Jan25

--------------Jan 25-----------------------------

At the end of my second week at Compassion Seeds, I feel I should tell you a little more about them. Theyre a NO KILL sanctuary located in Healdton, Ok. They have over 100 dogs and I dont know how many cats, but theyre everywhere:), several cows, a donkey, a couple of peacocks, and one blind pig that I swear is stalking me. Many of the animals there are special needs companions and will likely spend their lives in sanctuary here. Many are just too old to adapt to a new environment no matter how loving it might be, some are blind, and for various reasons these animals will never leave COmpassion Seeds. And Im not sure any of them would really want to leave. They have a great life here, they get the care they need and lots of attention every day.

If you would like to visit their website, I am sure they would love to hear from you(though it may be a while before they get back to you, theyre quite busy with Catherine Titus's dogs) and I KNOW they would appreciate your support even if its just a wordof kindness.

Well, after 2 weeks they have 93 of Catherine's dogs altered and in foster care, with just 7 left that need to visit the vet. And they will be the hardest to catch....they are the ones that have eluded "capture" to the very last and theyre very aware that something is up....they just dont know its a good thing:)

I spend my days breaking ice, cleaning pens and gathering bowls for the next feeding.

And one special project.

Redman, pictured above....Im working with him. He is going to take a lot longer than I expect to be here to fully recover from his past. But I spend every afternoon with him, just getting him used to people(people that dont abuse him) again.I sit in his pen, I sing, I tell him stories, and if I run out of stories I read to him.

He was a pack animal for a long time before coming to Compassion Seeds and this presents issues I am not very familiar with but I figure this cant hurt.

Every day it feels like we start from the beginning. I turn his house around so he has to sit in the open with me, he paces the length of his pen back and forth until he finally settles down far from me. But slowly I started moving closer and closer to where he always settles down. He doesnt seem tomind lying close to me.

Then when he does settle down I pet him, he braces for what he surely must think is a beating on its way,until I stop then he gets up and paces the cage again, and settles in the same spot.

We did this for two weeks now, until one day....he settled down with his head on my knee!

Just for a second, I blew it when I reached out to touch him and we had to go through the whole routine again....but that IS progress!

I will leave you for now with photos of a few of the animals, by the way the unknown dog in my last update is Dude....Dude is a good dog, mostly blind but youd never know it.

Ihave no idea who this is but she/he is always in the background. I love cats but, cats are what they are....I cant train them and wont try:) So I havent interacted with them much other than to give them a qucik scratch on my way past....which seems all they want anyway so it works out just fine

Bruno, and dont let people tell you only mutts end up in shelters....there are quite a few bred and unwanted animals here. Bruno has been here most of his 12+ years. I wont show the photo of the condition he was found in, his story is much like many of the others. He wasfound passed out in the summer heat, covered in mange and near death. 12 years later he is an ol-l-l-d St Bernard and a sweet and loving animal. He lives in the yard with Noah and doesnt seem to be bothered by Noah's youthful enthisiasm one bit. He walks with a limp now but always comes "running" up to you when you come in the yard. He is a sweet boy, I wish Id seen him grow up.

Marilynn, named after Norma Jean, I think. She is a SWEETIE and a success story too.She has a home in Arizona now and will be leaving COmpassion Seeds soon to make room for another.

And last of all, for now, Hobo. Another success story. He has a home with the caretaker here, along with a 3 legged weimeraner(sp?) named Crystal...every good shelter should have a 3 legged dog, theyre always the best!

Unrelated....but in case no one believes Im being stalked by a 500 pound blind pig, I AM, and he is much bigger in person!....Everywhere I go, there he is. It takes him a while to find me by smell but he is always meandering in my direct grunting and snorting the whole way.

A big hello to everyone in Healdton, hey Karin, Jerry, Mike, Sharon....and Sandy down at the Grasshoper, hey howdy!

Click on the Eyes of Evie to visit Compassion Seeds, Inc.