Norman and Ferdy

Norman and Ferdy, seen here, are two recent temporary additions to the sanctuary flock. Norman, featured on the left, with Ferdy to the right, have enjoyed their time at the sanctuary and love to graze and nuzzle one another. Both will soon be living at another rescue site and we are glad to have the opportunity to work with other concerned rescue groups and sanctuaries in assisting all animals in need. It has been a great joy to spend time with Norman and Ferdy!

CSU Freshmen Visit the Sanctuary

The Sanctuary had a great visit from CSU freshmen students on Saturday! They rolled into the drive in a retired greyhound bus, my what the neighbors must think! This was a very productive group of students. They had a good time hanging out with Jeb, the 26 year old mule, Adam and Dangles, the two pot bellied pigs, Brick and Keya, our 10 year old pups, and helping to build dog houses!

Speaking Out Against Brutality

It is often difficult to imagine that humane policies towards animals are not enforced. I have recently viewed some of the horrific photographs of dogs in China being strangled, beaten, and mutiliated due to an outbreak of rabies in humans. Currently, there are no exisiting laws in China that dictate that individuals vaccinate companion animals. It is sorrowful to view these beautiful creatures being so cruelly tortured and I urge individuals to contact the Chinese Embassy and voice your concern for the way in which these dogs are being treated. While it sometimes feels that we do everything we can to make a difference in the lives of animals in our own country, we must speak out for those worldwide, as well. Leaving a polite and brief message at the Embassy can make a world of difference! The Chinese Embassy can be reached by calling {202} 328-2500, {202} 328-2501, or {202} 328-2502. Thank you for speaking out for these animals!

"Settling In"

We would like to thank all of the many volunteers and individuals who have donated their time and efforts in order to make the transition to the new site a success! Check out the photographs of our sanctuary animals grazing, enjoying the landscape and settling in to their new home. Feel free to come out and visit the new site and spend time with some of our beloved animal friends!

Bright Eyes Update!

Bright Eyes has found a wonderful home with a family that has another blind and deaf Dachshund. They are familiar with her issues and have a lot of experience dealing with it.

This has been amazing! It has been great to know that Bright Eyes will be in a wonderful, forever, and loving home!

Bright Eyes

Bright Eyes is a beautiful 9 week old Doxen puppy. She is both blind and deaf, but has a very outgoing personality, loves to play and has a great sense of smell! She will be looking for a new home here in a week or so, it will have to be a very special place!

Update on Neglected Horses from December

It has been six months since four miniature horses entered the sanctuary due to owner neglect. Many of you donated money and time towards the care of these precious little beings.

Lena, a three year old mare, Annabelle, her 15 year old mother, Coal, approximately 5 years old and still a stallion and Shelby, a gray dapple gelding were all taken in by our sanctuary in December, they were the lucky ones. One little two year old mare was not so lucky, she did not make it, and was dead upon our arrival to rescue the others.

Thanks to a good diet, plenty of excercise and TLC from our very best supporters, these little minis have blossomed into beautiful beings! The mares are still having some problems shedding out, this is due to malnourishment, lack of protein and minerals before entering the sanctuary. Over the past six months, we have been working hard to get their weight back up, hooves trimmed and itchy, dry skin, moist again! Enjoy the pictures!

A trip through Navajo country

On a recent trip into California, I travelled through Navajo Country. I remember growing up in this area, barren and desolate, water is scarce, life can be very hard.

I can't help but remince about my experiences on these reservations. I loved it, fit right in, it was never foreign to me to see these people and what little they had because I identified with them. They have a lot of family nearby always and they don't need what they don't have. We used to be able to play baseball with a Navajo family near Canyon De Chelly.

My first memory of meeting this Navajo man and his family is of the many dogs he had chained up around his house. They were thin as are most reservation dogs and I, being the animal lover I was started to run over to them to give them a pet, only to hear the blasted warning from my father " no! don't pet those dogs!". Back then I thought he was just plain mean for not wanting me to pet that poor creature.

Now I understand. They were full of fleas and ticks, could have had rabies and were practically starving. I grew up with this and so it became second nature to see. We used to help my dad guide tours into Canyon De Chelly. We watched many a tour bus and a few horses get caught in quick sand, the buses rarely made it out. I remember all of the horses making it though. I met an old lady who lives in the heart of that canyon, probably never has seen civilization as we know it. She still lived in a hogan and had a pretty nomadic way of life, herding her sheep and surviving off of the land.

On this last trip through this country, I encountered many starving horses staring at us as we drove by with a yearning look in their eye, not all of them, but many. The land has nothing to offer them, the drought has hit hard and water is scarce. They have no home and no one to care for them, though they may have at some point. The Navajo people that live on these reservations have nothing really for themselves let alone their animals. Where is the funding in place to care for these horses, dogs and other animals? What if there could be a way to come up with it?

There are many horse rescues caring for horses that go through the sale barns and would otherwise be on their way to slaughter had these people not rescued them, but what about these reservation horses, is it better for them to starve to death rather than encountering that slaughter truck? I ask myself these questions thinking that it is definitely the lesser of two evils. But I can't help but think, what if we could come up with a way to fund hay and veterinary services for these animals? Would the Navajo people be open to us helping?

Just food for thought.............................

Thank you!

Denkai Animal Sanctuary would like to thank all of those who have assisted in making the move to the new sanctuary site a success. It has been a busy time and we could not have made this move without the help of dedicated volunteers! For those who have donated items to the sanctuary and monetary funds, your compassion and dedication to our cause is also greatly appreciated. We have over twenty bags of Senior Grain awaiting pickup at J&T Country Feed and are so thankful for those who have donated! I don't believe that we can say "thank you" enough, but we truly are grateful for the support and dedication of all those involved. The animals are doing well at the new site and we hope to see all of you soon! Keep reading the blog...we will be posting photographs of the new site very soon!

For volunteer opportunities, e-mail your inquiries to volunteer@denkaisanctuary.org and again, thank you!!

Remember Emmie?

Emmie continues to prosper in her new home. Can you believe that she was living on the streets a little less than four months ago? Emmie is comfortable in her surroundings and enjoys talking, eating, and lounging in bed.

Would you like to volunteer your time at our new sanctuary site helping to socialize the animals? We would love to work with individuals willing to spend time talking to, grooming, and walking the animals in our care. There are many horses, pigs, goats, and dogs on site that would benefit from positive human interactions. Consider sponsoring an animal and spending time building a wonderful relationship!

Emmie is a shining example of what socialization, patience, and love can do in order to help to rehabilitate animals once abandoned, abused, and or neglected. We hope that you will consider spending time with some of our animals! We welcome all those who would like to volunteer their time and will train you in techniques that will help in the socialization process of the animals. Hope to see you soon!

In Memory of Chex

Chex was a gorgeous black quarterhorse.

The first time I laid eyes on him, I thought he looked just like Black Beauty! The only difference was that Chex had EPM, a type of menengitis in horses. His days with us were to be limited, but we were determined to give it our all for him.

Chex became fast friends with Justin, another one of our old men here at the Sanctuary. They rarely left each other's side. Chex enjoyed his special priveledges here, like roaming through the pasture at will and having his daily snack of senior grain, not to mention the yummy apples and carrots that came with our dedicated volunteers.

I have never met an animal so full of life and one who has fought so hard to maintain it. His wasn't an easy one. At the age of 24 he shed off the outside of his hooves and lost a tremendous amount of weight due to neglect and EPM, usually this is where it would end for a horse in this position.

Chex was not ready, he fought this and won. This is where he enters our Sanctuary. He had regained his hoof wall and much of his weight. He was just a bit wobbly on his hind end and has had some days that just didn't feel well, but his will to live never faltered.

We all knew that he would eventually fall and not be able to get back up. This would be a hard day. We hoped it would never come. Today it did. While I write this, I can't help but have watery eyes. I found him laying down and called in reinforcements, our farrier, our veterinarian and we sat with him all day, feeding, watering, pain killers, trying everything. He could not get up, the day had come.

So with happiness that Chex had come to us and lived his life out with friends and beings who all loved him, we let him go, thankful he had not ended up on a truck headed for slaughter a year ago.

We love you Chex and will always think of you!

Chex's picture can be found on our website under sponsor animals

Donations are also needed to help with our veterinary bills for this, approximately $265.00

Bear Update

I stopped over yesterday to visit Bear at the Mutt Hutt. Wow! She has grown by leaps and bounds! She is at least double the size she was and still growing! Kristie has done a great job with her!

Her pins will come out of her leg in 2 weeks and her funnel will be off of her head finally! I'm sure she is looking very forward to that!

She is very, very sweet and will be looking for her new home very soon!

It's Sam, again!

Sam just wanted to make sure that everyone knows how cute he is! These are two more pictures of Sam, who has found a new home with Jenna Mollman. As you can see, Sam enjoys playing, sleeping, and just being loved!

A Truly Happy Ending!

Doesn't Sam look happy? Well, he is and it looks like he loves smiling at everyone! Sam has found happiness at his new home and Jenna Mollman reports that Sam is an "awesome dog" who loves lots and lots of attention! Jenna, thank you so much for opening your heart and home to Sam! We are glad to know that he is doing great!

With all of the many animals in need, veterinary bills are abundant. South Mesa Veterinary Hospital has been very generous in their services to us.

Recently we have had a number of emergency cases come through, raising our veterinary bills to approximately $1000.00. We need help with these. If you are willing or able to bake dog treats and bring them to South Mesa, we are able to pay some of the bill through donations given in exchange for these dog treats. Or if you would rather make a monetary donation, feel free to call South Mesa Directly at (970) 226-6526 and talk with Sarah Swanty or the receptionist.

Or, you can make a donation through our website and paypal by visitiing our homepage at www.denkaisanctuary.org

Cats and Kittens Rescued

Just yesterday we had yet another rescue of cats and kittens. This time, a mother cat, just six months old nursing three 4 day old kittens. Her littermate and Mother also arrived with them. The older mother had a litter of kittens of which none survived.

Of the three kittens nursing on the younger mother, one is having to be supplemented and we are worried about its chances of survival.

Sarah Swanty, a very valuable volunteer, has been helping to nurse this baby and assist momma cat. We need help caring for these and many other cats like them through donations of cat and kitten food, KMR (formula for kittens), cat litter, litter pans, dishes and veterinary services.

New Fort Collins Cattery!

Well we are officially in our new Cattery thanks to the help of the Scratchin Post, an upscale cat boarding facility here in Fort Collins.

We are housing our adoptable cats and kittens in this new location, so if you are looking for a new pet, swing on by and visit us in the afternoons from 3pm to 7pm or on Sundays from 12pm to 5pm

Location: 2321 E. Mulberry St. #2 Fort Collins, CO 80524
Phone: (970) 308-6275

A Great Recovery!

Lizzie was just a puppy when I was called in to rescue her. She is a Shar-pei/Pit Bull mix. She was found near railroad tracks and had been forced to eat straight corn in order to stay alive. This was the middle of winter. She had no fur left, only bloody lesions all over her body. Her eyes were infected to the point that she could hardly open them, let alone see.

The Sanctuary took her in, bathed her wounds and medicated her eyes. We began slowly introducing her to her new dog food. Her feces were straight corn, she had been living on only that. Lizzie was so trusting of us from the start and was incredibly friendly. She loved other dogs and liked to chase cats!

One fine day, Kristie Fischer of the Mutt Hutt, Inc. Came over for a visit and when told of Lizzie's plight, she had to see her. Kristie's eyes immediately filled with tears at the sight of this poor and neglected animal. Finding it so hard to believe that somebody could possibly do this!

Kristie, having the enormous heart that she has, took Lizzie in and after thousands of dollars in veterinary and other bills, Lizzie is now whole again! She is incredibly happy in her permanent home with Kristie and Scott Fischer and has her very own yard to play in! She and Krisitie's great dane, have a blast together running in circles and playing!

Thank youKristie, for your selfless acts and kindness towards all of these animals!

Foster a Dog and Become a Friend for Life!

Who can forget about Tyson? Tyson is just one example of the many sweet spirited dogs in need of sponsorship and new homes. Along with Tyson, there are other dogs at the sanctuary that are in need of a second chance. Are you the right person to sponsor or adopt one of our dogs? Please visit our website and view the animals that are available for adoption. Summer is a wonderful time to introduce a new pup to the family. Many of these dogs, like Tyson, Patty, and Penny, need a chance to hike in the mountains, run in the backyard, and play in the summer sun. Always ensure that your dog has enough water, shade, and or shelter from the heat. For those in need of vaccinations for their animals, please note that there is a low cost vaccination clinic this Saturday, April 22, 2006, from 10:00 a.m.-3:oo p.m. at J&T Country Feeds in Greeley!

Emmie, The Confident Kitty!

Emmie is doing just fine in her new home! She is feeling comfortable and confident, and, most importantly, happy. With kitten season already here, there are many kittens and adult cats, like Emmie, in need of adoption. Please feel free to come and visit us at our new cattery in Fort Collins. We would again like to express our gratitude to the Scratchin' Post. Emmie is living proof that a little patience goes a long way! Given time to explore and settle in to her new surroundings, Emmie is truly comfortable in her new home. As with all of our kittens and cats, we are always searching for both foster and permanent homes in which they can build a new life. If you have the time and capability to be a foster parent, please contact us. It is a very important job that takes dedication, reliability, and trust. We hope to see you soon and thank all of you for your support!