Here Comes the Sun - February Sanctuary Update - Our Companions Animal Rescue

Hi Everyone!

It may not have always felt like it over the past few weeks, but spring is coming! The Our Companions Sanctuary is a beautiful place to do the work we do, guiding and supporting animals in need as they rehabilitate and get ready for their forever homes. But keeping it beautiful and functioning properly is lots of work. And for that, we turn to our small, but dedicated, group of Yard Care, Garden, and Small Repair volunteers. I’d like to walk you through these volunteer opportunities and see if we can get everyone spreading the word to help strengthen this team.

The biggest and most obvious task that dominates the sanctuary team from April through October is yard care. With a 48-acre property, staying on top of mowing, trimming, and brush control is a major time investment. Luckily, we’ve always had a few volunteers willing to come help us keep the grounds well-groomed so that our animals and volunteers can enjoy the grounds and effectively do the work of exercising, socializing, and training our residents. We have lots of top-notch equipment available for volunteer use, including riding mowers, push mowers, and string trimmers, as well as lots of hand tools. If you’d be interested in putting in at least a few hours a month soaking up the sun, breaking a sweat, and maybe even getting some puppy snuggles in the process, please head to our volunteer website to sign up! We’d love to have you here!

Sanctuary Facilities Volunteers – Our Companions Animal Rescue

During the summer months it seems like we can never mow the grass fast enough!

And it’s not all just about utility. After all, what would such a lovely natural space be without a little color and pizazz?! We have several small gardens around the property displaying various shrubs, bright perennials, and colorful ground covers to bring a smile to all our staff, volunteers, and passersby. Our garden volunteers get free reign to take ownership of one or more of our garden beds and not just contribute to its upkeep, but also add a little of their own personal style to it. Basic tools and mulch are all supplied and we even have some resources available to add appropriate plants here and there. If you’d be interested in bringing your skill and making your mark on our little wonderland and maybe meet some canine and feline friends along the way, please visit our volunteer website and sign up. We can’t wait to meet you!

Sanctuary Facilities Volunteers – Our Companions Animal Rescue

We so appreciate our gardening volunteers for keeping our spaces looking beautiful

You may even be lucky enough to find yourself with a pup assistant!

And with nine cottages filled with boisterous critters and hard-working crew, things inevitably break. We have amazing vendor partners for the big stuff, like glitching washing machines, fussy furnaces, or angry AC units. But for things like that loose cabinet hinge and leaky faucet gasket, or projects like putting up shelves or assembling small furniture, we could really use some volunteer help. We have an assortment of basic tools available and always cover the costs of any supplies. If you’d like to donate your time and skill to helping keep everything here in good working order to take the best care of our critters. please check out our volunteer website and sign up. We’d be hugely grateful.

Sanctuary Facilities Volunteers – Our Companions Animal Rescue

Neo would even be happy to show you where the tools are kept!

And if you any questions about any of the above opportunities, please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]. I’d love to fill you in on the details!

Vinny’s View

Valentine’s Day is long passed at this point, but the love you all shared with the sanctuary pets during our Love Fur All event will last quite a while. In total, you all donated $1,258 worth of supplies to help provide the best possible care for our critter friends. We so appreciate the support and dedication of the Our Companions community. Taking care of pets who might be a little complicated, like me, takes lots of time, patience, work, and resources. We know we can depend on you all to be right there with us on our journey home.

See you soon!

And of Course…Adoptions!!

February is a short month but crammed a whole lot of adoption action into it! In cat world, newcomers Jazz, Gabby, and Hoagie, the lovely Kasey, and longtime fan favorite Ralph all went home this month. That made room for new special needs girl Trinity to take up residence here. And the little critters keep flying out the door. Chinchilla Eddie, hamster Jelly Bean, ferrets Cookie and Snow, and bunnies Chai and Eleanor all went home in February. Joining our critter funhouse were bunny Papa and mouse Mousey.

Miel

We all know how hard it can be to say goodbye to a furry friend who has been a major presence in your life for a long time. Often, it can be the pets that have been the biggest challenge in our life that are the hardest to let go. We are all feeling that right now with the loss of Miel. Miel had spent most of her life at the sanctuary. At a young age, she suffered a major injury that caused major nerve damage and blood loss to the brain. She survived, but it was unclear what recovery was going to look like. We took her in at the sanctuary to give her a chance. The first challenge was getting her to walk again, but with the innovation and dedication of the sanctuary staff, it wasn’t too long before she was running and jumping like any other dog. Then it was a matter of addressing her neurological trauma. Despite numerous consults, no definitive neurological diagnosis was ever made, but it was obvious to all that Miel had experienced some cognitive damage, and she suffered a few neurological events through the course of her life. These challenges contributed to reactivity issues that meant she would not be safe in a home. So, she spent her life at the sanctuary loving and being loved by those who took care of her. I myself spent many hours enjoying her company and which I will never forget. Recently, signs of cognitive distress were becoming more frequent and serious, and we knew it was time to say farewell. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the sanctuary staff, as well as the enduring support of our community, Miel was able to have a life that would have been unimaginable anywhere else, even if we all feel it was too short.