by Pamela Fitzpatrick, of YourDogWalkers, shihtzu58@optonline.net

November is Adopt-A-Senior Pet Month: Two more “Happy Tails”

LEO
When Debbie’s family lost their beloved cat JB Dasher after a long illness in 2008, they weren’t sure when they’d be ready to introduce another cat to the two sisters he had left behind. But with Debbie volunteering at the Grateful Paw Cat Shelter in East Northport, NY, twice a week, it was difficult not to think of filling the void with another homeless animal.

Leo was 6 years old and had already spent 4 ½ years at the shelter. He was a loner who spent most of his time in the “cat tree” sleeping in a bucket or just watching the activities of the other cats below. He was shy and a little skittish – those traits, coupled with his age, made him less than a prime candidate for adoption. After talking it over with her family, Debbie decided to take a chance and bring him home.

Leo immediately became fast friends with their 6 year old female cat, Mink. They sleep curled up together (or fight over who gets the spot closest to the screen when the windows are opened), but they are rarely apart. Turns out, Leo also loves people – he can often be found sitting in someone’s lap or cuddling up for a head scratch.

Leo has brought Debbie’s family great pleasure, and they are glad to have given a good life to this lovable senior cat!

SEBASTIAN
Sebastian is another senior cat shelter who found a great home. Christine adopted him in 2008 from Grateful Paw Cat Shelter, where, as a volunteer, she found the 8-year old orange tabby irresistible. When she brought him home, however, her two older cats didn’t share her enthusiasm. It was a stressful few weeks during which the cats fought and Sebastian didn’t seem to be warming up to Christine or her family. Christine’s husband reassured her that with time and patience, Sebastian would come around.

How right he was! The family’s persistence and patience really paid off! Sebastian began to relax, becoming friendly, cuddly, and, in Christine’s eyes, even more irresistible. Two years later, this lucky kitty follows Christine around the house, and her lap is his favorite place to be! Whenever she returns home after a long day, he is at the door to greet her. The other cats, Pepper and Mooch, have also accepted him as a member of the family.

Christine is thrilled that she was able to give an older pet a home, and very happy that Sebastian “officially” decided to become her cat.

by Pamela Fitzpatrick, of YourDogWalkers, shihtzu58@optonline.net

NOVEMBER IS Adopt-a Senior-Pet Month

If you are looking to adopt a shelter dog or cat, please consider choosing an adult. Especially in these hard economic times, local shelters are overflowing with older dogs and cats. They are often passed over in favor of cute kittens and puppies. The sad reality is, for many abandoned senior pets, time is limited, and the odds are not in their favor.
Tillie is one of the lucky ones, here is her story:

In 2008, Vickie visited the Huntington Animal shelter with a heavy heart. She had lost all three of her rescued pets within a year, and her home felt empty. As she walked the shelter aisles, the memory of her loss was fresh, and she started to have doubts that she could adopt again. Vickie passed cage upon cage of barking dogs, and then she saw her!

Unlike the other dogs, Tillie was lying quietly up against the wall of her pen. The greyhound lab mix with the silver snout didn’t bark, or jump, she just lifted her head and looked at Vickie with deep brown eyes filled with sadness. As Vickie puts it,”It was as if she knew that the odds of finding a new home were stacked against her.” Vickie immediately felt a connection and asked to meet her.

Vickie realized that adopting this dog would be a tribute to the beloved pets she had lost. The chances of this approximately 9 year old dog finding a home were slim, so Vickie decided then and there to give Tillie a safe and comfortable home for the remainder of her life. After completing the adoption process, Vickie and Tillie started for home. Tillie was tired and confused- it had been a long day. When Vickie pulled into her driveway, Tillie perked up immediately, her eyes becoming brighter and her tail wagging. To Vickie, it seemed that Tillie realized that, after months of shelter life, she had finally had a home! At that moment, Vickie realized that this is what “Rescue” is all about.

Tillie settled happily into Vickie’s household, and is doing great two years later. Vickie now volunteers for the League for Animal Protection of Huntington, an all volunteer non profit organization running a dog program at Huntington Shelter as well as the Grateful Paw Cat Shelter. She is convinced that choosing a senior pet is the best choice, and was happy to share her story in the hopes that others will be inspired to give an older dog or cat a second chance.

By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

What’s in a horse rescue?  Why do we even need a horse rescue?  Well if you are not sure of those answers, you have to read this.  In the US, horses are still being shipped off for slaughter across our borders to Canada and Mexico, for consumption in other countries. As disturbing as that is, we are very fortunate to have a horse rescue on Long Island, in which the founder of this NFP works tirelessly day and night to ensure the rescues she has in her barn have the best life.  With 55 horses currently in her care, Christine Distefano of Amaryllis Farm Equine Rescue goes more than out of her way to make the horses healthy, safe, loved, comfortable and amazingly well cared for.  Along with her daughter, Rachel, the ASPCA Kid of the Year 2007 and a handful of volunteers, the hardest part is not just raising awareness of horses in need, but raising funds.  You would think living in the affluent area of Sagaponack – that it would be easier to do so, but it is simply not the case.

To hear the stories of how one horse came in with long hooves and could barely stand, starved and it’s previous owner ready to send it to slaughter, is heartbreaking.  But to see this beautiful creature today, you would never know it had that background.  There are numerous stories like that, and if it wasn’t for Christine and her crew, who knows what would have happened to these equines.

Amaryllis opened the Island’s first horse sanctuary.  In total, 8 locations throughout the East End are at full capacity with grateful, though homeless horses.  Many are aged and can no longer carry a human.  And who wants a horse they can’t ride?  Well I would take one if I could after seeing them, absolutely gorgeous and I couldn’t tell from a layman (or laywomen thank you very much) that they had any ailments.  I have been riding my entire life, but I am not an expert.

So what can you do?  Why not send an email to christine@amaryllisfarm.com and inquire as to volunteer opportunities?! Recently there were over 2,000 people at the Extreme Makeover Home Edition pep rally, many people were disappointed that they didn’t get called to volunteer, so why not keep it local and help out Amaryllis?   Or if you are fortunate enough to help out financially please do so.

This amazing, special place to see these beautiful animals so well cared for will do wonders for you.  And the goat there is pretty comical.  They also often have events, petting farm days and pony rides on Sundays so it is a great place to bring your family.

Visit the site www.amaryllisfarm.com

One of the horses in the Sanctuary, what a beauty!

Check out this slide show of more pictures taken at Amaryllis:

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