Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Week of 8/16/09 Humane Happenings


Pat & Mosey (who still needs a "forever" home) in the Old West Pavilion

It was business as usual this past Tuesday at Desert Haven Animal Refuge, Sierra County’s No-Kill domestic animal sanctuary, which is owned and operated by the Sierra County Humane Society. Sunny, a female terrier-poodle mix rescued at DHAR last Tuesday morning, is now adopted by a couple who came all the way from Las Cruces after seeing her on the Petfinder web site. It was very heartwarming to observe how well she took up to them and them to her. By the end of Tuesday afternoon, Sunny was happily traveling to Las Cruces to start her new life in a spacious home with a large enclosed yard to explore and a green lawn for her to roll on.

Stan Brodsky handles the Petfinder web site from his home outside of Hillsboro and he keeps it up to date, together with photos and animal profiles sent to him regularly by Animal Care Coordinator Reba Wagner, who lives at DHAR. Stan, who can be reached at 575-895-5551 (a local number by the way) also handles of the SCHS Adopt-a-Pet Referral program, which allows folks to adopt animals directly from their owners. Our organization serves as a referral agency. We are very grateful to Stan and to Reba for keeping the program up-to-date.

This coming week, the SCHS & DHAR summer newsletter will be sent to the members and supporters, locals and out-of state - of our animal welfare organization. Animal loving folks who wish to become an integral part of our organization are reminded that it is because of their continued support that the SCHS can best serve Sierra County. Our volunteers, through Paws & Claws thrift shop and also Desert Haven and the Society’s programs, are very productive on behalf of the animals who otherwise would have no one to protect them and speak out for them.

This week, we thank the management at Foxworth in T or C, for the business’s in-kind donation that will be well utilized at DHAR. We also wish to thank Skip Higgins for the many attractive book marks that are being offered for sale at Paws & Claws. The book marks are photos of our dogs and cats and each one is unique. Skip is also working on individual name tags with photos for the DHAR and Paws & Claws thrift shop volunteers. Skip and his charming wife Marge have been a wonderful addition to our DHAR family for several months now, and when they leave the sanctuary grounds to new RV’ing adventures at the end of next month, it will be sad for the rest of us who have gotten to know them and appreciate them and count them as friends.

There are many ways for animal loving folks to help us help the companion animals of Sierra County. For any information, contact us at 575-894-2778. You can also check us out at www.DesertHavenAnimalRefuge.com, or at www.Facebook.com.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Week of 8/9/09 Humane Happenings


A little snack for a guinea pig

Desert Haven Animal Refuge, the Sierra County Humane Society owned and operated no-kill domestic animal sanctuary, is open to the public every Tuesday. Animal loving folks interested in learning more about what DHAR is all about are invited to visit the facility and its residents as early as 8AM, when the day starts at the sanctuary. Every Tuesday is always very vibrant with activities and folks who love animals are most welcome to take part in any of them. The crew is warm and caring and its members also get along well with one another, which makes for a great environment all around.

Animal Care starts at 8 AM every day, including Tuesday. As the volunteers get busy setting up the food stations in each one of the habitats, we can hear joyous animal and bird sounds coming from everywhere. They know Breakfast is about to be served and they express their pleasure in their most vocal way. It’s a lot of fun to be involved with the morning feeding of the residents at the sanctuary - quite a heartwarming experience to know that we are making a difference in their lives. We can’t save all the unwanted, abused or neglected domestic animals in Sierra County but we certainly are saving the ones that we routinely rescue at Desert Haven. We are pampering them and loving them and giving them the life that they deserve. It makes it all worthwhile to us.

Together with doves, peacocks and miniature chickens, there are also 36 male and female guinea pigs and several rabbits at Birdland & Animal House. Every morning, they wait impatiently for their scrumptious cut-up fresh veggies, served on beds of lettuce in large, shallow stainless steel pans. Boxes of vegetables are graciously donated by Bullocks grocery store in T or C and picked-up several times a week from the store’s produce Department.

This week, we wish to thank Mark Humble and Barbara & Bob Barth of Elephant Butte, Theresa Perez of El Paso, Texas, also Kirikos Family Funeral Home in T or C, for their recent generous donations – in kind and otherwise. We also very much appreciate the kind folks who drop-off dog and cat food and also bags of pet treats at Paws & Claws thrift shop during business hours. The residents of Dog Town are very lucky! There are always tasty treats handy for the volunteers to give to them. Kitty treats are less often donated for the felines of Desert Haven, and around the kitty-round-table at the Cool Cat Neighborhood, rumors have it that the dogs get more treats than they do, and they would like to change this trend a bit. Can YOU help?

We can be reached at 575-894-2778. You can also check us out at www.DesertHavenAnimalRefuge.com, or at www.Facebook.com

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Week of 8/2/09 Humane Happenings


View of Central Bark from the Pooch Play Yard


by Eliana Aubin

It was a typical summer week indeed at Desert Haven Animal Refuge, Sierra County’s no-kill domestic animal sanctuary. Desert Haven (DHAR) is owned and operated by the Sierra County Humane Society (SCHS), which is governed by a board of directors elected by the members for a term of three years. Elections for empty or expiring directorships are held during the SCHS Annual Membership meeting in February. The five officers, including the president, are elected by the members of the board at their March meeting. Board members and officer serve in a volunteer capacity.

The DHAR semi-annual guinea pig round-up took place this past Tuesday, with most of the volunteers involved. The guinea pig round-up ( no lasso or spurs, please) is a time for each and every guinea pig to receive special individual attention from the volunteers, including a thorough check-up and also a bath, which is a real treat for them in this hot weather. At the same time, their living quarters, a 10 by 30 ft habitat for the males and another one just as spacious for the females, together with their cubbyholes, ramps, feeding stations and tunnels, is thoroughly deep-cleaned and sterilized, above and beyond the deep-cleaning performed every Tuesday, when the crew is at its largest.

Want to run with the pooches? Take a dog on a jog! The dogs of Desert Haven are waiting for you. We have the space and the trails, and you can pick your favorite four-legged companion who will happily tag along for as long or as short a walk that you choose it to be. All we ask from you is that you come down during the time that is reserved daily for animal care, which at this time of the year is at 8 AM and also at 6 PM.

For more information or to confirm your arrival on a specific day, call us at 894-2778. You can also drop in at DHAR on a Tuesday, visit with the animals and the folks caring for them, share our pot luck lunch and get a better idea of what we are all about. If you love animals and want to spend time with them but without the burden of a long-term commitment, Desert Haven is the place to be on Tuesdays.

Jeanette Galliard of Albuquerque continues to donate to our sanctuary bales of much needed alfalfa for the rabbits, doves, chickens and for the many guinea pigs living in Birdland & Animal House. This week, she and her son Timothy added several bales of straw to the pick-up truck load of alfalfa that they donated and personally drove to the sanctuary all the way from Albuquerque. The straw makes great bedding material in Birdland & Animal House, as well as in the large dog houses that our DHAR canines use during the daytime hours throughout the Winter. Jeanette has been a strong supporter of Sierra County’s no-kill domestic animal sanctuary over the years. Everyone who knows her appreciates all that she has contributed to the sanctuary, while she spent her R & R week a month at Caballo Lake RV park. Even though she no longer comes down as often to her former vacation spot, she has not forgotten the Desert Haven furry and feather inhabitants and their need for alfalfa and straw. A pat on the back is in order this week for Bruce & Donna Ayers, also Lois and Phillip D’Andrea, for their donation of dog food and bedding.

This week’s wish list: canned pet food - treats ( NO rawhide please) - Plywood, roofing material, fencing, and construction material.

If interested in joining our cause, networking for us or helping in some other way, call us at 894-2778 or visit Paws & Claws thrift shop ( next to Family Dollar) and connect with Eliana on Fridays. You can also check us out at www.DesertHavenAnimalRefuge.com, www.DesertHavenAnimalRefuge.blogspot.com, or at www.Facebook.com

Until next time, have a purr-fect week.