Week of 11/30/16 Humane Happenings

by Eliana Aubin

Red and his new family

This week at Desert Haven was very busy. Two very special canines, Red, and Jack were adopted.  Jack quickly melted the heart of Ann, a local senior lady who started volunteering at DogTown to help socialize several of our furry  residents.  It was very difficult to see Jack leave Desert Haven. After all, how could we not have gotten very attached to this fur-ball of fun and spunk since he was rescued at the sanctuary last year at this time? But again, seeing him take so quickly to Ann warmed our hearts and we wish them both the very best. 

Red has now moved to Colorado, to live a good life with a family with kids.  Of course, if anything does not work as planned in their new fur-ever home, we will welcome them back with open arms, no questions asked, and reimburse their adoption fee. Check out our Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/deserthaven,  for photos of them and their new environment. 

Russell the peacock has been an integral part of Desert Haven since 2001, when the  no-kill domestic animal sanctuary opened its doors to unwanted and abandoned creatures.  Russell was a very small baby peacock back then. He was rescued, together with two other feathered little ones, also very young.  

At the time, their human caretaker wanted to save them from a Bobcat family that had taken residence near his large property on the outskirts of T or C. Apparently, this Bobcat family had already decimated most of the man’s domestic animals,  birds and other fowl that he had rescued and cared for on his property over the years.  We took Russell and his siblings in.  Our majestic bird became the King-of-Birdland, an icon at our sanctuary. 

 Russell passed away this past week-end. He will be sorely missed. He was our precious feather-boy for almost 15 years.  He will be buried at Rainbow Bridge Pet Cemetery.

This week’s wish list: canned dog and cat food, also bird and sunflower seeds.  Do you have time to help-out a couple of hours a week or more at  Paws & Claws during business hours? Paws & Claws is now open from 10 to 5PM, Tuesday through Saturday. Check out our web site at www.Facebook.com/DesertHavenAnimalRefuge. Contact us at 575-894-2639 or  at weR4pets@gmail.com. Our mailing address: The Sierra County Humane Society & Desert Haven Animal Refuge, POB 638, Williamsburg, NM 87942.

Week of 12/5/16 Humane Happenings

by Eliana Aubin

Milk Bones sent from Jon in VA - thanks Jon!

The 2016 Holiday Season is now in full swing. What better way to celebrate the holidays than to give all the Desert Haven furry and feather residents some very special treats? This past Tuesday, all the fur-boys and girls in Dog Town were given a very tasty and fun-to-chew-on large bone (real bones, not rawhide) purchased especially with each one in mind, directly from our local Tractor Trailer Co store.

The purchase of safe-for-dogs-to-eat dog bones of all sizes was made possible through a generous contribution recently sent in the mail for that specific purpose by one of our animal loving friends, Jon, who resides in Virginia. Jon has been a strong supporter of our organization for several years now. His on-going generosity and kindness, all the way from his home in Virginia, is showing his genuine compassion towards all companion animals in need.  The furry little ones rescued at Desert Haven, a humble, small but efficient, no-kill domestic animal sanctuary several thousand miles away from Jon’s home are benefiting greatly from his kindness and we are grateful.  Jon is a Facebook friend of our sanctuary, through the www.facebook.com/deserthaven page. Some weeks ago, Jon saw our post on Facebook and he also read in  our weekly “Humane Happenings” article about Desert Haven needing milk bones to give as treats to our fur babies. Soon afterwards, our organization received, from Jon and via Walmart & Fedex - several boxes full of milk bones of all sizes. 

Beds donated by Jon in VA - thanks Jon!

At around the same time, our organization received, also via Fedex, also from Jon of Virginia, a couple of oversize boxes full of gently used doggie beds for very small to large fur-boys and girls.  It was truly heartwarming to us who work in the trenches, to know that animal loving people, local and from all over the country, follow our labor-of-love as they read our weekly “Humane Happenings” article and follow our Desert Haven Facebook page. 

For more information on the correct address where to send Holiday gifts, packages, etc.  for our little sanctuary residents, via regular mail, FEDEX or UPS, contact us at 575-894-2639 or weR4pets@gmail.com. This week’s wish list: bird and sunflower seeds, canned dog and cat food. Our mailing address: The Sierra County Humane Society & Desert Haven Animal Refuge, POB 638, Williamsburg, NM 87942.

Week of 11/12/16 Humane Happenings

by Eliana Aubin

The Sierra County Humane Society (SCHS) owns and operates Desert Haven Animal Sanctuary and Paws & Claws Thrift Shoppe. The animal welfare organization is a 501-c-3 non-profit entity, managed by a Board of Directors that is elected every year to make the decisions involving the entire organization. 

The Sierra County Humane Society receives no funding from government entities, local or otherwise – this means that absolutely NO tax-payers money, NO government help of any sort including government grants, etc. go into helping fund the organization in any way. This fact is important indeed, to enlighten some vocal locals who still seem to be grossly uninformed after all these years that the organization, including Desert Haven and Paws & Claws Thrift Shoppe have been in existence. 

 

Desert Haven is indeed a private sanctuary, entirely built from the grounds up and operated by a handful of animal loving individuals who cared enough then and who care enough now to provide a haven for unwanted and abandoned companion animals. The dedicated volunteers must rely on the resources they generate on an on-going basis.  Contrary to what some uninformed locals claim, Desert Haven is not and never will be the dumping ground for all local unwanted animals, including theirs. We are not a hoarding facility. Recent threats of a smear campaign if Desert Haven does not arbitrarily take in their animal comply won’t change the facts or the direction or the organization. 

 

The facts are: Desert Haven operates on a limited budget generated through the support and dedication of animal loving people from all over, including local businesses and private entities and, as importantly, the volunteers who care enough to help make things work.  Resources such as space available, funding, number of long-term volunteers, routinely limit the number of animals we can take in at Desert Haven. 

 

Can you help-out at Desert Haven? Perhaps walk our canines? spend quality time with our felines? socialize our special needs furry rescues and get them ready for adoption? perhaps you can help-out a couple of hours a week or more at  Paws & Claws during business hours? What about helping provide food or veterinary care for our little rescues? Do you want to make a difference in the life of an animal? 

 

Check out our web site at www.Facebook.com/DesertHavenAnimalRefuge. Contact us at 575-894-2639 or  at weR4pets@gmail.com. Chat with us at www.Facebook.com/pawsnclawsthriftshoppe and  www.Facebook.DesertHaven. 

 

Our mailing address: The Sierra County Humane Society & Desert Haven Animal Refuge, POB 638, Williamsburg, NM 87942.