Back to School - September Sanctuary Update - Our Companions Animal Rescue

Hi Everyone!

We all know how important exercise is to a healthy body. Challenging those joints and muscles goes a long way toward ensuring a long life of taking on new adventures. We also know that the same thing goes for mental exercise. Regularly learning new things and solving new puzzles can help make sure we’re always ready to take on whatever lies ahead of us.

The same goes for our furry friends! Here at the Our Companions Sanctuary, we always make sure that the animals in our care get lots of activity to stretch both their physical and mental capabilities. That’s never been more true than this 2025 back to school season. With the expansion of group class work on the dog team, more play yard adventures and clicker training on the cat team, and the rise of trick training for the small animals, our fuzzy geniuses-in-the-making are learning the skills that will help them be successful in their future homes. Let’s see what they’ve been up to!!

What is the most important way to start the day? A healthy breakfast, of course!

Training has always been the cornerstone of every dog’s stay at the Our Companions Sanctuary. Every dog has training plans to address whatever issues they arrive with that could be a problem in a future home, and most have attended the Our Companions Canine College classes held in our Program Center in Manchester. But over the years, as our staff has gained greater skills and even dog training certifications, training groups of our dogs together has become an increasingly regular occurrence. That has led to our first ever Sanctuary fall semester class calendar. Various members of our staff are leading and participating in 6 different group classes over the months of September, October, and November. And we added the totally new challenge of including non-sanctuary dogs for the first ever. I’m currently bringing my own personal fluffball, Esme, to a level 1 class with a mix of sanctuary and non-sanctuary dogs and led by two of our caregivers. It’s very exciting to take these little steps into a future filled with exciting learning opportunities for our dogs, our staff, our volunteers, and soon, our wider community.

Matt & Abby teaching Family Companions 1 at the sanctuary

Coal in class with staff Jill and volunteer Nina

Hank practices remaining calm in his spot while seeing other dogs work nearby in FC1

Rosie learns a paw shaping skill in a puzzle class with staff Abby and Kira

Champ, Rosie, Neo, & Missy at their final Out & About class at Mashamoquet

Of course the dogs aren’t the only critters at the sanctuary showing off their brilliance. The cat team continues to build and expand their educational efforts with the cats. There are the basic training level skills of going in and out of a crate and allowing their feet to be touched and nails to be trimmed. That’s all house cat 101 around here. But for our more advanced students, there’s no end of possibilities. We employ a great deal of clicker training with our cats. Not only is it great for training basic skills and habits, but we can use it to train tricks like jumping through hoops, getting on a skateboard, or ringing a bell. And if that wasn’t enough, we even employ clicker training for socialization! Shy kitten kids Sizzle and Indie are the latest students in our program that uses clicker training and other techniques to help these under socialized kids to learn that pets, sitting on laps, getting picked up, and lots more interactions are a good thing that they begin to seek out. It’s a very special thing to watch how quickly a kitten who was all hisses and growls can learn the finer points of house cat etiquette.

Shazam! is rocking his skateboard trick training

Could Captain Crunch be the next Mozart?

Niles is clearly a professional at carrier training, and looks very cute doing it!

Those who know Ralph, know that he is always climbing to new heights

Linus showing off the tallest stand of all

Formerly feral kittens Indie & Sizzle are learning that humans are friends

And what about our smallest critters? They have lots of learning to do here as well. The first priority is always socialization. Helping the various little ones know that they are safe and respected and can approach us for affection is always job one. Our new rat friends, Wanda and Winnie, are currently in a socialization clicker training program similar to the one we work with shy cats. But for those fluffy friends who are all too ready for snuggle time, there’s still more to learn. Guinea pigs and bunnies can learn tricks like sitting up for a treat, and ferrets Maz and Lucien are learning to spin and twirl. There’s always something new to learn and a new way to grow.

New rat friend Wanda is slowly learning to trust humans, yummy snacks are imperative!

Hunny is seated and ready for class to begin!

Marvelous Mister Maz demonstrating a perfect ferret stand

And at the end of the day, a well-deserved nap for ferret cuties Blanco & Rocky

Vinny’s View

Feed the Beasts 2025 is a wrap! It was quite the competition this year! Our Small Animal Team continues to outperform expectations with their passionate and dedicated supporters. And the special needs adorable-ness that is Woody helped the Cat Team dominate the photo and video challenges. Overall, it was a huge success for the sanctuary as a whole, bringing in over $8700 in supplies total!! Wow!! Here’s a rundown of this year’s winners!

First to Reach Their Goal: Small Animal Team
Most Dollars Raised: Cat Team
Cutest Exercise Outfit: Cat Team
Greatest Athletic Accomplishment: Cat Team
Best Workout Video: Cat Team

Thank you so much for all of your support and for spreading the word! What a great end to the summer!

Catch you later!

Vinny

And of Course…Adoptions!!

September has been a busy month for intake and adoption, especially on the cat team. Mickey and Minnie both went home after a quick stay here, while long time residents GeeBee and Rudy went to their forever homes as well. Joining the gang were Yetti, Tetley and Earl Grey, Mia, and Kasey. In small animals Max the mouse and Duck the hamster went home and we welcomed in ferret pair Blanco and Rocky.

Loss is something we’ve accepted as part of our work at the sanctuary, but it doesn’t make it any easier. In September, we lost two special personalities here, Cider and Cookie.

Cider was a bigger than life character in the cat cottages. Some might have called her grumpy or testy. We know she just had a healthy confidence to be clear about her boundaries and preferences. She quickly took over Minnie’s Mews, roaming the halls and taking up residence in the kitchen to watch over the goings on of the day. That spot in the kitchen soon became Cider’s place and a bit of an attraction, thanks to the artistic efforts of Kelsie and others on the staff. Unfortunately, Cider’s many health issues caught up with her and we knew it was time to say goodbye to this queen of the cat world.

Cookie also held a special place in the small animal building. In a large group of mice, it can be challenging to stand out, but Cookie’s joyful antics definitely marked her as unique. It also made it easy to see when things started to go wrong. Cookie started to develop growths on her face that, on such a small critter, were difficult to diagnose and treat. But she put up with it all like a trooper. While we eventually ran out of options with her care, she was will be remembered fondly as a bright star among many.

The small animal and cat teams will be having a memorial service on October 4th to celebrate Cider, Cookie, and a few others who have passed away with us over the past few months. We look forward to joining with you all to remember those who have brought so much to our lives here.