August 1, 2007

First, I want to tell you about yet another miracle that happened recently. (Miracles are not all that unusual around here!) The other night, late, a young lady came to the door with a tiny, limp, lifeless kitten. There was blood coming from his nose, and it was clear that the little guy had sustained some kind of neurological injury. He was unconcious and unresponsive and clearly not going to live. I laid him on a heating pad so he could die warm, at least. On the heating pad, he began "posturing", the way brain-injured things do right before they die. It was very sad, but he was unconcious and did not seem to be suffering. I left for work (3rd shift) and told my husband to please wrap up the kitty in the morning when he got up, so I would not have to see a dead kitten first thing when I got home from work.

In the morning, I got home and saw right away that Curt had NOT wrapped up the kitten, because it was NOT dead! It was conscious and trying to sit upright. I quickly dripped some water in his mouth, figuring if he was going to try, I would certainly do my part to help. From that point, the kitty's healing went quickly, his condition improving hourly. Now, just a few days later, he is almost like a normal kitten and we expect him to fully recover. He does lack coordination, and he's a bit shaky sometimes, and so we've named the little guy Twitch. One must maintain a sense of humor in this business! :)

Twitch has buddied up with another kitten who arrived here, near death, several weeks ago. Templeton was about the size of a mouse when she got here. Her eyes were matted shut with crud, and you could feel every bone in her tiny body. She weighed nothing, and felt as fragile as a moth. Her sibling did not survive, but somehow, Templeton made it. She got her name from the rat in Charlotte's Web...remember the scene at the fair, when Wilbur's rat-friend had the huge round belly from all the fair food he had scavenged? Once our kitty started to eat regularly, she grew a belly like that. No other name seemed as fitting!

These kittens are still too fragile for adoption, but will be ready for new homes by mid-August, if anyone is interested.

On August 8, I will be a witness in an Allegan County animal cruelty case. The ordeal began more than three years ago, when neighbors down the street began neglecting their horses and other animals. It took over two years for officials to seize them, during which time several animals died. Finally, the remaining animals were removed. A billy goat and his two (pregnant!) lady friends were brought to Grateful Acres for care until the case is tried. Most likely, the goats will remain here for good. We expect babies anytime now! I will write again with news once the trial is over.

This past weekend we welcomed a special pig to the sanctuary. Kirby came from a farm family who raises a couple pigs each year for butchering. In fact, Kirby's sibling met that common fate. But when it came time to do Kirby, they simply could not. The pig was just too personable, smart, and friendly, and they had become attached. (Pigs can be just like dogs.) And so the family packed him up and headed off to Grateful Acres.

The trip started out fine, but at a traffic light in Battle Creek, Kirby grew restless and decided to leap out the top of the trailer. From there, it pretty much went the way you're imagining it. Police blocked traffic while passersby helped (eventually) corner the pig and herd him back into the trailer. Adjustments were made to keep him inside, and they were back on the road. Kirby arrived at the sanctuary with just a few scratches to show for his ordeal. (In a show of Divine order, one of the people who helped round up the wayward pig in Battle Creek has since contacted Grateful Acres to ask how they can get invloved in helping the sanctuary!)

And Kirby is, indeed, a special pig. He likes people and he likes life, and contentment is his vibe. MaryJane is our only other pig (from a sanctuary high of over 25 pigs, many years ago!) and while we hoped she would welcome a buddy, she clearly has mixed feelings about it. She loves the fact of a pig-pal, but she also liked being The pig, as in, The Only pig. (Don't ask me how I know she feels this way, I just know it. She told me.) But as sweet and mellow as Kirby is, I know friendship will win out.

Wow! This update got really long, really quick, and there are still so many things I could tell you about! I will save it for another day.

Thanks for reading & for caring. Have a great day!!!

~Shannon Sheridan, Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary

June 2007 Update

Dear Friends,

My apologies for being out of touch! All is well here at the farm. It's our busiest time of year by far, but I am stealing a moment to bring you up to date on the happenings at Grateful Acres. And there are happenings a-plenty!

First, although you may not be aware of each newcomer and their stories, rest assured that we are always active on the rescue/welfare scene, locally and beyond. In these past six months, we've been able to help:

• MaryJane, a tiny runt piglet from an Amish farm
• Lucky, a calico cat who lost her toes and almost starved in a trap
• Nellie, a terrified little stray dog brought to us by sanctuary friends
• Pointer, an older dog who needed a kennel-home setting
• Levi, a donkey whose companions died, leaving him depressed and lonely ('til he came here!)
• Jean, a lovely Jersey cow, here for retirement

And of course, the perpetual stream of cats, ducks, chickens, rabbits, and orphaned wildlife. Many of our feathered friends come from Michigan Humane, in Rochester, which you may have seen on the show Animal Cops, on Animal Planet. We have also assisted Allegan County's own "animal cops", by providing foster care for farm animals that are seized or found as strays. Currently, Grateful Acres is really operating at maximum capacity, with 18 horses/cows, 20+ goats/sheep, 50+ birds (more arriving Friday from Michigan Humane), 25+ rabbits, and neutered cats too numerous to count. And then the dogs, which are ever abundant. And last but not least, three big, boisterous parrots, who ensure that the cacophony never stops. It's like living in a kindergarten!

Which is not to complain. It's noisy, but happy animal noise is truly enjoyable for Curt and I. We love every moment of life here with the fur-kids. Of course, we'd love it more if money were not always such a pressing issue. L We endured a hard winter! Between dealing with a predatory mortgage company (COUNTRYWIDE!), and also being unable to sell Curt's house due to the difficult market, we were near foreclosure on this farm. Thank GOD, it was averted! Curt's home suddenly sold, and we are now in process of refinancing the farm here. Meanwhile, I have begun working full-time 3rd shift, in addition to my sanctuary duties, to keep the ends meeting. And then there's the petting farm on the weekends, throughout the summer. We are s t r e t c h e d thin, for time and energy.

And so, this is my roundabout way of telling you that I will no longer be writing The Wallow, nor sending out any printed newsletter . Instead, I will be keeping in touch via e-mail. I may even develop an e-mail newsletter, someday, but for the time being, it will be just periodic emails that I send out to keep you apprised of the goings-on at Grateful Acres. When we get a new camera, I'll be able to include pictures of the animals too! If you are not on-line but would still like to receive these e-mails, just let me know. I can print and send them to you by regular mail.

I had been thinking about this for a while, as priorities shifted and I found myself with less and less time to devote to The Wallow. The recent postal rate increase was the clincher. If I can stay in touch with supporters for FREE via e-mail, and spend less time dealing with publishing and copying and mailing, etc., then that just makes more sense. Although I enjoyed doing the Wallow, I am ready to be done with it for now. I hope that this doesn't come as too big a disappointment; I know that many of you really loved the newsletter, and I have appreciated your feedback and loyal readership over these past years.

I hope that each of you will e-mail me very soon, so I can begin to compile the email address list of sanctuary friends. And, some of you will be glad to know that you can make an on-line donation to Grateful Acres! I can provide details when you write.

Meanwhile, please come to the petting farm! This is the third year of our petting sanctuary venture, and we're getting lots of positive comments from visitors. So come out and see the animals! You'll be glad you did!

As always, we can be reached at: sanctuarywitch@aol.com, or (269) 692-2313.

I'm looking forward to reconnecting with you. Thank you for your steadfast support and friendship.

~Shannon Sheridan, Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary