Picture of the Day 1-20-11

THE SEVEN PIGS ARE GOING TO THEIR FOREVER HOME!

They will be transported Pigs Peace Sanctuary in western Washington.  Thank you Pigs Peace for taking them in! 

“Healthy”

The word healthy is defined as “the state of being bodily and mentally vigorous and free from disease”.  The remaining llamas at the Montana Large Animal Sanctuary and Rescue are not “healthy”, but the dozens of selfless volunteers, consisting of veterinarians, teachers, vet techs and animal lovers all around, are doing everything in their power to introduce these malnourished llamas to the life they were originally promised.  Trimming feet, administering medications as necessary, draining absesses, deworming, supplementing daily feeding with mineral-enriched pellets and selenium blocks, along with many other things are being done to ensure these llamas learn what it is like to feel “good”.  Thank you to everybody who has helped care for these amazing animals.  We appreciate all of the advice we have been given and are so thankful to have had all of you through all of this.  We couldn’t have helped these animals without every single one of you.

PHOTO SEQUENCE FOR THE “NEW YORK 100″

THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY WHO HELPED WITH THE “NEW YORK 100″ TRANSPORT ON MONDAY 1-17-11.

YOU ARE ALL ANGELS!

Reality VS. The Rumor Mill

There has been a lot of misinformation flying around in cyberspace, and we would like to set the record straight.

When we came up here on December 21^st, we planned on staying for seven days.  Four days into our stay, the freezing fog we had been experiencing, broke…revealing the magnitude of an incredibly disturbing scene. Animals were dying every day, there was no shelter and Mother Nature was unleashing her wrath on over 1000 sick and extremely malnourished creatures.  After seeing the situation for what it was, we realized we couldn’t leave.

The initial request for AniMeals’ involvement was to help feed…nothing more.  But we felt that for the animals’ sake, we had to do more.  The first thing we did was to get the llamas rounded up out of the hills and into make shift shelter. It took us four days to bring them in. Ninety percent of the herd is gelded but the other ten percent were wreaking havok with the females. We realized every female on the sanctuary grounds was probably pregnant.  The males were literally killing the females by riding them so hard.

We took immediate action and separated them.

In the last three weeks, we have mended fences and fixed broken machinery with grossly inadequate tools, hung tarps to break the biting winds, set up nurseries for new mothers and babies, bottle fed newborns every four hours through the night whose mothers were too starved to produce milk, rubbed life back into frozen little bodies found out on the snow covered ground, removed the dead from the fields every day for weeks on end, and cried alone at night behind closed doors. We coordinated hay transports, processed a mountain of paperwork, scheduled fuel deliveries, volunteers and animal transports.

Our work day begins at 6am and ends at 10:00pm.  The emotional toll and physical toll has been hard on all of us.  We have done things that we never could have imagined we would be doing.  We came up here knowing nothing about livestock and got a crash course in what it’s like to rescue a sanctuary.  In the animal welfare world, this is the biggest disaster since Hurricane Katrina.  It is the largest rescue of an animal sanctuary in history.  As emotionally and physically spent as we are, we would NEVER walk off this property without having an exit plan in place.

All of the horses, birds, goats and sheep have been transported off the property into foster care or sanctuaries.  The camels, bison and emus will be re-homed this week.  We have moved approximately 350 llamas off of this property to date, leaving approximately 250 left to go.  The animals have always been first and foremost in our minds, but at some point, we have to go home.  So we are putting programs in place to ensure that the remaining animals are still cared for until the last one leaves.  A caretaker has been hired and will be continuing what we started.  He will have a stockpile of hay and all of the information he will need, including where to buy the hay, who the transporters are, phone numbers of experienced people in the llama community who live nearby and are willing to help at a moment’s notice.  There are a lot of people coming together behind the scenes right now who will also be ensuring the well-being of the herd.

We have willingly given up our holidays, our personal lives and our responsibilities back home to make sure that these animals lived.  When many people would’ve thrown in the towel, we rolled up our sleeves.  Our work is not over yet, and we still have a lot of llamas that need to be re-homed and there will need to be a lot of work to be done on the backside of their arrivals after transport.  The good people who have opened up their arms and stepped up to the plate for these homeless animals will need your continued support.

Montana Sanctuary Lost: Part Three – The Cattle Drive, By Jerry Finch, President, Habitat for Horses

Montana Sanctuary Lost: Part 3 – The Cattle Drive

 Back home in South Texas, when the thermometer reaches fifty degrees, the ice, if there ever was any ice, disappears off the roads. Back home at fifty degrees, folks are wearing heavy coats and gloves, shivering before they walk into the mall. Western Montana is different. For two days now, with close to fifty degrees by mid-afternoon, the roads up in the mountains have turned into thick slush ice, the pastures are the same, and every step of man and beast is threatened with the possibility of a major fall, but the people are showing up without coats and in a few cases, in shorts. Things are different up here. No shorts for the cowboys, though. In rubber boots they worked the cattle, trying to calmly urge them into the pens so they can catch a ride down the road to the corrals, there to have their hooves trimmed, see the vet, get the shots, take the medicine and prepare for the trip to their next “final” home. The cowboys took their time, got a little vocal when the cattle didn’t do what they should be doing and stepped back a little when the cattle decided that they would show the cowboys that cows will do whatever the heck they want when they want and no hat waving is going to stop them. In other words, the cattle are “rank.” In cattleman talk that means they simply have little to no respect for people. It’s an attitude I well understand. Promised “sanctuary,” they were stuck in a pasture with hay and water fifty feet apart. Lot of hay, lots of water, no exercise, no care, no real human contact, nothing to do but eat hay, drink water, sleep and do it all over again – for years on end. Sadly, the end result is grossly overweight cattle with zero muscle tone and really bad feet. We took care of the feet, thanks to a professional cow farrier with a tilt table hooked on the back of his truck. I won’t tell you his comments because people under 40 might read this and don’t need to be exposed to that kind of language. Its been more than a few years since I’ve been around cattle. Ask me anything about horses and I could jabber for an hour. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m talking about but, like the majority of horse people, I like to think I do. I do talk with my horses though, and sometimes I think they actually listen. So picture me standing in the middle of this mass of cattle, on glazed ice, trying as best I can to express my good intentions. I might as well have been taking prayer beads to the Mosque. Two of them might have paid attention, one a baby and one a Jersey with beautiful eyes. The rest just stared, some with murderous intent. All of them seriously need weight reduction and better muscle tone, but as far as I know there is a serious shortage of people who want to play Richard Simmons to a herd of disturbed and rank cattle. There are many that simply won’t make it. Except for a couple here in Montana, those who want the cattle don’t live close – some in California, some in Virginia, some as far away as Florida. Over the course of the last couple of days I’ve had conversations with vets, cowboys and haulers. One basic premise underlies the thoughts of all of them – put the cattle on trailers for more than a few miles and they will not survive, and there is nothing more painful than watching a downed cow trying to survive. I didn’t know that before. I do now. Cows aren’t like horses and camels aren’t like llamas. I get that. What I also get is that each one of us wants to live and for these particular animals, promises were made that they in particular would not be subject to the kind of inhumanity that most animals face. I also know that the promises made were not kept and that there are a whole bunch of people here trying their best to set things right. It isn’t the most comfortable situation to be in because some of these animals really don’t care to look in your eyes to see if you’re a good or bad person. Which brings us back to the ice covered pasture – standing there watching steers than can’t walk and cows that can’t get up and once again I find myself wanting someone else to make the decisions. There is no one else. I point, the vet nods and agrees. That’s all it takes. That just isn’t right, but that’s the reality. For some, for far too many, the promise of salvation ends in the cold, wet slush of a forsaken, icebound pasture. I return to the “sanctuary” and listen to the pigs cry out and watch the llamas watch me and listen to the deep drum of the emus and look over at the camels as they stand next to one another, forever vigilant and protective, and wish it had been different, wish that “sanctuary” meant what is should have meant, but I know that man, being what he is, has a hard time dealing with “dominion,” because it means more than being master. It means caring for animals, which the former caretakers didn’t do. And I can’t explain it to the animals. I can walk out to the pasture and stand in their midst and listen to their sounds and feel their life, but I’ll never explain away the failure and make them believe that we can try and do better. It isn’t our words that make their life what has been promised; it is our deeds, and today, as yesterday, those deeds ended in death for those made too crippled and too weak to continue. If I only had a zillion dollars to do whatever it takes to make things right. I’m certain that all kinds of people would pop up and exclaim that it’s a waste of money, that all these animals should be put down because the money could be better spent of all kinds of grand ideas. Perhaps they would like to come explain that to the cow that can no longer stand up, that is shaking because she’s down on frozen slush and her body temperature is decreasing by the second and she’s looking at you and crying out for help and there’s not a thing you can do except look at the vet and watch him nod and hope that death brings peace to those who will see no more sunrises. This is beautiful country. The snow covered mountains, the tops hidden in clouds, the majestic trees – it’s breath taking to stand quietly and look around. Sometimes I’m afraid to stand too quietly in all this magnificent beauty, not because I feel in awe of everything God has made, but because in the silence, I sometimes think I can hear God crying.

Jerry Finch Habitat for Horses, Inc.

PO Box 213 Hitchcock, TX 77563

409-935-0277

(for original post with pictures click http://rtfitch.wordpress.com/2011/01/15/montana-sanctuary-rescue-part-three-the-cattle-drive/)

PICTURE OF THE DAY

MLASR ANIMAL PICTURE OF THE DAY

The sanctuary’s 5 goats, 5 sheep and a blind horse (a beautiful sweetheart of a mare that I call Google) were transported off the property today.  The sheep and the goats are matched with this beauty, serving as her eyes.  Thank you Effie Orser for transporting these incredible animals. 

UPDATE FROM MACA ON MLASR HORSES

HORSES:

Day 7 with the horses.  Hauling the 31 donkeys to the Bitterroot was a breeze compared to the challenges of the past week.

2 people trying to corral about 80 horses from 100 or so acres, many which have not been handled in gosh knows how long if ever.  Well catching them would have been a chore in its’self , but not having safe corrals, fencing, water that wasn’t frozen for them to drink, hay that wasn’t more than horse tail weeds, horses that were way under weight, snow, ice and below 0 temps, winds that cut you like a knife all added to 12+ hr days.

Is it worth it!  ABSOLUTELY!  Watching some of the horses jump into a trailer leaving for the Bitterroot, seeing them chase Lennie, our new hay supplier for the horses as he passes them with fantastic grass hay, standing under the head of a 2,500 lb. Draft horse without having a fear of being squashed like a bug, finding that the new water heaters we bought did not throw the breaker in the night, putting the herd to bed by 8 pm and calling it a good day, yep these are a few of our favorite things!

Due to some SLOW going on transport, we still have 20 animals to move but from 80 or so, that is still really good.  For me though, the job isn’t done until it’s DONE so I’m praying for an email tonight that says a couple of trailers are on the way in the am.

Have you ever tried to stop a Mac truck?  Well, tell a big draft horse to get on a trailer when the last time he was hauled was when he was under a yr old and now they are about 10 or so old.  Well, tell 4 of them to load and what you get is a big ole crash, out they came, fencing and all, then another fence and another fence.  Now 3 of them did load but number 4 well he took off and took the rest of the herd that Bev. And I were trying to catch for 2 days.  I want to thank John the local brand inspector he is the most fantastic guy with a heart of gold.  Many hours he has given of himself to help Bev and I with any chore we were working on.  We didn’t have a hammer, a pitchfork, no boards, no fencing panels, no rope, no water heaters, no electrical cords not even hay string.  When I say we had NOTHING I mean it.  But we scrounged, met locals who gave me their password so I could sit in their driveways and check email to know where our transporters were, Fergies Restaurant with staff who always gives us a smile when we run in to use the phone for local calls and has the best pizza in the world.  Second Home Restaurant who would do anything for us and had coffee ready when we fell in their doors at 8 pm.

Have we actually been in the real Hot Springs water, heck NO!!!  We’re lucky to get in the shower.  All we care about is helping the horses and You folks looking deep into you heart and considering taking on a horse or two. Horses that “thought” they had a forever home here in a Sanctuary.

Many of these horses are beautiful and ready for a new for-ever home.  We will have them in Corvallis, Montana where they will be cared for completely.  Please go to www.montanaanimalcareassociation.org for further information and photos that will be updated.

Be safe and please remember Animeals has llamas available for adoption and we have horses.  The great news is most all of the horses have been around llamas a lot and they make good pairs….  hint – hint.

We need help,  if you feel the need to give.  Horse shoers, feed, shaving, straw, medications and so on will be needed for the next few months.  Please email me at MACAusa@aol.com with any questions, for addresses, information on horse adoption.

Keepin’ On Keepin’ On

Phyllis Ruana of The Montana Animal Care Association and her Right Hand Gal Bev. “Duck” Buckner

To All of You…

December 21^st, was a pivotal day,

Our lives will never be the same.

It started with a question and ended with a yes

And still, we are here today.

 

The drive to the sanctuary was icy with fog

Uncertainty changing our moods

What would we see? What could we do?

Did the animals have enough food?

 

The beginning was awkward, but the owners were kind

And showed us to our new “home”

We caught a glimpse of the ranch and got right to work

Doing what we could on our own

 

Visions of death forever haunting

Reminding us why we’re here

New lives and second chances keeping us going

Denying the drop of a tear

 

Intentions were good, a lot went wrong,

Rumors confuse what is true

All that we know is these animals need homes

And there is still so much to do

Thank you to all of you who have helped in any and every way that you can.  Your support and kind words keep us going, and progress is being made!  The sooner these animals get into homes and get the care they need, the better chance they have at surviving.  Montana winters are sometimes unforgiving, and this year has proven no different.  Please help us help them!  Thank you again for ALL of you who are helping with transporting, rehoming, fostering, volunteering and general care.  A big thanks to our volunteers at the shelter in Missoula, too while we are away.  The llama community is absolutely amazing.  The vets, workers and volunteers who have spent so much time caring for these animals have hearts of pure gold, and there aren’t enough words to say thank you….thank you all, and working together, we can get these animals everything they need to have the good lives they were promised.  THANK YOU ALL!

MLASR from behind the camera…

Yesterday was a “Camel” of a Day

Muhane had a day yesterday…Dr. Charmaine Wright DVM of Park City, Utah was here to geld these beautiful big boys and take a look at Muhane’s feet, which appeared to have been bothering him for some time now.  After an hour and a half, a harness was successfully secured on Muhane’s head.  Success at last!  His feet were checked out, and the diagnosis for this big guy is a fetlock issue.  But, he seemed to be doing well otherwise!   Then there was Daniel…the typically angry and intimidating Daniel was somewhat of a gentle giant yesterday throughout all of the camel commotion.  It was such a surprise…a good surprise nonetheless.  Danny was successfully gelded, although no harness was put on him.  Daniel and Muhane were both moving around last night after their ordeals.  They seem to be in good spirits today, and Daniel has seems to have lost interest in chasing people now.  They are most likely anticipating their arrival at their new forever home this weekend!  A special thank you to Dr. Charmaine Wright DVM for flying up here from Park City, Utah to care for these two big beauties, and a huge thank you to all of the volunteers who helped.  Thank you everybody for everything you are doing and have done for the MLASR animals.  YOU are all angels.