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 ..

The Yukon Project: 150 dog houses make their way to Leech Lake Reservation

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We are attempting to re-post this blog entry as it appears some browsers are having trouble pulling up the the blog:

Last Saturday a team of Leech Lake Legacy volunteers (Marilou, Jenny and Terri) made the long trek from the metro to Leech Lake Reservation. We were joined by Kelli Harmon of the ASPCA who happened to be in frigid Minnesota for the month of January. The Leech Lake Tribal Police, in partnership with Leech Lake Legacy, is currently participating in the ASPCA Carroll Petrie Foundation Dog Rescue Project (http://www.aspcapro.org/caroll-petrie-foundation-dog.php) and have had the good fortune of working closely with Kelli Harmon via email over the past few months.

We knew we had a lot of animals to transport back to the city. In total 36 dogs/cats were to be transported back from a combo transport of animals from Red Lake Reservation and Leech Lake Reservation. The LLL team left at 6:45 in the morning and pulled into the Leech Lake Impound at 10:45 am. We were met by LLL volunteers Nancy and Tom O and Rory (Leech Lake Tribal Police Community Services Officer). Shortly after we arrived, Ken Washington (Asst Chief of Police, Leech Lake Tribal Police) and Sergeant Scott Keller (Leech Lake Tribal Police) joined us. Everyone helped in unloading one of the vans filled with donated dog/cat food and cat litter. Since we were fortunate to have Kelli from the ASPCA join us for our transport we wanted to take the opportunity for her to experience first hand a transport of animals from the Leech Lake Impound to our partner shelter, the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley, MN. While Jenny, Terri, Tom, Nancy and Rory were hard at work getting the animals ready for transport, Marilou and Kelli went on a short tour of Leech Lake Reservation with Ken and Scott. We visited a couple tribal housing areas close to the Impound. The weather was bitterly cold on Saturday, 1/19. Temperatures were sub-zero with wind-chills in the minus twenties. As the day went on the temperatures were continuing to plummet. While driving around one of the tribal housing areas we saw quite a few dogs running loose. Some would chase after the car while others would stand back and scope us out from a distance. One dog, a black dog was curled up next to a house. It was apparent he was cold. Many of the smaller dogs live inside, but many of the larger dogs are outside dogs on the Reservation.

L to R: Ken, Rory, Midas (mixed shepherd), Kelli

Upon returning to the cities, Kelli and Marilou separately kept thinking of the outside rez dogs with the bitter cold. On Monday, emails were being exchanged on how we could round up igloo dog houses and straw for the outside rez dogs. On Monday night (1/21) Marilou posted a photo of the black dog by the house with a plea for donations: donations for used igloos or monetary donations so Leech Lake Legacy could purchase igloos for the dogs. The response was overwhelming. In addition, Kelli reached out to her colleagues at the ASPCA, who in turn then reached out to a contact at PetSmart Charities and the wheels were set in motion to obtain an emergency grant to secure igloos.

This morning we got confirmation from PetSmart Charities that 150 dog houses AND 150 enrichment kongs were being loaded onto a truck in their warehouse in Arizona and would be arriving at the Leech Lake Tribal Police headquarters on Monday morning!!!

Ken Washington, Asst Chief of Police, indicated he could easily distribute 250 dog houses to residents of the Reservation for their outside dogs, but the 150 dog houses will go a LONG way to launching the Yukon Project – an ongoing effort, in partnership with the Leech Lake Tribal Police, to provide shelter for outside reservation dogs. The distribution of the dog houses to the residents of Leech Lake Reservation will be handled by the Leech Lake Tribal Police.

The inspiration behind The Yukon Project

In addition to the 150 dog houses and kongs being shipped (a HUGE thank you to PetSmart Charities and to the ASPCA for helping make the connection!) we have received 8 donated igloos/dog houses and $1,620 in donations. We received a very generous donation of $500 from a rescued Red Lake rez pup, Bart the Dumpster Dog. Thank you Bart!! Thanks to the generosity of Bart and many others we have been able to ship 4 igloos so far. We are currently working on a longer term plan on ensuring outside reservation dogs have shelter and exploring more cost effective ways to build houses for the dogs, while working in partnership with the residents of Leech Lake Reservation. More to come on some great ideas that are brewing J We will continue to ship igloos from donations raised for the outside reservation dogs.

4 Leech Lake pups who arrived on transport (photo by Megan F of AHS)

Because of the generosity and support of so many, the outside dogs of Leech Lake Reservation will now have shelter from the bitter cold. The Yukon Project is the latest Leech Lake Legacy program. We are excited to launch The Yukon Project with 150 dog houses being shipped to Leech Lake Reservation (a HUGE thanks again to PetSmart Charities!). All of the programs offered by Leech Lake Legacy are offered in partnership with the Leech Lake Tribal Police: The Yukon Project, our transport program (where we transport animals from the Leech Lake Impound to our partner shelters and rescues), spay/neuter clinics, and Puppy Roundups).

We continue to need your support. If you would like to support any of our programs please consider making a donation. You can make a donation online at http://leechlakelegacy.org/donate.html

The Yukon Project: 150 dog houses make their way to Leech Lake Reservation!

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Last Saturday a team of Leech Lake Legacy volunteers (Marilou, Jenny and Terri) made the long trek from the metro to Leech Lake Reservation. We were joined by Kelli Harmon of the ASPCA who happened to be in frigid Minnesota for the month of January. The Leech Lake Tribal Police, in partnership with Leech Lake Legacy, is currently participating in the ASPCA Carroll Petrie Foundation Dog Rescue Project (http://www.aspcapro.org/caroll-petrie-foundation-dog.php) and have had the good fortune of working closely with Kelli Harmon via email over the past few months.

We knew we had a lot of animals to transport back to the city. In total 36 dogs/cats were to be transported back from a combo transport of animals from Red Lake Reservation and Leech Lake Reservation. The LLL team left at 6:45 in the morning and pulled into the Leech Lake Impound at 10:45 am. We were met by LLL volunteers Nancy and Tom O and Rory (Leech Lake Tribal Police Community Services Officer). Shortly after we arrived, Ken Washington (Asst Chief of Police, Leech Lake Tribal Police) and Sergeant Scott Keller (Leech Lake Tribal Police) joined us. Everyone helped in unloading one of the vans filled with donated dog/cat food and cat litter. Since we were fortunate to have Kelli from the ASPCA join us for our transport we wanted to take the opportunity for her to experience first hand a transport of animals from the Leech Lake Impound to our partner shelter, the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley, MN. While Jenny, Terri, Tom, Nancy and Rory were hard at work getting the animals ready for transport, Marilou and Kelli went on a short tour of Leech Lake Reservation with Ken and Scott. We visited a couple tribal housing areas close to the Impound. The weather was bitterly cold on Saturday, 1/19. Temperatures were sub-zero with wind-chills in the minus twenties. As the day went on the temperatures were continuing to plummet. While driving around one of the tribal housing areas we saw quite a few dogs running loose. Some would chase after the car while others would stand back and scope us out from a distance. One dog, a black dog was curled up next to a house. It was apparent he was cold. Many of the smaller dogs live inside, but many of the larger dogs are outside dogs on the Reservation.

L to R: Ken, Rory, Midas (shepherd mix), Kelli

Upon returning to the cities, Kelli and Marilou separately kept thinking of the outside rez dogs with the bitter cold. On Monday, emails were being exchanged on how we could round up igloo dog houses and straw for the outside rez dogs. On Monday night (1/21) Marilou posted a photo of the black dog by the house with a plea for donations: donations for used igloos or monetary donations so Leech Lake Legacy could purchase igloos for the dogs. The response was overwhelming. In addition, Kelli reached out to her colleagues at ASPCA, who in turn then reached out to a contact at PetSmart Charities and the wheels were set in motion to obtain an emergency grant to secure igloos.

This morning we got confirmation from PetSmart Charities that 150 dog houses AND 150 enrichment kongs were being loaded onto a truck in their warehouse in Arizona and would be arriving at the Leech Lake Tribal Police headquarters on Monday morning!!! 

Ken Washington, Asst Chief of Police, indicated he could easily distribute 250 dog houses to residents of the Reservation for their outside dogs, but the 150 dog houses will go a LONG way to launching the Yukon Project – an ongoing effort, in partnership with the Leech Lake Tribal Police, to provide shelter for outside reservation dogs. The distribution of the dog houses to the residents of Leech Lake Reservation will be handled by the Leech Lake Tribal Police.

The inspiration behind The Yukon Project!

In addition to the 150 dog houses and kongs being shipped (a HUGE thank you to PetSmart Charities and to the ASPCA for helping make the connection!) we have received 8 donated igloos/dog houses and $1,620 in donations. We received a very generous donation of $500 from a rescued Red Lake rez pup, Bart the Dumpster Dog. Thank you Bart!! Thanks to the generosity of Bart and many others we have been able to ship 4 igloos so far. We are currently working on a longer term plan on ensuring outside reservation dogs have shelter and exploring more cost effective ways to build houses for the dogs, while working in partnership with the residents of Leech Lake Reservation. More to come on some great ideas that are brewing. We will continue to ship igloos from donations raised for the outside reservation dogs.

4 Leech Lake pups who arrived on transport (photo by Megan F of AHS)

Because of the generosity and support of so many, the outside dogs of Leech Lake Reservation will now have shelter from the bitter cold. The Yukon Project is the latest Leech Lake Legacy program. We are excited to launch The Yukon Project with 150 dog houses being shipped to Leech Lake Reservation (a HUGE thanks again to PetSmart Charities!). All of the programs offered by Leech Lake Legacy are offered in partnership with the Leech Lake Tribal Police: The Yukon Project, our transport program (where we transport animals from the Leech Lake Impound to our partner shelters and rescues), spay/neuter clinics, and Puppy Roundups.

We continue to need your support. If you would like to support any of our programs please consider making a donation. You can make a donation online at http://leechlakelegacy.org/donate.html 

Update: Ebi (now Emmi)

Emmi's first night at her new home!

Ebi (now Emmi) arrived on transport on 11/17 and made her way to the Buffalo Animal Humane Society. She was taken in by the Bemidji Impound after she was found wandering around Bemidji.

When she first arrived she was absolutely terrified. There was a serious effort in place to try to coax her to come out of the safety of her kennel ... sweet, gentle words and treats weren't even enough. Eventually, the transport volunteers had to remove the top half of her kennel. It didn't take long, however, for her to completely win over the hearts of the staff at the Buffalo Animal Humane Society. The staff soon learned of Ebi's love for balls and anything squeaky.

She had her TV debut on December 7th on WCCO! Click here to watch this amazing girl on TV ... she is, without a doubt, a natural TV star!!

Her TV appearance caught the eye of her new family. We got the following update from her mom Angel:

"My husband, Tim, and I decided we would start keeping our eyes open to adopt a puppy/dog. Ideally we were looking for a young male puppy (about 8-10 months old) but we weren't set on that. I am "friends" with WCCO on Facebook and I saw on December 7th, 2012 that this gorgeous dog that would be on as Pet Of The Week at noon. I changed the channel and told my husband we had to check it out. Then there she was! Laying there so well behaved and cute. I looked at my husband and he looked at me and said "We have to go meet her!" So that night after work I called the Animal Humane Society of Buffalo to make sure she was still there since we live in St. Paul  and the weather/driving wasn't very good. She was, so I told them we were on our way to see her! 

Playing fetch with her toy

 

After a long drive (we had to drive slow, which was agonizing for me) we made it there right before closing time. I saw her and my heart melted! We visited and played with Ebi and decided we would adopt her! She was shy, and a little scared especially to leave her favorite person in the world, Heather from the shelter. Ebi, who is now called Emmi, wasn't sure about the car ride, and stayed in one spot the whole ride home not moving. After we got home, she was very tired, wouldn't eat, drink, or even go outside so we set up a place by the couch to get comfortable. I was worried she was much too depressed and scared to live with us, but of course we knew she needed some time to adjust.

 

The next morning my husband took her outside with her favorite ball to see if she would play... and play she did!!! She was having so much fun running around, jumping, and wagging her tail with a smile. 

Every day she gets about 2 hours of ball time in the yard, hangs out on the couch, goes for car rides, loves her butt scratched, checking out the kitties, and sleeps with us in bed! Emmi is really coming out of her shell, and we have come to love her very much! We are still working on basic training like sit, lay, and stay. She knew sit (a little) when we got her, but now she has learned to sit before she eats or cross the street, lay down, and we're having a little trouble with stay. She seems to have a small case of anxiety so we just started desensitization and counterconditioning to "nip it in the bud" now so it won't get worse. But I'll tell you one thing, she sure loves her ball, her elephant, and for sure her sleep! 

We only want her to be happy and the best for her! We look forward to the future with our Emmi, especially after she's more comfortable."

 

A huge thank you to the staff at the Buffalo Animal Humane Society for all you did for this sweet girl .... and thank you to Angel and Tim for adopting her and providing her with a wonderful, loving home! :)

 

Emmi loves her squeaky balls! :)

Emmi had her own stocking for the holidays!

 

Check out the new Leech Lake Legacy website!

We are thrilled to announce the launching of our new website!!

www.leechlakelegacy.org

A HUGE thanks to Cassie Kunshier for donating her time and talent and building our website.

Please take some time to visit our new website and watch some of the videos we have posted and the link to our photos.

Huckleberry - Home At Last

Dawn says goodbye to Huckleberry and wishes him well :)

Huckleberry was one of over 30 dogs who came down from Leech Lake Reservation on November 8th as part of a humane investigation. From the get-go this charmer won the hearts of the staff at the Animal Humane Society/AHS. Our friends at AHS told us he was the most friendly and outgoing of the bunch! Most of the others were so fearful of people and had to go through AHS' Ad Prep program for shy and fearful dogs.

Unfortunately when Huckleberry was evaluated it was determined that he had some pretty serious dog aggression issues and unfortunately was not able to be placed up for adoption at AHS. We were contacted to see if we could find a rescue that could take him in and work with him. We reached out to our usual network of rescues and unfortunately no one was able to help. Most rescues and shelters are unable to take in dogs with dog-to-dog aggression issues as their fosters have other dogs, and many shelters simply aren't able to take in dogs with dog aggression issues. AHS also reached out to their partner rescues/shelters in hopes that they could find a group able to take and work with Huckleberry. After one of our Leech Lake Reservation transports, our main contact at the Golden Valley site asked us to come back and meet a few of the dogs who had come down from the neglect case. There were only about 5 dogs remaining and 4 of them were going through their shy and fearful program. There was only one dog - Huckleberry - who they were working hard to find a rescue to take him. Dawn, the vet tech supervisor at the Golden Valley AHS site, was clearly in love with Huckleberry. They asked us for any help we could give them in reaching out to our network. AHS and Jenny (of Leech Lake Legacy) sent out multiple requests on behalf of Huckleberry. About a week ago, we learned that Huckleberry was starting to go stir crazy in the shelter. He had now been in the shelter for 5 weeks .. he was deteriorating and a decision needed to be made soon. The staff at AHS wasn't willing to give up on this guy and as a last ditch effort we reached out to our contact at Home At Last sanctuary. We had no where else to turn and we completely understood if Peggy at Home at Last would not be able to take him. As Jenny always does, she had a long conversation with Peggy and gave all the information we had about Huckleberry and his level of dog aggression. We of course, also shared how incredibly sweet and loving he is and given the right environment (a lot of acreage and someone who was very dog savvy) that Huckleberry may learn to adapt to living with other dogs again.

We were ecstatic when Peggy, after asking a lot more questions, said YES!! so yesterday, after Jenny drove to Motley to pick up the big transport of 19 pups and dropping them off at the Buffalo AHS site, we made our way to the Golden Valley AHS site to pick up Huckleberry to transport him to his new home ...

What an incredibly sweet and handsome boy he is!! We can't quite figure out what breed he is ... all we know is he is 81 lbs of cute, uniqueness with a lot of soul and personality! Dawn was there to meet us and to bring Huckles (as she calls him) out to us. The staff at AHS made sure Huckles had everything he needed and he was sent off with a big hug and lots and lots of love.

We took Huckleberry to meet his new mom Peggy. We had two hours of wonderful conversation about so many things (of course, most of it had to do with animals!) and all the while Huckleberry hung out by us and looked up at us with his soulful eyes. Peggy shared with us how she and her husband would introduce Huckleberry to the rest of their pack at their sanctuary.

Today, we got an update from Peggy:

"Huckleberry is home, and it will be slow going for him. He is a VERY dominant guy, and doesn't wait to say hi before inflicting this. With that said, he responds very well to us, so we are taking this very slowly. He has met several dogs, males and females and has figured out we won't let him do anything. He has access to our living room and attached outdoor run when unattended,(he likes the couch, and watched some tv with me this am) otherwise he is on a leash with me everywhere I go, and this technique has proven successful with other recalcitrant pooches. I laughed out loud last night when my short, squat basset mix, Edgar, greeted Huckleberry enthusiastically!  KIN!!

My daughter has been away so will meet him for the first time tomorrow. He will find a very doting 13 year old can be really fun!  Hucks LOVES my husband already--lots of dogs fall for him right away--which has shown us another behavior which is guarding his people. We are very familiar with this, so are not concerned about it at all. He is a darling boy, and we will take all the time it takes to get him in the mix. "

Thank you Peggy (and Home At Last) for taking this incredible boy into your pack and for being willing to work with him so he can adjust to living with a pack again. And thank you AHS for taking him in and caring and loving him so much for the time he was with you ... and thank you for tirelessly advocating on his behalf and for trusting us to find what we believe is going to feel like heaven for him ... that is, once the handsome boy learns, with guidance from Peggy, he must co-exist with the rest of the pack :)

It truly is amazing what we can accomplish when we all work together!

We will keep you posted as we get more updates on Huckles!!

12/29/2012 Update on Hucks:

"Happy New Year, ladies!  I thought I would take a moment to bring you up to speed on Huck's progress. He has indeed jumped multiple dogs, but in two contexts: guarding people, and attempting to overthrow. our responses to these situations has been unequivocal, and I can see him beginning to calculate actions. He is not a reactionary dog, and does not just jump into a foray. He tolerates the chaos very well, he seems far more intentional with his actions, and has targeted male dominant dogs. We do not leave him in the group when he is unattended, he still has his living room with outdoor run. (probably watching too much "Law & order, SVU") However, when we are here, he is in the group, off leash, and is rapidly adjusting. He really enjoys the open space and the deer!!!! He is a very boisterous greeter of his people, nearly taking us off our feet! He is so good about taking correction, which makes this  so much easier. So, the cliff notes are that he will be just fine here, and time is the healer of all things. In 6 months, this will be one of the Home At Last veterans, showing new dogs the ropes. So, thanks for trusting us with him!  He is very unique!! I will try to get you some photos of him out and about. "

And an awesome photo of Hucks with the pack after a long day ... see if you can spot Hucks (hint: someone thinks he makes an awesome pillow!!)

Consider a year-end gift for the animals

A new Cotton ... with foster mom Jenna.

It has now been almost 20 months since we made our first transport up to Leech Lake Reservation to meet with the Leech Lake Community Services Officer. We have had 111 transports, covering approximately 45,000 miles to bring over 1,100 precious animals to safety. Since our first trip up to Leech Lake Reservation our network has grown as we continue to collaborate and build partnerships both within Leech Lake Reservation and outside of the Reservation.

As 2012 comes to a close, it is difficult to pick one story to share as each animal has touched our hearts. But tonight, I would like to share with you an update on Cotton (who arrived on 10/28/12) with her brother Caster. Cotton had 75-80 quills on her face and Caster had over 200 quills over his entire body. On November 11^th, I shared incredibly sad news … the passing of sweet Caster (click here to read the blog posting on Caster). Along with the 200+ quills removed from his body, face, legs, and chest there were apparently more quills inside of his body. Quills migrated in his body and penetrated his heart, liver, lungs and kidneys. We shed many tears for Caster but his spirit continues to live on in his sister Cotton. The next day (November 12^th), Cotton went home with foster mom Jenna and in the month or so Cotton has been hanging out with foster mom Jenna and her many foster 4-legged siblings she has become a totally new dog. She has come a LONG way from when she arrived and was extremely fearful of people. Now she loves to be held and to sleep on laps. She also gets along great with her foster siblings and rumor has it she sleeps on foster mom’s bed with two of her siblings, Yukon and Rue. Just 6 weeks ago, Cotton was fending for herself up at Leech Lake Reservation, starving and in excruciating pain with a face full of porcupine quills. Today, she naps on a couch and gets pampered like royalty. She will be up for adoption soon and whoever adopts this sweet princess will be a very lucky person! Thank you Jenna for everything you have done and continue to do for Cotton.

Cotton and Caster when they arrived on 10/28/12

Cotton’s story is just one of more than a thousand stories. We are now at over 1,100 animals who have been transported and given a second chance. We could not do this without the support of so many … from volunteers, to donors, to the Leech Lake Tribal Police, to our partner shelters and rescues.

2012 was an amazing year for Leech Lake Legacy:

• We transported and re-homed more than 900 dogs and cats.
• We hosted two spay/neuter clinics on the Reservation where 184 dogs and cats were altered.  We also provided wellness checks and vaccinated another 126 dogs and cats.
• We held two “Great Puppy Roundups” where more than 100 animals were surrendered and transferred to rescues and shelters in Minnesota.
• We provided emergency medical care to countless dogs and cats who were brought in to our veterinarian in Bemidji with injuries that needed immediate attention.

The following video gives you a glimpse into our first 20 months!

 Our goals for 2013 are even greater.  Our plans are to host four spay/neuter clinics on the Reservation and during the months without scheduled clinics, to host vaccination clinics and Great Puppy Roundups.  We will also continue our weekly transports of dogs and cats from the Leech Lake Impound.  And inevitably, there will be injured animals on the Reservation who will need immediate and often expensive medical care.

In order to continue the transports, clinics, roundups and provide emergency care to injured animals, we need your support.  We are an all-volunteer grass roots organization. Every single cent you donate is used to help these animals.

Please consider making an end of year donation. You can make an online donation through Paypal by clicking here. You can also send a check to:

Leech Lake Legacy

P.O Box 385454

Bloomington, MN 55438

Thank you again for supporting Leech Lake Legacy.  Together, we are making a difference.