January 2008
Special thanks to Devorah who visited the sanctuary and put this video together.
Summer 2007-Electronic Newsletter
If you would like to receive our new electronic publication Voices from the Dreamtime, please send your email address to nancy@dreamtimesanctuary.org with "newsletter" in the subject line. Our upcoming issue features a "State of the Sanctuary" report; a profile of Beauregard the Chocolate Lab, our most recent dog arrival; and Farrier's Corner, a discussion on "barefoot vs. shod" from the man who donates his services caring for Dreamtime's hooves.
Fall 2006-First Annual St. Francis Day Festival
On October 7th, Calvary Episcopal Church in Bastrop, Texas hosted a benefit for Dreamtime as part of its yearly Blessing of the Pets. The first in what we hope will be an annual event featured games for dogs and their people, booths where children made cat toys and masks, and a St. Francis surrogate who told the story of the patron saint of animals.
Blessing of the Pets - Nancy (in red) with Dreamtime resident Harry
Three sisters and their baby brother make cat dancer toys
Parishioners and members of the community gather for the blessing
Summer 2006-In Memory
Dreamtime donors who have loved and lost a cherished animal friend may now create a lasting remembrance at our website. Your personalized online memorial can include your sentiments and fond memories, and a photo, if you wish. And, your contribution will help us feed and care for Dreamtime’s loved and loving creatures.
If you would like to create a memorial, please see our donations page.
Farrier's Corner
I have been taking care of the many hooves at Dreamtime sanctuary for a couple of years now.
Recently Nancy asked me if I would be interested in writing the odd little article to be included in the newsletter. So I thought I would start with one about trimming pigs' feet, because that was a new experience to me and its amusing.
When Nancy first asked me if I could trim pigs feet I thought she was joking, until I saw the feet of some of the pot bellied pigs she had. Her description of lobster claws was perfect.
Armed with only my horse trimming tools and a vague idea of what a pig's hooves should look like, we got to work. I say we, because without Nancy as my pig wrestler the task would be impossible. She had the great idea of using the half round feed troughs to lay the pigs in on their backs. It worked like a charm because the pig really can't do much but squeal, the first five minutes is ear splitting and earplugs are definitely recommended, after that they seem to relax and the screams turn to snores. The smaller pigs can be carried by their feet and placed in the trough. The larger ones require a different strategy. We tip the trough on its side then get the pig alongside it, one person tips the pig, while the other tips the trough, all in one fluid motion. As you can imagine, this takes a little practice.
So now we have our pig contained, what to do with these feet? For a start pigs have four toes. Two main ones that they walk on and two smaller ones on either side that don't seem to bear much weight but probably help in soft mud. Although these look similar to cows' or goats' hooves, they are much harder, with a hard-layered sole not a soft pad. This sole builds up in layers and follows the growth of the hoof wall forming a claw rather like a dog's. This means you have to "trim blind," with no obvious guide as to where the quick is. The exception here is with the white feet, where the quick shows pink through the translucent horn. With the black feet, I just have to nip a little at a time and admittedly mistakes were made at fist, but luckily no long-term suffering ensued. I also discovered that the sole part of the hoof flakes off easily with a hoof knife, until you reach a solid layer and that is a good stopping point for trimming the hoof wall.
Nancy tells me the pigs seem much happier and are walking a lot better, but if anyone out there can give me more advice on this subject I'd be glad to hear it. I have not come across any books or articles on trimming pigs' feet yet, and didn't learn about it in farrier school either.
That's all for now.
Joe
Spring 2006-Volunteer Time and Talent
For you who live in the area and who prefer to give the gift of time and talent rather than send a check, we offer a number of options.
Dreamtime
is in need of your labor to assist with the many projects being planned.
We need tractors
and operators, as well as people skilled at construction work, to help
with the building of a combined pole barn and equipment shed. The stalls
will house our two blind horses, Hope and Joe, and their elderly
companions. We have built the first
of several planned dog shelters and need workers to help with the building
of the remaining structures and to build fence around the compound to
separate the dogs from the four horses living in the pasture around the
house.
We need
people willing and able to clear fence and the north pasture of
water-seeking brush. There
is occasionally a need for two
or three people who are experienced animal caregivers and
who would receive further training by Nancy to take on feeding for a few
days when she needs
to leave town for business or personal reasons.
Dreamtime
has applied for a grant to build an outdoor cattery. If we receive that
grant we will need
volunteers who are experienced with cats to help build this dream house
for cats.
Since the drought has taken it's toll on Dreamtime's pastures we would be grateful to find a volunteer experienced in pasture recovery to improve the possibility of future grazing.
Dreamtime
has 10 wonderful dogs, each with their own great personalities and their
own stories to tell. Their needs are grooming and trips to the vet for
their rabies vaccine. (Nancy gives the annual vaccinations herself.) Now
mind you, not one of these beasties weighs
under 30 pounds. The cats are smaller, but they have similar needs. Their
crates, carriers and bedding are in need of periodic cleaning.
There
is a need of general barn clean-up and organization, the cleaning of water
and feed troughs. Horse blankets to be washed occasionally.
Those
of you that have knowledge and experience of farm life or just having
animals as pets know full well that taking care of them is an ongoing
project. Nancy
has done quite well over the years and certainly deserves some help, if
there is a time space that you could give, an item, ideas or knowledge you
could share with Dreamtime let us hear.
Hay, Thanks!
Babe (with her head buried in the hay) and Kisses
Thanks to several generous donors Dreamtime is out of the woods – for now.
Not a moment too soon, we were able to locate and purchase nine fat round bales, which arrived here at the sanctuary filling the empty hay rings and leaving us enough surplus to get through the month. (Yummy as they are, oats and alfalfa cubes do not replace the needed roughage hay provides, and boy it is a pricey way to fill empty stomachs.)
Yet, the effects of this winter’s drought will continue to affect both the price and availability of hay for some time, as local growers and ranchers hunker down, afraid to sell what they have, unsure of when or if they will get a cutting this spring.
Rain and sunshine are needed for late May hay cutting. Until then, we will do whatever is needed to keep the hay rings full. If you have hay you are willing to part with, know of hay for sale, or can still make a donation for hay we just might make it.
Special thanks to those who donated to the hay effort: Pat and Terry Orr, Brenda and Greg Olds, Patty and Todd Nelson, Sara and Carroll Axton, Jan and Richard Horn, Deborah Hawley, Charlotte Smith and Robert Marcott.
Also, thanks to Richard Kesselus who was willing to drive almost anywhere to help us haul it home to Dreamtime.
A Promise Kept
Nancy Jensen-Case
“Dreamtime
Sanctuary was founded to provide hope to such animals and operates on the
promise that those welcomed into our midst are given permanent sanctuary
to live out their lives with care, peace and dignity.”
This promise kept running through my head as I bid farewell to two of our first residents.
Daisy,
an elderly Lab mix of unknown age, came to us some nine years ago through
a rescuer working through Town Lake Animal Center. Her kennel card said,
“Vicious Animal.” Belize had been a show goat trained to walk on a
leash but didn’t “produce enough milk.” Daisy proved over her time
with us to be the sweetest of dogs, loving every man, woman and child who
ever walked through our gate. She had an intimate connection with all the
farm animals, especially Belize. Perhaps it is no surprise that the two of
them reached the end of their days on the same sunny morning.
I
placed each of their bodies on a little sledge and pulled them to their
final rest beneath the Live Oak tree. Tess, our Great Pyrenees, and dogs
Harry and Sam formed a funeral cortege, walking slowly with their friends.
We
stopped. Tess lay down next to the bodies, daring the group of younger
dogs to approach. Harry lay with his head resting on his paws at the edge
of the grave, watching as the hole grew in size. Sam kept vigil a few feet
away.
It
was quiet there, the work hard but healing. As I dug, I felt at peace.
Daisy
and Belize spent good years with us, enriching our lives in countless
ways. They held no grudges and taught us of love. They received love in
return and, at the end, died quietly, lying next to one another. In death
they share the same grave.
And
so the promise is kept.
Winter 2006-Volunteer News
Polly inspects the new dog shelter
Nancy Jensen-Case
2005 saw the addition of two wonderful volunteers at Dreamtime: Sara and Carroll Axton of Bastrop, Texas. Sara and Carroll are a retired couple who choose to devote much of their time doing volunteer work for Dreamtime Sanctuary of HDLM, the Humane Society in Austin, Texas, and their church, Calvary Episcopal, in Bastrop. They grew up with farm life and both are completely comfortable with any and all of the animals they encounter at Dreamtime. The dogs have unanimously voted them as the most wonderful people to come into their lives in a long time!
Sara and Carroll have worked long hard hours helping me build the first of several 10 x 16-foot structures complete with sloping roof, to house and protect sanctuary dogs from the elements…if it ever rains again in all of Texas they will remain warm and dry!! We plan to build three more such structures and then to fence a large area around them so that the dogs can have a safe place to rest and play when visitors or service people come through the gate.
This assures the dogs’ safety as well as keeping them separate from those visitors who might pale at being surrounded by ten large smiling creatures. Sara, Carroll, and I have also planned several more long-range projects which will improve the shelter capabilities for a variety of animals.
Our other wonderful volunteers, Marie Cole and David Brock, have done yeoman’s service in caring for the many animals at Dreamtime on several occasions. This has given me the freedom on occasion to be out of town for up to three nights to attend work-related conferences or to visit my mother and other family in Dallas, Texas.
David and Marie have an eight-or-nine-year association with us and have been indispensable to the sanctuary. They have made the decision to sell their home and property and to move to Kansas to be closer to their own family.
Their departure will leave a huge gap in the life of this sanctuary but we wish them well in their new life.
animal tales
hugs and kisses
bea and andrew
joe and hope