My thoughts turned to how I spend my Sundays...

On my drive home tonight my thoughts turned to how I spend my Sundays.  Last week I turned 54.

At my age I am blessed to be in good health, strong, full of energy and to have a passion that fills my heart.

Today there was no normal to my routine.  I think the main theme of the day was “mini-donkeys”.   I was able to get the barn animals fed before I needed to load up one of the mini-donkeys who was just adopted. She was one of the mini’s that had been part of a county farm seizure.  Her new owners will love her, she is friendly and enjoys attention.  Shortly  after  the donkey adoption someone came to pick up 6 ducks they were adopting that were part of the same farm seizure.  I ended up giving them a short tour of the place. I think I probably walked around in 20 circles before figuring out the next priority. LOL.  I had to finish cleaning out a room in the barn and set it up to move a very pregnant mini-donkey, so she can give birth safely and quietly. Once done, had to move said donkey. Luckily she was very cooperative, I was very amazed.  I tried to give worming medicine to an uncooperative  draft horse. ( think Budweiser Beer size horse). With it being muddy and all the horses acting up, I decided after several attempts it was not worth risking. I tried to give a mini-donkey wormer too, gave up on that after a donkey rodeo.  I moved 4 mini-donkeys into the pole barn and “wrassled & dragged”, (that is not an exaggeration), the male for a good 20 minutes trying to get him to the outside pen.  I was able to get everyone fed of course, squeeze in cleaning the goat hut, goat feeder, top cleaning the straw in the emu house, cleaned a horse stall, filled up a few water tubs.   And all the little things in between.  It was now dark.  With a heavy heart I walked over to the Mississippi pen.  It was time to say goodbye to Roary.

He was released from his pain and sent over the Rainbow Bridge to be free.    I also had to help with moving his body.  There are many sides to volunteering at Valley of the Kings.  The painful aspects, such as saying goodbye to these wonderful animals when it is their time,  the body aches and pains from the physical labor,  it is all outweighed by the joy & love we experience by just sharing their space. 

Love and Light, to Infinity and Beyond.  Life is what you make of it, and my life is GREAT.

Tonight we said goodbye to Roary the lion, he was surrounded in love as he peacefully drew his last breath.  He was truly a wise and majestic soul.  He had been in a lot of pain from bone cancer in his leg, he was ready to say goodbye.  As his soul passed from his body the roars of his siblings and fellow lions at VOTK vibrated the sanctuary, it brought us all to tears.  He came to VOTK in 1996 from a horrific situation in Mississippi.  He lived the last 16 yrs of his life at VOTK, loved and spoiled.  He was in his mid 20's.                                                                                  

 When I first started my volunteer work at VOTK 4 years ago I wrote a story about Roary.  I would like to share that here. Because since that day we had connected, I always made sure I said hello when I passed by. :)  Love & light to you dear friend.

WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT, A LION SAYS HELLO.
I volunteer my Sundays at Valley of the Kings, a big cat sanctuary.
This past Sunday was a particularly grueling day. The weather and conditions were a toss up between ice, slushy snow and bare ground. We use sleds in the winter to make it easier to transport food and garbage ( aka poop & other yuck).
The sleds work great over the snow and ice but not bare ground. I felt like an ox dragging a wagon, heave/ ho, back and forth across the compound . It kicked my butt.

When it is cold and near dusk the lions tend to go inside their enclosures, so it is usually pretty quiet. It was around 5pm, I was walking through the compound to finish a chore when I noticed one of the the Mississippi lions out near his house and staring at me. They have always been an aloof bunch and I have stopped many times to talk to them but I usually got a yawn in response to my chatter.
So of course I was intrigued, I immediately stopped and asked him if he wanted company or to talk. He then promptly walked through the feeding area and came over to where I was standing and stared me right in the eyes, face to face. I was no more than 10 inches away from him. I had no idea how massive he was until he was right in front of me and he was so beautiful it was breathtaking.
He was right next to his dinner but he was not possessive or aggressive in anyway. He continued to look at me, a very content look on his face. He let me know that he just wanted to exchange energy. He knew that I was dragging, as I mentioned above, and he wanted to help. Wow, how cool is that.
******
ROARY, you were beyond cool. Thank you for always being there. Godspeed.

LIONS & TIGERS & BEARS (my grant winning entry)

This was my Grant winning entry for a $5000 donation to Valley of the Kings! WOOT!

LIONS & TIGERS & BEARS…and many other exotics as well as farm animals reside at Valley of the Kings. Valley of the Kings aka VOTK is a Big Cat & Exotic Rescue and Sanctuary founded 38 years ago and is nestled in the sleepy countryside of Southeast WI. I started volunteering at VOTK the first week of January 2009 during a wicked ice storm. Let me add that I hate the cold, but my first day of hard labor sold me. For the past 3 ½ years I have volunteered every Sunday and work 7-9 hours. I also go some weekday and Saturdays when needed. My hours can easily add up to 500 in a year in labor and fundraising efforts.

VOTK is strictly non-profit and exists solely on donations and memberships. Operating costs are between $10,000- $12,000 per month , electricity alone can reach over $2000 a month.

I have always loved big cats, the panthers being a favorite since childhood, but it was RC, the horse with no eyes that stole my heart. RC came from a local farm that had a seizure of approximately 40 horses due to neglect. RC could not be placed at a regular farm due to severe infection in both eyes caused by living in filth. VOTK committed to taking in RC and had her eyes removed to relieve her pain. She has a seeing eye donkey, Monchee, who is her best buddy. To watch how she maneuvers around her small field area is always amazing to me. I committed myself to make sure she always had a spotless stall before I left at the end of the day. While I work in her area she stands at my shoulder listening to every word I say. She loves when I talk to her. I will occasionally stop to give her nose kisses and back rubs. When it is time to put the shavings down she waits until I tell her that I am all done, then she proceeds to roll around in bliss in her clean stall. I then brush her down, telling her how much I love her with each brush stroke. The bond I share with this amazing horse is beyond words. She completes my soul.

It is difficult to keep my volunteer experience short as there are so many stories I could tell about all the wonderful animals and people. I started writing a blog called animalbond.blogspot.com and added animal photography (flickr.com/susanR58) to share my many enriching encounters. Volunteering at Valley of the Kings is one of the most personally rewarding experiences of my life. I have learned firsthand about the circle of life, the sadness and joy that accompanies an animal’s passing, to see the love and trust these once abused animals now have for their caregivers. Volunteering is to give back and not expect anything in return. I satisfy my desire to help animals (my passion), provide service (something we all should be doing), get lots of healthy exercise and it all brings peace and unconditional love into my life. -Susan Reinholz

“They need us as much as we need them”

A friend asked me how I was able to continue bringing new animals into my life when losing them is so painful.  She had just made the difficult decision to put her dog to sleep after an unfortunate incident.

My immediate reply was “They need us as much as we need them”.  

God created us with an unending capacity to love and be loved. 

I could not imagine life without any of my pets.   I have 10 of them right now, 8 cats and 2 dogs.

There are many people with many more pets.  If I could afford more, I think I would be open, but it is a struggle, however, a worthwhile one.

There was a time when I thought I would not be able to adopt another dog.  My Maxine was the perfect dog and I could never find one as smart, loving and devoted as she was.  I also thought about the constraints that come with a dog.   Did I really want to start all over again?

My thought process turned completely upside down one weekend in November, 5 years ago.  My daughter was home from college, she wanted to see the German Shepherd puppies at the pet store. I reluctantly agreed, she also tried to convince me that Maxine needed a friend and that she was getting old ( she was 12 at the time).

At $1200 it was a no brainer, no way.  I told her that there are rescues for many breeds.   

Though I didn’t know of any personally I decided to just check on some to show her.   A quick Google check brought up White Paws German Shepherd Rescue located in Green Bay.  The feature dog was Kenyon.  I read his story and my heart melted.  He had been through hell and back in his 5 years and had been in his foster home for 9 months, he was a hardship case.   I knew in no uncertain terms that we belonged together.    

It was 9 pm, late but I couldn’t hold back, I had to call and ask about him.  Though WPGSD is located in Green Bay, he was actually being fostered just 18 miles away from where I lived.  I made an appointment to see him the next day.

It was a drizzling, overcast day but I was going to meet him, nothing was going to keep me away.  His foster dad, Keith, lives on a gentleman’s farm.  He had Kenyon in the barn, he was well taken care of, but he was wild.  As soon as he let him out he ran all over the barn and up and down the hay bales- boy oh boy, what was I doing???    I put him on the leash and we walked together towards the house.  He walked well, he behaved and was happy to be walked.   I leaned over and asked” what do you think boy, do you want to live with me?”  He responded by giving me a nuzzle, our fates were sealed.

Bringing Kenyon into my life was one part of the beginning of my reawakening.    It was a rocky beginning, but once he understood that he was in his forever home, that Maxine was the alpha and the cats were off limits, he quickly settled in.  He opened a gateway to my soul and brought out more love in me than I thought was possible.  Kenyon was an amazing dog, his transformation from a dog who was tied to a tree for 5 years and abused, who was terrified of storms and men wearing dark clothing,  to a loving dog who was always by my side, who slept next to me every night, who trusted me wholeheartedly, he was 110 lbs of pure love and devotion.   I could go on and on of how wonderful he was and how much we both grew together.  But his story is still a difficult one for me, it still hurts my heart more than any other companion I have had.  He was with me a brief 2 ½ years and left my side abruptly due to bloat.  It was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make, but I knew his quality of life was first and foremost.  I knew he was ready, he put his massive head on my shoulder and we held each other as he quietly passed.  I’m not sure how I got home that night, it was 3 am, I bawled and moaned in grief the whole way home.  What I do remember is when I was ¾ of the way home there was a big marquee and on that sign it said RAINBOW BRIDGE.  That was my confirmation; he was home and would always be with me in spirit.  

I guess where I was going with this was that once Kenyon opened that door to my heart,  I have had 3 dogs since Maxine passed.  I adopted Lily, another White GSD on the day she was to be euthanized.  Lena came in to my life 30 days after I lost Kenyon. I was not ready to have another dog so soon.  A friend of a friend of a friend knew someone that needed to find a home for Lena.  Her options were a shelter or donate her body to the vet school, she was 7 ½ yrs old.  I fought it, and even though I tried to find her a new home because I knew she was a danger to my cats, I would look in to her eyes and see that she needed me.  So she also found a place in my heart.    Two and a half years later, she is still stalking my cats, yet  I have never regretted the decision to keep her or any of my pet companions.   I have several seniors.  I lament the day I start noticing a decline in their health and that I will have to make a decision to help them home or let them pass naturally.  They will always have quality of life, unending love and a notch in my heart and soul forever.  We need to open our hearts for new pet companions, for they need us as much as we need them, for that I will always be certain.

Sharing VOTK with friends

I  wanted to share that this weekend I had several friends come out to VOTK to visit as my guests.  I went out Saturday morning with Patty, a long time friend, and she got the most personal tour one can get as one on one. On Sunday I had more friends come out, including 2 children.  I love being able to express my passion for the animals and the rescue in general.  The residents have mostly sad beginnings but what we see are the happy, loved faces, we hear the purrs, the chuffs, the chirps, squawks, whatever noise they make to show pleasure and contentment.  Looking us eye to eye and expressing "thank you" and "I love you" with the depth of their very being.  At the end of a very long day I got to see Zipper move out of his old enclosure, down the hallway into his new palace.  He chuffed and chuffed and checked out everyone helping on his walk through, there were no dry eyes. Zipper is old, and has been having trouble walking, we think he has had a series of mini strokes & or seizures.  So to see him so happy just welled up our hearts and our eyes.  Raj, our new tiger was then moved from the trailer into Zipper old home. It was dark and he was slowly working his way through Seava's area to get to his new home.  I had to leave because my own pets at home, especially the dogs were probably crossing legs until I got home.  I look forward to seeing Raj and Zipper enjoying their new homes.  Sheba, the new lion has been adjusting well, she loves to jump up on her new house.  Her orientation /exposure with Satchel looks very promising :).   I love my life!

RC the horse, my babygirl

     I have written about RC before.  She is a horse without eyes, not just blind, she has dry eye sockets.  This was a result of mistreatment in the form of lack of hygenic care by her former owners ( that's being nice).  RC is my favorite animal at Valley of the Kings.  There are times I am not able to spend as much time as I would like with her, and I think those are the days where both of us feel a bit lost.  I have been doing my best to remedy that.  She has been out of sorts since Leroy ( a beautiful grey horse) has been a temporary resident in her abode.  He has taken over her space and she does not like it.  I love Leroy, but I can see the strife he causes and I do my best to calm her.  I love to brush her, well she loves being brushed, it is a mutual bond and something we have shared for 2 1/2 years.  About a month ago I caught her rolling in the dirt in an attempt to scratch her own back.  When she got back up I asked her if she wanted me to get her itchies :).  I went over and started scratching her back, then massaging from her neck to her hinder, she was in bliss.  I also noticed that she is ticklish. When I do this she gets a funny twitch in her muzzle.  This has now become our weekly ritual.  When she hears me come in the gate and I call for my babygirl, she comes right over and turns sideways so I can start right away.  I love it!  Monchie, her seeing eye donkey has joined the routine, while I am massaging RC, Monchie will get loving nips from RC. I imagine it is quite a sight to see, I will have to get someone to catch that on a photo someday.  What inspired me to share this experience was when I saw her yesterday.  While I was rubbing her back I also got the opportunity to lay my face on her back and send love and feel it in return. She reached her head around and nuzzled me back.  She filled my heart, my head, my whole body with such pure love, I was beaming for the rest of the day.  Animal bonds= unconditional love, doesn't get any better.  xoxo 

A Typical Day at VOTK

I thought it might be interesting to document a complete day at VOTK. I'm sure I will miss some pieces but you, the reader, will get the general idea of what I do. I apologize for the run ons and lack of breaks but that pretty much is how my day runs.

Sunday, June 13 was a 7 hour day. I started at 10am.
As soon as I get out of my car I say hello to Chewie the camel, Chunkie the llama, RC the blind horse, Monchie & Rainbow the seeing eye donkeys. I get my usual response from RC & donkeys, lots of whinnying and braying. They know that breakfast is on the way and that really nice lady is here to bring it to them. All the outside tinies ( the domestic cats) check me out and I have to tell them that Carolyn will be along soon to take care of them. Carolyn loves to feed the tinie's. We all have our favorite things to do for the animals and we respect. each others space. I hurry to the back of my car to change into my work shoes. I clock in, check for any special notes or chores I need to take care of, there's nothing posted.
I make a quick check on the barn chickens & ducks, they all need water and the baby ducks & momma need a dry floor. I move further back to say hello to Seava & Zipper the tigers and give some quick lovin' and baby talk. I check to see if Chaucer the lion is in or out, he is out and then on to the cougars to say good morning. I quickly take care of the water needs & bedding, then grab the feed for the animals in the pole barn.
I bring the buckets of grain for RC, Chewie & Dusty to my car to add extra goodies of romaine, sliced carrots & apples. Chunky gets carrot ends because they are easier for him to eat and slices of bread.
Dusty the colt is in the pole barn temporarily while the new fence is being built in the pasture. He is being kept away from the mature horses for his own safety.
Next is checking the upper compound, I pass by the wolves and of course have to stop and say hello to them. I always give attention to Nadia, she loves her back scratched and the conversation of course.
I am always talking when I am with any of the animals. They know my voice and it makes me feel good to be recognized. I also hello to Tessa, she is a beautiful wolf but not as controlled as Nadia. I check the duck feeders and now on to the horses in the pasture. There are 5 horses and a burro in close quarters while the new fence is being built. I love the horses and I feel very comfortable with them while I am out in the field. I go in for my quick "horse" fix and to check their hay. I notice that the hay in the feeder by the entrance is moldy and will have to be removed later in the day. The hay most likely got moldy from being wet and not rotated when new hay was added.
Hello to the bunnies, ducks, geese, change water and check food. Peacocks get new water, food is good, remove eggs because we don't want baby peacocks.
Goats and sheep need hay, say hello to Emu's. Beth is here today so she will take care of the emu's. I will miss my one on one time with Gus but I have a big project to tackle today.
My project is to clean out Homer, the warthog/razorback's house. I wrote a story about cleaning his house in March. It was a big and smelly job. But I still have other chores to do before Homer's house.
I get the hay for the goats and bring some extra bales for Homer's house. I say hello to all the big cats as I walk through the front side back to the pole barn. Time to clean the living quarters for Chewie, RC & Dusty. I always start with Chewie, then RC and since Dusty is around I have to tidy up his area too.
I bring down the water hoses to start filling up the tanks for the cows & bulls, then I will get RC, Dusty & Chewie's filled. In between I grab some bread, veggies and feed them snacks as I clean. I brush RC because she loves it and it is our bonding time. She loves when I talk to her and cradle her neck. She will rest her head on my shoulder while I brush her neck. Pole barn area is done. On to Homer's house. I fill up a bucket of food goodies to entice Homer out of his house, it works like a charm. Thankfully his house is not as bad as it was in March. The warm weather has kept it fairly dry. I discovered that Homer has a new roommate, a beautiful female duck. She wasn't quite sure what to do when i was cleaning but she made it clear she was not leaving. Three trips to the bone pile to discard the old bedding. All done & just got the message that the horses in the upper compound need 6 bales of hay. That is 3 trips back & forth with 2 bales per barrow load. On the last trip to the hay feeder it starts to rain and the wind picks up. As I toss the hay into the feeder part of it comes back and sticks to me, I don't realize how bad I got plastered until I make it back to the prep room and everyone asks what happened to me. Apparently I am wearing hay everywhere, in addition to being soaking wet, I'm sure I looked quite attractive- LOL. The rain let up enough to venture back out, there is still a lot to do
I grab 2 more bales of hay and go out to feed the bulls. That means I have to get through the cows. They are hungry because their feeder has not been filled up yet, that is done by the owner and a big loader. To get through the cows I have to give them sacrifice hay, which means I have to distract them with hay so I can get through. I have to be careful because they can get pretty aggressive when they want food. I have had cows head butt me while I am carrying a bale or run into my wheelbarrow or try to pull the hay out of the barrow. It is not fun but I have figured out several diversions. Earl & Monty, the bulls are happy, fresh hay, yahoo. On my way out of the cow pasture, Nicole comes up to me and asks if I have seen the loose cow. what? crap, no way I let a cow out, I locked the gate. I see the cow, tell Nicole thank you and try to figure out how to get her back into the field. Karen is 99% done with breaking up the bread for the cows, perfect timing. I grab a big loaf and start laying down bread chunks for the cow to follow, it works. Karen wheels the bread wagon through the gate and the cow follows her right in. Whew. Now I need to check the perimeter to figure out how she got out. This is not fun because there is now a lot of mud from the earlier rain. Chris & I find the spot, I am amazed she squeezed her big cow behind through it. Chris works on blocking it to prevent future breeches.
I am almost done, sort of. I promised Carolyn I would haul some sand buckets over to the raccoons, I get that done, play with the house dogs for a bit. Ivy the panther is out so I have to talk to her too.
I have some chicken legs & quarters for treats. Chaucer is first because he has been eyeballing me every time I walked by because I told him I had treats earlier in the day. I give a quarter to Nash but he is being anti-social. The wolves always get legs, except for Nadia, she is not allowed treats because she has a kidney disorder. Festus the lion perks up and tells me he would like a treat too. He hops right down to get it, he usually is not that enthusiastic. Lena, the tiger, is in the back by her feeding area so I give her a quarter and she takes it into her house. I tell her i will see her on the front side.
On to Homer, I promised him apples, he loves apples. As soon as he hears my voice he pops up to get some. Lily, the pig also wants apples. Good thing I brought extra. Lily is so much fun to feed apples too because she smacks her lips when she eats. Jasmine & Chelsea (tigers) are checking my bag of treats. They are not on my usual list because they always get treats when we have visitors. Czar was not interested, Chelsea took his share. Finally I make it over to Lena & Thena. I like to spend one on one time with Lena & Thena, more so Lena. They are the newest big cats, coming from a federal seizure this past March. They have both adjusted well and totally enjoy their new spacious homes. Lena & I have a neat bond. I enjoy getting down on her level and talking to her face to face. She has been playing more with her toys and she gets so excited when she sees me. Today there is a barn tiny squalling away by Thena. I can't figure out what she wants, she is skittish but looks okay. I go to the prep room and get some dry catfood to bring out for it. Hopefully that is the ticket. Jill the owner is out and of course I have to stop and talk about the animals etc. I am thankful that Beth came today and brought a friend to help. They tackled the moldy hay, cleaning up the peacock area, scrubbing & filling up Lily's water tank, the emu's and various other odds & ends. Any extra help on a Sunday makes a tremendous difference. Usually it is just Carolyn & I doing the farm chores year round. I take care of the bigger animals and Carolyn handles the smaller babies. That is my day in a nutshell. Time for me to go, I still have  2 hours of softball to play after I get all this hay off my body...