*Leech Lake Legacy is a 501(c)3 tax exempt non-profit organization


Envisioning a world where every reservation dog and cat is well cared for

Friday, February 22, 2013

Spay/neuter clinic scheduled for March 22-23

Leech Lake Legacy, in partnership with the Leech Lake Tribal Police, will be hosting our first spay/neuter and vaccination clinic at Leech Lake Reservation on March 22-23.

Many thanks to Pause for Paws, for contributing $2,500 towards the cost of the clinic. It costs us approximately $6,000 to host a spay/neuter and vaccination clinic. Many thanks to donors and supporters of Leech Lake Legacy for helping us raise the needed funds to offer these much needed services to residents of Leech Lake Reservation.

And if you haven't checked out our website, be sure to check it out at:


Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Kiki Update: Basking in the sun!

Kiki - Feb. 2013
It's been 7 months since sweet Kiki arrived on transport from Leech Lake Reservation. In July, 2012 she was found by Rory (Leech Lake Animal Control Officer), along with her 4 pups, in an abandoned house in Leech Lake Reservation where she was in horrible shape. She was immediately taken to Animal Care Clinic in Bemidji. To read more of her story check out the following blogs:

Her initial blog entry:
http://leechlakelegacy.blogspot.com/2012/07/medical-emergency-fund-is-depleted.html

Kiki update on August 1, 2012:
http://leechlakelegacy.blogspot.com/2012/08/kiki-update.html

Her bittersweet update on November 12, 2012:
http://leechlakelegacy.blogspot.com/2012/11/kikis-bittersweet-story.html

Kiki was diagnosed with kidney failure in November, 2012. Her prognosis wasn't the best. She continues, however, to defy the odds and under the loving care of her mom, Mary, is being given every possible chance to beat a terminal diagnosis. According to her mom, "she loves to sit in the snow on a sunny day. I have to entice her in with treats :)" ... Her blood values have been going the wrong direction, however, Kiki's mom is working with the U and changing up her meds to slow down the progression. Kiki is also on some new meds to help her with pain management for her hip.

The sweet mama captured the hearts of so many. Let's continue to hold her in our thoughts and prayers.

Kiki has mastered the art of napping!

Monday, February 18, 2013

Nibi has a new best friend :)

We received the following photo of Nibi this morning from Peggy of Home At Last. The sweet boy apparently thinks his new friend Gretchen makes a wonderful pillow :)

There is definitely truth to the saying ... a picture is worth a thousands word. Nibi, the peace and calm on your face says it all. And thank you Gretchen, for watching over Nibi and providing him with a safe place to rest :)

On Saturday, 2/16 we received the following from Peggy: "Nibi had a great past few days. On Thursday he went to work at the Wildlife Science Center and spent some time glaring at the mountain lions and wolves. Friday he stayed at home with Megan and played outside with dogs for the first time! It is so fun to watch him gain comfort every day. He greeted me and Mark at the gate enthusiastically when we got home, and took my hand in his mouth for the walk down to the house...his way of holding hands. He will go back to see Dr. Dave this week. I think his medical team will be thrilled to see how well he is doing."

To read more about Nibi's story check out the following blog posts:

Days after he arrived in the cities (2/6/13 ... his health and prognosis still uncertain due to his injuries:
http://leechlakelegacy.blogspot.com/2013/02/nibi-needs-our-prayers-and-support.html

After his surgery (2/7/13):
http://leechlakelegacy.blogspot.com/2013/02/nibi-post-surgery.html

Thank you Peggy, Mark and Megan (Home At Last) and Dr. Dave of South Shore Veterinary Hospital for all you have done for this sweet boy.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Update: Garfield ... from rez stray to king of the barn!

Garfield enjoys his new perch at the barn
Garfield arrived on transport on 12/1/2012 from Leech Lake Reservation. He was one of the lucky strays up at Leech Lake Reservation to make his way into Leech Lake Legacy's program through the Leech Lake Impound.

This sweet, handsome boy now lives with 2 other cats (Milo and Sidney) at a horse farm,  Featherbrook Farm. Garfield and his two new friends hang out in the barn office most of the day. They get lots of visitors every day and a chance to roam around the barn if they so choose. Garfield appeared very content sitting on his red perch, basking in the sun, and looking out the window at the beautiful horses at the farm.

If you ever make your way to Featherbrook Farm be sure to stop in the office and say hi to Garfield.





Garfield arrives on transport in December, 2012

Garfield's new friend Milo

Ahnung, a reservation rescue dog (and big sister to Legacy, spokes dog of Leech Lake Legacy) has her first encounter with a horse!! :)

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Nida Update: Quills no more

Nida on 2/7
Nida arrived on an emergency transport from Leech Lake Reservation on Sunday, 2/3/13 with her brother Newt. Both had serious injuries from porcupine quills. Due to the severity of the injuries Newt had sustained from the quills, we lost Newt that night while he was in surgery at the Animal Humane Society. To read more about Newt check out the following blog post: http://leechlakelegacy.blogspot.com/2013/02/newt-and-nida.html.

Nida, however, has been on the road to recovery since she arrived on Sunday. Her face is still puffy from the quills removed from her face but a puffy face does not keep this sweet, gentle, happy, wiggly butt girl from doling out lots of hugs and kisses. She has captured the hearts of the staff at the Animal Humane Society/AHS ... in fact, she spends most of her time in the office. Leech Lake Legacy volunteer and AHS animal care lead Jenna hangs out with Nida during her lunch hours. Jenna even shares some of her lunch with Nida :)

Nida will continue to hang out and recover for a little while so that her body can continue to heal. The quills continue to migrate and fester out. On Thursday, Jenna removed approximately four more quills from Nida's paws. When Nida is finally ready to undergo her spay surgery the vet will most likely remove additional quills that continue to migrate through her body.

Thank you AHS for taking Nida in and providing her with such exceptional care! And many thanks to the staff at AHS for pampering this little princess while she continues to heal and make her way to a full recovery.

Nida when she arrived on Sunday, 2/3 with quills
Nida, sleeping next to her best bud Jenna
Nida spends her day in the office and shares her lunch with Jenna

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Nibi ... Post Surgery

Nibi .. recovering after surgery (2/7/13)
Nibi had surgery on Wednesday, 2/6 to remove his severely infected leg. Since Monday, he has been hanging out at the South Shore Veterinary Hospital in Forest Lake, MN and has been under the wonderful care of Dr. Dave Enright. A HUGE thanks to Dr. Dave and the staff at South Shore Vet Hospital for the incredible care they have provided to sweet Nibi and for the significant discount they gave to Home At Last and donating so much of their time and services. Nibi still has a long road of recovery ahead for him, but he's a survivor and we know he will make it through! He has so many fans sending him lots of positive, healing energy.

Jenny and I had the good fortune of visiting the sweet boy today at South Shore Vet Hospital. He welcomed the rubs behind his ear. I am sure he would MUCH prefer to not have a massive cone around his neck but we did our best to explain to him that it was for his own good. I told Jenny, I think I heard him mumble a few words back to me :)

It was hard to see him in the condition he was today, and when he cried it sent chills through our bodies and made us want to cry with him. His crying was probably also from the morphine, but quite frankly, was of little comfort to Jenny and myself. We just held him, rubbed behind his ear and whispered softly to him that it won't be long and he would be feeling much better. The drains were in his leg to help release the infection. This poor boy has been through so much. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Peggy will be picking Nibi up later today where he will be going home with her to continue in his healing process. He will need to be treated for heartworm as well. This beautiful, gentle spirit deserves only the best ... he is surrounded by many who love him. He has touched the hearts of so many, and we at Leech Lake Legacy are beyond grateful to Home At Last (Peggy) and to South Shore Vet Hospital (Dr. Dave Enright) for stepping up to help a boy who so desperately needed our help.

To read more about Nibi's story, click http://leechlakelegacy.blogspot.com/2013/02/nibi-needs-our-prayers-and-support.html

~ Marilou (Co-Founder, Leech Lake Legacy)

Nibi .. post surgery (2/7/13)
We love you Nibi ..
Friday morning (2/8/13) Nibi from Peggy: "Nibi came to work this am and is very cheerful. He curled up on a comforter next to a husky named Wilson. He gets up and moves around very well. He handles having his wound flushed like a trooper. And he wags his tail when we talk to him :)" Thanks Peggy for taking such good care the sweet boy ♥

Friday evening (2/8/13) update from Peggy: " ... enjoying his new friends and his plethora of blankets!

 

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Nibi ... needs our prayers and support

Nibi arrives in the cities on Saturday, 2/2

Nibi (means 'water' in ojibway) was picked up by the Leech Lake Tribal Police on Friday night (2/1) after being contacted by a concerned citizen that a dog in her neighborhood was seriously injured. The previous owner of the dog surrendered the dog to the Leech Lake police knowing that she was not able to provide the necessary veterinary care for her injured dog. [Note: we have since learned how much his previous family loved him and how Nibi would follow his ‘lil girl around everywhere]. It was apparent the dog had an injured leg. He also had a wound on his head. Ken Washington, Chief of Police, contacted Leech Lake Legacy to see if we would be able to take the dog into our program. We said yes … we would absolutely take the dog (we named him Nibi, which means ‘water’ in ojibway). Not knowing the extent of the injuries to the dog, however, we could not guarantee that we would be able to save him. We would, of course, do all that we could. We had a transport scheduled to come down to the cities on Saturday, 2/2, and arrangements were made to pick up Nibi and transport him to the Impound.
Arrives at Golden Valley AHS

On Saturday, a team of Leech Lake Legacy transport volunteers brought Nibi to the cities, along with 32 other cats and dogs (from the Roseau Impound, Red Lake Reservation and Leech Lake Impound). We needed to make a stop at the Buffalo Animal Humane Society site to drop off 10 cats and 3 of the dogs. It was apparent that Nibi was not doing well and we needed to get him to the cities as quickly as possible and to the Golden Valley AHS so that he could be checked out by one of AHS’ shelter vets right away. The transport arrived at Buffalo at 2:30 pm on Saturday and within 10 minutes, 10 cats and 3 dogs were unloaded and the transport team was off to Golden Valley.  Once the transport arrived at AHS, we pulled into the garage and the AHS staff came to meet us. The vets were there to immediately check on Nibi. His back leg was extremely swollen and he was barely moving as he laid in an open crate behind the driver’s seat of the van that brought him to the cities. On occasion he would lift his head. He would look right into you and his eyes pierced the souls of all who were blessed to meet him. It was clear he was in pain. Yet despite the pain, all one could sense from him was gentleness, softness, kindness.
Nibi on Sunday, 2/3 .. he had declined rapidly

The vets checked Nibi out and noted that his leg was infected. His back leg was extremely swollen and there was blood on his paw. They also noticed the wound on Nibi’s head however decided that it would be in Nibi’s best interest to let him rest for the night. His condition did not seem critical at the time and he was given pain meds and antibiotics. The staff at AHS transferred Nibi’s onto a cart and he was wheeled away to his kennel.

The next day (Sunday) we had another transport arrive from Leech Lake. 6 dogs were transported down including 2 dogs who had serious injuries with porcupine quills (Newt and Nida). Once again, AHS responded to the crisis and after Newt and Nida were immediately taken to surgery  to have the quills removed, we were told of Nibi’s declining condition. In the past 20 hours his condition had drastically declined. The vet checked him and indicated that the infection was severe in his leg. He had an open wound in the foot of his injured leg indicating that the infection was causing his skin to split open. He had to be in so much pain. He also immediately tested positive for heartworm. At that point we realized we needed to move Nibi to a rescue where he could get round the clock care until he was able to get in to see an orthopedic surgeon to have his leg amputated. We contacted Peggy at Home At Last and told her we had an emergency situation and we needed to move Nibi out that night. Without hesitation (okay, maybe a few questions!) she agreed and within 15 minutes, Nibi was on his way to Home At Last Sanctuary.  In less than 24 hours, Nibi had captured the hearts of the LLL transport volunteers and AHS staff. And in moments, he had captured the hearts of Peggy and her family shortly after Jenny arrived at Home At Last. Peggy immediately made the necessary accommodations to ensure that Nibi would be comfortable for the night. She gave him stronger pain meds and assured us she would be up every few hours to check on him and to give him antibiotics.
Getting ready to head to Home At Last (Sunday, 2/3)

Peggy brought Nibi to her vet first thing Monday morning. X-rays were done on Monday and we learned that Nibi had been shot in the leg. He had fragments of the bullet in his leg and in his stomach. X-rays were also done on his head and showed that his skull was bruised, but fortunately not crushed. With the wound on his head, there was concern of more serious injuries to his head. Due to the severity of his infection, Nibi remained at the vet where his condition was monitored and stabilized to prepare him for surgery. This morning (Wednesday) Nibi had surgery to have his leg amputated. Here is the latest update from Peggy: “Nibi made it through surgery!! The wound was very old and very icky. The vet is keeping Nibi overnight in order to continue the fluid treatment and said that there was a heartworm that crawled out of Nibi's foot during surgery :( Poor Nibi has been through so much.”
Jake and Shawn (AHS staff) lift Nibi into Jenny's car

We also learned that the lead bullet that has been in Nibi has most likely been in his body for almost a month, causing serious infection in his body. We are sure that more will be uncovered as Nibi continues to heal from his surgery. At some point, he will also have to go through heartworm treatment.

We are extremely grateful to Peggy of Home At Last for taking Nibi in on such short notice AND providing incredible care for this sweet boy.  Peggy, you are his angel :)

The veterinary costs for Nibi’s care continues to rise. We/Leech Lake Legacy have let Peggy know that we will do what we can to help raise donations for Nibi’s care. Leech Lake Legacy will kick off the effort to raise donations by pledging $200. If you would like to make a donation, you can make a donation to Leech Lake Legacy on our website … Click here . Be sure to indicate that you would like your donation to go toward’s Nibi’s care. We/LLL will then combine all the donations we receive and write one check to Home At Last to help offset the veterinary costs for Nibi.

If you would prefer to make a donation directly to Home At Last, you can mail a check to:

Home At Last
c/o Animal Sanctuary Foundation
10 South Fifth St. Suite 700
Minneapolis, MN 55402


I found the following blog post (www.anishinaabekwe.com/2008/08/nibi-water.html) and had to share …

Nibi - Water 



Anishinaabekwe, the Daughter,
You are the keepers of the water.
I am Nibi...water...the sacred source,
The blood of Aki, Mother Earth,
The force filling dry seeds to great bursting.
I am the wombs cradle.
I purify.

Nibi, the life giver,
Forever the Circle's charge
I have coursed through our Mother's Veins.
Now hear my sorrow and my pain
In the river's rush, the rain...

I am your grandchildren's drink,
Listen, Daughters, always.
You are the keepers of the water.
Hear my cry,
For the springs flow darkly now
Through the heart of Aki.

American Indian Poem,
Ojibwa, Minnesota



Monday, February 4, 2013

Newt and Nida

Newt getting prepped for surgery
It was a crazy weekend for Leech Lake Legacy involving transports on both Saturday and Sunday. Yesterday, an emergency transport took place to bring down Newt and Nida, two young pups with serious injuries from porcupine quills. We are extremely grateful to our partner the Animal Humane Society for once again responding so quickly to medical emergency cases. Newt and Nida arrived at the Golden Valley AHS at around 3 pm yesterday. They were immediately taken into surgery to have the quills removed.

It is with a very heavy heart we share with you that the injuries Newt sustained from the quills were too severe. The vets spent several hours in surgery with both Newt and Nida removing the quills. Newt's injuries were too severe and he passed away during surgery from cardiac arrest. Rest in peace sweet boy. Our only comfort is in knowing that you were surrounded by lots of love and you are no longer suffering or in pain. When we look up into the night skies tonight, we know that you will be the brightest star up in the skies.

Newt's sister Nida appears to be recovering well this morning. They did remove some quills from her chest. We ask for your continued positive thoughts and prayers for Nida. Not long ago, we brought Caster and Cotton down from Leech Lake Reservation .. also with severe quills. We lost Caster a couple days later when the quills migrated internally to his heart, liver and kidneys. His sister Cotton, however, survived and has since been adopted and being pampered in a very loving home. We pray that Nida will not have any further complications, but know she is not out of the woods yet.

We are extremely grateful to the staff at AHS for the incredible care you provide, and for doing all you could to save Newt ... thank you for all you did for Nida. She looks so much happier this morning :)

We will keep you updated on Nida's progress.

Nida before surgery
A much happier Nida, post surgery!
RIP sweet Newt ... you are loved and have a special place in the hearts of so many ..