Olly Bear is currently being fostered in Los Angeles, CA and he is available for adoption.

Olly Bear is about four years of age. He is fairly mellow, and loves to cuddle and just hang out with his favorite people. He is low-key, does well on the leash and knows his basic commands. Olly Bear is treat-motivated so we can see him learning all sorts of tricks in his future home. He is crate-trained and leash-trained.

Olly Bear is great around other animals, as long as they don’t try to mount him and show dominance. Olly Bear occasionally mounts other dogs, but a quick “get down” or “no” will get him to stop. Right now, he is being fostered with another mini Schnauzer and Poodle. They do wonderfully together.

Olly Bear is friendly to people, and allows others to pet him. He often curls up on patio furniture to take a nap while we take him out to adoptions. It’s quite a cute scene to watch:). He is a charmer. He has a sensitive personality; he will cower and bow his head down when he senses that a person is upset or angry. Perhaps this arises from his past when he was completely neglected, chained up, and left to die on his own. The Fuzzy Pet Foundation rescued him after he was seized from his original owners by law enforcement officers.

To adopt Olly Bear, please e-mail us at info@tfpf.org.

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Sincerely,

Sheila
310-883-5681

Sweet Gilly was attacked by an unknown predator on Labor Day. When we found her, she was near dead, covered in blood and floating aimlessly in the pond. We immediately rushed her to the vet where she spent the next 3 days. Gilly’s attack resulted in what is termed a “de-gloving” injury. Generally de-gloving injuries remove one layer of skin but in Gilly’s case, every layer of skin was ripped off, leaving her entire neck muscle exposed. Gilly’s only hope of surviving such a horrendous injury depends upon whether or not she has the ability to re-grow skin over the exposed neck muscle. Her last vet visit revealed what looked to be a bit of granulated tissue developing over the neck muscle so we are optimistic and hopeful that she might well be able to survive this injury.

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Colt45 and HartSong's Cattle

Earlier this  summer, Jenna Baxter(The Jenna Baxter Studio) and Josie Woody, a skater for Sacramento’s Sacred City Roller Derby Team who skates under the name Colt45, hooked up with HartSong’s wonderfully friendly cattle and got together on the east side of the property for a photo shoot.  You see Jenna, has a contract with the Sacred City Roller Derby Team and she is on a mission to capture photographs of all the team skaters in settings that depict that which each skater is passionate about.  Colt45 has been a VEGAN since her mid-teens and she wanted her photo to represent the love, respect and concerns she has for animals.  Following a bit of time to set up all the lighting and Colt45’s wardrobe change, we opened the gate to the pasture next to the old barn and allowed the cattle in to graze.  As expected, the cattle behaved beautifully and by the end of the session, Colt45 was comfortable enough in the presence of these huge, gentle creatures, to lie down on the pasture grasses while the cattle “munched” all around her.  It truly was a “magical” experience for all.  Our thanks to Jenna Baxter for sharing your beautiful photographs, to Colt45 for sharing our beliefs about kinder lifestyle choices and last but not least, to the sanctuary cattle, who every day, touch someone’s heart with their gentle, kind ways.

P.S.  Take a good long look at the muscular frame on Colt45… impressive, to say the least.  Proof, indeed, that anyone can be a powerhouse of muscle and brawn without the consumption of animal products.  Plant proteins ROCK!!!

• 
• Thelma, one of the sanctuary turkey hens and a FIRST-TIME wanna-be-mama, patiently sat on her eggs for weeks. Much to our delight, 2 hatched out of their shells on Mother’s Day! How appropriate BUT…there’s a catch! The two hatchlings are not “turkey” babies…they are “chicken” babies, but even so, Thelma doesn’t seem to mind. She loves them just the same. How they are able to communicate with one another remains a mystery because turkey vocalizations are so different from that of chickens but the language barrier doesn’t appear to be a problem. Somehow, each understands the other. Also, it raises the question…is Thelma teaching her “chickens to be chickens” or is she in fact, teaching her “chickens to be turkeys”? Time will tell… Nothing quite like a mother’s love!

Blind Filly’s Remarkable Journey

#37 and Uncle Jack, their first day at HartSong Ranch

When most people think about HartSong Ranch, they reflect on our work with, and dedication to animals with special needs.  In fact, most people think our devotion to animals with special needs is what encouraged our efforts to become a non-profit animal welfare organization.  The fact of the matter is…nothing could be further from the truth.  Here’s how it REALLY all began…

In the spring of 2005, 17 cattle stepped off a stock trailer and bounded onto the pastures of HartSong Ranch.  Their job was an easy one for cattle.  All they had to do was munch down 30 acres of waist high pasture grass.  Almost immediately, they all started to eat…except for one cow…#37.  She was in a state of panic.  For the next two days, she ran the fence lines…down to the pond…up through the barnyard…down through the bramble on the back side of the property and all the while, she bellowed, mooed, salivated and cried.  I thought perhaps she was sick so I called the rancher who had most graciously donated his cattle to take down the over-grown pastures.  I explained to him the behavior of #37 and under his breath he chuckled, almost as if to mock me for having such “hysterical” concerns for a cow.  “Ah,” he said, “she’s just looking for her baby.  She’ll get over it in a couple of days.” Needless to say, I was horrified with his explanation and appalled with the blatant realization that he had no concern what-so-ever for the distress he had caused this mother and baby.  He went on to explain that while loading the cattle onto the trailer, he became frustrated because he couldn’t get #37’s frightened calf to load, so he finally gave up, shut the door to the stock trailer and headed for HartSong, subsequently separating #37 from her 2 day old calf.   I begged him to either bring the calf to HartSong or return #37 to his property.  Once again, he snickered under his breath and stated, “The calf is no longer here.  I don’t have time to bottle feed a baby so I shipped him off to a veal farm.” I remember feeling as if someone had hit me with a brick with the profound realization that the “feelings” of animals raised for consumption are not considered…not by the rancher’s who raise them…not by the facilities that process them and not by the consumers who drive the market and buy the product.  Right then and there, my life changed…forever.

For three more days, #37 continued to search for her baby and then finally, she gave up.  About two months later, the rancher returned to HartSong Ranch, loaded up his cattle and left.  The sanctuary grew and years went by but I never forgot about #37 or the impact she had upon my life.  I thought about her often and finally decided the time had come to write about my journey with her.  I submitted the story to one of our local newspapers and the day after the story published, the ranch line started ringing off the hook.  Concerned callers, mostly women, all asked the same question…”What happened to #37?” Well, that got me to thinking…What “did” happen to #37? Intrigued, I decided to call the rancher to investigate.  He, of course, thinking me totally off of my rocker and absolutely crazy, informed me that he had sold #37 years ago to another rancher, a man by the name of Rancher Jack whom I then proceeded to call.  Rancher Jack, much to my surprise, still had #37 and knew exactly where she was at that very moment… grazing a pasture in northern CA with her 1 month old calf.  Shortly into our conversation, I came to realize that Rancher Jack was quite a different man from rancher number one.  He was in fact, a very compassionate fellow and was quite obviously touched by the outpouring of concern for the welfare of #37.  In fact, so moved by her story, he asked if we might like to welcome  #37 back to HartSong, along with her baby.  Without a moment’s hesitation, I said “YES”!

One week later, #37 and her baby, since named Uncle Jack(in honor of Rancher Jack), came back to HartSong.  Here, they will live a life of quiet and tranquility, mother and son, forever…always together…always happy and always a vivid reminder to me and the many visitors to the sanctuary, that farm animals too, have feelings.  I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to #37.  She changed my life and here, on the peaceful pastures of HartSong Ranch, she will continue to enlighten, educate and inspire the lives of all those who are fortunate enough to meet her.  every life matters…

An interesting #37 factoid: About a month or so after the story of #37 was published, I received a call from a fan of HartSong who lives in Southern California.  She wanted me to know that, one week prior, she had “#37” tattooed on her arm.  How COOL is that?

A boy and his dog

Dandy's leg wound, December 7, 2011

Dandy's leg wound, January 11, 2012

Dandy’s wound was a result of becoming cast(tangled up under a paddock panel).  The weight of the panel which held her down in her stall pressed on the top of her left thigh.  Apparently she struggled vigorously throughout the night to free herself and her attempts to do so caused severe pressure to her left front leg which in turn, restricted blood flow to the area.  Once untangled from underneath the panels, the only visible evidence of injury was an area about the size of a hot dog bun on the top of her left thigh where all the hair had been rubbed off.  Three days later, the underlying tissues, now necrotic due to lack of blood flow, began to fester and an abscess developed.  We called the vet out immediately.  She lanced below the abscessed area so that the pus had a means of escape and informed HartSong staff that Dandy’s wound would need to be cleaned, scrubbed and medicated daily.  In addition, she was prescribed 26 antibiotic pills per day for 15 days.  We have followed the vet’s orders to a tee and sure enough, slowly but surely, the wound started to heal.  These photo are testament to that for today, there is no evidence of infection, the wound is significantly smaller and Dandy is in excellent spirits.  Hats off to 37 year old Dandy…she is one stoic horse.  Never once, during the daily scrubbing and cleaning, which must have been very painful for her to endure, did she give us any grief while we did what we had to do to make her better.  She is such a good girl. as sweet as the day is long and very trusting of our intentions.  Obviously, she will have a huge scar but we don’t mind one bit.  Thanks to everyone for including Dandy in your prayers.  She’s now over the worst of this ordeal and will soon be free to roam HartSong’s pastures once again.  Many, many more good days are ahead for this beautiful girl.  The spirit and resilience of the American Quarter Horse is alive and well in Dandy.