rolling Dog Farm (seems I missed they renamed themselves!) has a post today about Annabelle, a calf that was just born. Steve (one of the two angels that co-founded Rolling Dog Farm) writes about her and logically links back to the article he wrote a few months ago and which is the one I just thought of the other day. And, I learned, he has an article about the subject in Bark Magazine this month.

See what you think about what he and Alayne have learned about feeding their brood a humane diet, partly consisting of meat. Here is his February post about the subject, and here's the article in Bark, in which he goes into even greater detail.  (Bark, BTW, is an excellent magazine. I've been a longtime subscriber).

It's a tough subject, thinking about slaughtering the meat you're either going to eat, or in their case, going to feed to your farm animals. However, read his reasons. I really applaud his honesty and openness to step outside his own beliefs for the sake of their animals.


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More on Rolling Dog Ranch

This is a really nice video shot by AARP and shown on their website.

I guess they are up to 80 dogs! Wow!




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Rolling Dog Ranch Suffers A Loss

Here is Bailey in the arms of Alayne, one of the dynamic duo that takes care of about 50 "disabled" dogs and blind horses. Rolling Dog Ranch in New Hampshire exists solely for the purpose of giving dogs like Bailey, who I think suffered from a spinal degenerative disease and would have most certainly been put down anywhere else, a happy and safe existence for the rest of their lives.

I strongly encourage you to not only donate to this wonderful place but to read their blog on a regular basis. What angels Steve and Alayne are to all of these animals. And what a readership they have! I can assure you there were and are many tears shed over Mr. Bailey. We've all seen him be adopted by RDR from a hoarding situation and need to be nursed back to health. (Hoarders are called that because of the obvious -- they take on too many animals to care for -- but what is less obvious is that many of the animals, due to cost and limited hours in the day, are usually medically neglected and often thin from having to eat amongst many animals at once.

Steve writes the blog. Alayne cooks the food -- yes, for all the animals. Their home is also their job, and while many of us envy them for a perfect life, it's a lot of work. Reading their blog you will learn about various diets they've tried for their dogs, more medical issues than a nursing home, about horses and grazing and pastures -- and all sorts of things on a real ranch, but the best of all is the heartfelt stories of dogs like Bailey, who live out their final years in the lap of luxury and happiness, allowing their full personalities to come out and for them to feel secure and loved. Read a while, you'll see what I mean.

In the picture above, Alayne is taking Bailey on his Daily Constitutional around the house, wrapped in a blanket, because he was incontinent and because she didn't want him to miss out on anything.

Thank you Steve and Alayne, and we'll-see-you-on-the-other-side to Mr. Bailey.


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Need A Good Laugh?

Check out Steve's story about Widget The Wonder Beagle, over at Rolling Dog Ranch.

Worth the read.

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Two Losses at Rolling Dog Ranch

Earlier in the week, while scanning my favorite dog-related blogs and sites, I saw that Rolling Dog Ranch in New Hampshire (formerly of Beautiful Montana), lost one of their beloved dogs - Blind Helen.

You might know or remember that Rolling Dog Ranch takes in dogs that others have deemed disabled and are in danger of being put down due to their "handicap." Steve and Alayne are two of the biggest hearted people on this planet, and they left their corporate jobs to start the ranch ten years ago. At any one time there are some fifty dogs on the premises, as well as blind horses and some cats. They have a blog that keeps their fans up to date, and they were highlighted in the 25th anniversary issue of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary's magazine, as well as being covered in People magazine.

Today they announced that Callie, a beloved dachshund, also passed away. They and all their eaders are sad, but that saddess is somewhat tempered by the knowledge that Callie had five great years with Steve and Alayne, and all the other dogs at the ranch. On their blog, they posted the following video of Callie, which I have never seen, and which I have already played three times tonight while laughing out loud.  Dachshunds are the funniest people.

Enjoy! And if you want to laugh more than you cry, go to this site and see that these dogs are anything but handicapped.



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All is well for Rolling Dog Ranch... in Independent New Hampshire

They made their move from Montana, and now are settled in New Hampshire. Since the last post was about beagles, I thought you would appreciate this post by them, and besides, it would give you a chance to get caught up on their new home. Check out the links on their blog for the past month.

http://blog.rollingdogranch.org/rolling_dog_ranch_animal_/2010/07/i-think-i-can-get-a-bit-closer.html

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Gabe at Rolling Dog Ranch Gets Adopted!

This story will warm your heart!

As you know from a previous post, Rollong Dog Ranch is moving to New Hampshire. During all the preparations four of their beautiful animals have found forever-homes!  And these were all dogs that someone else had discarded and likely would have died from injuries or illness without the help of Steve and Alayne at the ranch. God bless these people.

Good luck Gabe and family!

Full story:
http://blog.rollingdogranch.org/rolling_dog_ranch_animal_/2010/05/oh-my-goodness-gabe-gets-adopted.html#comments

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xoxo

Quilt Raffle Benefitting Rolling Dog Ranch

One of Rolling Dog Ranch's amazing volunteers makes a quilt for them each year that gets raffled. The proceeds benefit the ranch and help augment the $60,000+ needed for vet bills each year.  This is only one picture; click the title above to be brought to Rolling Dog Ranch's site for the full (and wonderful display).

"For the fifth year in a row, quiltmaker Barbara Edwards from Seeley Lake, Montana, has produced another stunning quilt to raffle off as a benefit for the animals here. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the ranch. Barbara and her husband Scott came by on Friday to show us her latest beautiful creation. Barbara's family named this quilt "Road Trip: Montana to New Hampshire 2010."

"Barbara's quilt raffle has brought in thousands of dollars each year for the animals, so this has turned into an amazing fundraiser for the ranch!"

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xoxo

Rolling Dog Ranch - in Beautiful New Hampshire?

In the OMG category!

I'm sad for Montana and RDR's long time volunteers, but happy for all the reasons they list in their blog. Take a look-see.

http://blog.rollingdogranch.org/

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xoxo

Thinking of Widget Today

http://blog.rollingdogranch.org/rolling_dog_ranch_animal_/2010/02/widgets-eye.html

She's having an eye operation that will have her eye removed (enucleation). Everyone at Rolling Dog Ranch is upset.

We have finally come to the conclusion that enucleation is a better alternative for the animal. The procedure is simpler, the recovery is faster, and the degree of post-operative pain is significantly less than with the intraocular prosthetic. Most important, the post-op pain ends much sooner. There is also less risk of post-op complications; indeed, we almost lost Widget's prosthetic implant back in 2006, though quick intervention by Brenda saved the day.

So why do the prosthetic implants at all rather than enucleation? Honestly, the only reason people opt for the implants is so their animals can keep their natural appearance -- those faces we know and love so much. And that is why we have dreaded this day, because we knew we wouldn't put Widget through the prosthetic implant procedure again -- that if her right eye became painful and required surgery, we would opt for enucleation. That meant she would never look the same ... her adorable, bug-eyed face would be changed forever.

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xoxo (Thinking of Widget today, as well as Steve and Alayne)

Great Slide Shows - Rolling Dog Ranch Featured

While checking Rolling Dog Ranch's site, I learned of this post, which mentions and gives a link to some photos taken by one of the photographers at the Best Friends Animal Society, Sarah Ause.

http://blog.rollingdogranch.org/rolling_dog_ranch_animal_/2010/02/best-friends-slideshow-on-the-ranch.html

Take a look. There are great shots of the animals at Rolling Dog Ranch (in Beautiful Montana), which really show the contentment they feel at being in a place where they are loved. The pictures are truly beautiful.

When I poked around at the photographer's site -- http://bestfriends.org/slideshows/index.html, I came across a number of really touching slide shows, the first of which is about puppy mill dogs being rescued and taken all the way to Manhattan for adoption. Those pictures were featured in Best Friends' 25th Anniversary magazine last summer.

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xoxo

$20,000 for Rolling Dog Ranch in Beautiful Montana

Yep, they won!  Thanks to all who voted! This money is super-important. Remember, this is a couple who gave up nice cushy jobs to take care of disabled animals on a ranch in Montana. I know that last part is a hardship. But they help a lot of animals that would otherwise be put down.

Here are some words from Steve and Alayna:

Woohoo! $20,000 For The Animals!


Yes, it's official -- the ranch won the Shelter Challenge Grand Prize and will get $20,000 for the animals! This is truly one of the most humbling things that has ever happened to us. Wow -- what a phenomenal Christmas present! For a small sanctuary in a remote part of Montana to win out over thousands of other shelters and rescue groups around the United States is just incredible. It blows us away. Thank you!

It is a testament to all of you who faithfully voted daily for months on end to make this happen. Alayne and I were just astonished at the sheer number of people who told us they were voting for the ranch every day and had enlisted their family, their friends and their colleagues at work to vote, too. And many of these were folks we had never heard from before -- but they were voting for the ranch and doing as much as they could to get others to vote for us, too. Not only here in the United States, but in Canada, New Zealand, Italy, South Africa and in other countries around the world. Just knowing that so many people were not only thinking about us but were doing something every single day to help us win that Grand Prize -- well, that is the humbling part.

It is also a reflection of how much our disabled animals can inspire -- with their zest for life, their strength in overcoming adversity, and their playful, silly antics that keep us laughing. When we started the sanctuary nearly 10 years ago, we never realized just how much these animals and their stories would resonate with people. We had no idea. But these remarkable animals are, of course, why so many of you were voting in this contest -- so they could benefit. They touched you in some way, and you have touched them.

We are more grateful to you -- to every single one of you -- than you can possibly imagine. Thank you ... thank you ... thank you!!!

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Please Vote For Rolling Dog Ranch by Sunday Dec. 20th!

There's $20,000 in it for the sanctuary for disabled pets in Beautiful Montana. Please cast your vote today. Deadline is tomorrow, Dec. 20th and right now Rolling Dog Ranch is in the lead. This is a place that spends over $60,000 a year in vet bills for dogs other people didn't want or couldn't take care of.  So please, take a moment and give them a hand.

http://blog.rollingdogranch.org/rolling_dog_ranch_animal_/2009/12/48-hours-to-go-please-keep-voting.html

Thanks.

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xoxo

Dog Bakery Donates Percentage of Proceeds to Rolling Dog Ranch in Beautiful Montana

You can still buy holiday presents!  Check this out:


Love of Dog Bakery is committed to helping animals in need. That's why 5% of all online sales are donated to a local or national charity each month, to benefit homeless animals.


The "Charity of the Month" for December is:

Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary in Montana is a 160 acre ranch dedicated to rescue and rehabilitation of disabled animals. Founded in 2000, the Ranch is home to about 70 animals (dogs, cats, horses, birds, etc.), including approximately 40 dogs. All animals at the Ranch are "disabled" - but don't let that label fool you! These are the animals who are the least likely to be adopted and among the most likely to be euthanized in traditional shelters.

"...Rolling Dog Ranch is one of our favorite organizations (shhhh...don't tell the others!) and we are honored to make them our Charity of the Month for the third year in a row. This has been a big year for them though, as Rolling Dog Ranch received the ASPCA's 2009 We Are Their Voice Award, a great honor! They are also currently in 1st place nationally in the Animal Rescue Site/ Petfinder's Shelter Challenge - in line for a $20,000 grant thanks to the daily "clicks" from fans and supporters!"


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xoxo

Two Funny Dachshund Moments

The first is via Rolling Dog Ranch (in Beautiful Montana):

Daisy the Dachshund looks all nice, doesn't she? Sharing her chair with the blind and deaf dog, Spinner.

http://blog.rollingdogranch.org/rolling_dog_ranch_animal_/2009/12/what-is-she-doing-on-my-chair.html

Read the story; it's worth it.


The second dachshund moment is my own dog, Renaldo the Red, who found the four inch hole in his bed (under three blankets and another floppy bed, mind you) and decided to climb in to keep warm.  Doxies are known for their burrowing and mine is no exception.

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xoxo (gotta love 'em)

Video of Rolling Dog Ranch

You must see this video!  These folks are angels on earth and I am grateful for their work, the example they set, the love they give to the animals in their care, and for the comfort of knowing that such a place as Rolling Dog Ranch exists.


ASPCA Video "Rolling Dog Ranch" from V K on Vimeo.

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xoxo (Much thanks to Steve and Alayne!)

Rolling Dog Ranch and Jack Hanna

via Rolling Dog Ranch's daily blog: (hooray!)

Jack Hanna's Program On The Ranch (this Friday, Nov. 6th)

Jack Hanna's Into The Wild show featuring the ranch will air beginning this Friday, November 6. Depending on where you are, the program may air on Saturday or Sunday, rather than Friday, and at different times on different networks. To find out the exact schedule, please check the Into The Wild Web site here. It is not a national network program so it is not broadcast in every community. In Montana, for instance, it is airing only in Helena, Missoula, Butte and Great Falls ... at 7:30 on a Friday morning! On the schedule we're listed as Episode 306. We have no information beyond what is posted on the show's Web site.

Rolling Dog Ranch Gets Their Award

Here is a link to the story:

http://blog.rollingdogranch.org/rolling_dog_ranch_animal_/2009/10/when-only-the-best-will-do.html

A heartfelt congratulations and a big thank you for all the work they do!  They are an inspiration. Thanks, too, to the ASPCA for honoring Steve and Alayne (and Bailey, and Dexter T. Dickens, and Daisy....)


xoxo

Pet Talk: Pair's Wonderful Way With Disabled Animals Is Rewarded

via USA Today:

Pet Talk: Pair's wonderful way with disabled animals is rewarded

By Sharon L. Peters, Special for USA TODAY


Sometimes good things happen to good people.

This is one of those times.

It's the story of Alayne Marker and Steve Smith, a married couple who had high-power jobs — he was a corporate communications guy, she a corporate attorney — then left it all behind to move to middle-of-nowhere Montana to start an animal sanctuary.

Takes some guts to do that, of course. Couple of Brooks Brothers folks in their 40s — the height of their earning potential — downshifting from Seattle city life and fat paychecks to a little creekside house with urine-proof floors. But there's more. They take in animals that shelters can't deal with: disabled ones. Blind horses. Dogs with three legs, or neurological or orthopedic issues, or blindness. Cats that are blind or can't walk well because of congenital or neurological issues.

I made the couple's acquaintance about three years ago after I'd heard about their extraordinary non-profit — Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary in Ovando, Mont. — and decided to do a story.

We spent hours talking about the farm-tending skills they had gained through on-the-job training and the animal-care expertise absorbed from friendly veterinarians who understood that some of the animals would need middle-of-the night interventions that couldn't wait for the 90-minute drive into town.

We laughed about the endless ice-chopping and snow shoveling/plowing required for more months than anyone who doesn't live in the Rockies might imagine. And they spoke lovingly, endlessly, of the animals they'd taken in, including Lena the blind mare that was teaching them volumes about how happy a sightless horse could be if understood by humans, and Pappy the ancient German shepherd who refused to have a bad day.

It would have been easy to suppose that while the couple were well-meaning, they would eventually be driven off by the isolation, manual labor, round-the-clock care of animals and nasty winters — in short, by the very essence of the life and circumstances to which they'd assigned themselves. But you couldn't make that supposition if you heard the passion roiling just beneath their soft-spoken demeanors and their commitment to every individual in their care.

You would have sensed, although they never said this, that every shred of knowledge they'd developed in their previous lives would be applied to this new one to ensure that good intentions were always framed by sensible management, careful growth and strategic thinking.

Nine years after they embarked on all this, Marker and Smith are still strong. So is Rolling Dog Ranch (rollingdogranch.org), 70 or so animals living happily and fully in a place where their disabilities are regarded as nothing more than a reality that alters some things but doesn't diminish their zest.

And (this doesn't happen often enough in the animal rescue world), Marker and Smith are receiving a big-deal honor Thursday: the ASPCA's 2009 Henry Bergh Award, named for its founder.

Not much has changed since the couple embarked on this dream nearly a decade ago. Some of the animals have. A few have passed on. Marker and Smith always get a little emotional when they speak of them.

But the core intent has remained constant. Every animal gets not only top-notch medical care (yearly vet bills run $40,000 to $50,000), but also lots of love, attention and hugs. Most of the 40 dogs sleep in heated "dog cottages" at night but spend their days romping in dog-proof paddocks and roaming in and out of the couple's house, where they settle on a favorite chair, doggie bed or, in Dexter the dachshund's case, pile of freshly washed fleece bedding (five to seven loads of laundry a day is the norm). The cats have a cabin where they soak up sunshine, snuggle into warm laps and play with toys. And the blind horses are paired up in pastures or stabled with others so they're never alone or afraid.

Marker and Smith are charmed by the animals' individual quirks. Widget the beagle mix is seriously attached to a certain section of the futon, so everyone else must move when it's her nap time. Goldie the cocker spaniel mix lives for the sound of the UPS truck and rips into anything left behind.

The work is ceaseless. It takes three or four hours to do the morning feeding, cleaning and chores (and nearly that much at night); a vet visit is required about once a week; some need daily meds; Travis, the dog with the fused jaw, requires a special feeding protocol; and these days Rosie the blind mare, who had colic so severe she required surgery ($5,700), is on "stall rest" and must have a half-mile controlled daily walk.

Smith and Marker never leave the ranch together. When one goes to the supermarket or the dentist or a vet — sometimes to the teaching hospital in Washington hours away — the other stays put. The one time they left together (for an anniversary dinner), they got so edgy they returned home.

Marker is flying sans partner to New York to receive the award, which they see not as commendation for their work but "recognition of the value of disabled animals," Marker told me last week. "The only handicap an animal has is what the human transfers onto it."

Their animals are proof.

So while the full force of winter, with minus-20-degree temperatures and 3-foot snowdrifts, will soon lash their little huddle of buildings, Marker and Smith will again simply haul out the shovels, hunker down, and revel in loving and being loved by a pack of throw-aways they believe they're lucky to have.


xoxo