August 2012 Spay/Neuter Clinic

It's been almost a month since we had our second spay/neuter clinic (August 25-26) in partnership with Kindest Cut and the Leech Lake Tribal Police ... this blog post is LONG overdue!! Many thanks to everyone who helped make our second spay/neuter clinic a big success. On Saturday the first resident was in line at 4:15 AM with his dog Scooter! It was obvious Scooter was very much loved by his owner :)

Over the two-day clinic a total of 93 animals were spayed/neutered ... 51 were given vaccinations only, and 42 animals were surrendered and taken in by the Animal Humane Society and placed up for adoption.

Many thanks also to Minnesota Partnership for Animal Welfare/MnPAW for contributing $2,500 towards the cost of funding a 2-day spay/neuter clinic. The remaining $3,000 was raised and funded by Leech Lake Legacy through a collaborative fundraiser with Kindest Cut in June (a garage sale and dog wash) to raise the needed funds.

Our efforts to help the animals up at Leech Lake Reservation would not be possible without the help and support of so many.

Scooter and his owner were the first in line at 4:15 AM!

We are also extremely grateful for the opportunity to meet so many of the wonderful residents of Leech Lake Reservation. Thank you for welcoming us into your community.

If you are interested in volunteering or getting involved please email us at leechlakelegacy@gmail.com.  We have weekly transports and are always in need of volunteers able to help us in transporting animals from Leech Lake to our partner shelters.



To view pictures from the 2-day spay/neuter clinic click here.

To watch a video click here.

The Great Puppy Roundup

Do you have puppies you would like to surrender?

Leech Lake Legacy

in partnership with the Leech Lake Tribal Police

is hosting:

The Great Puppy Roundup

Saturday, September 22, 2012

The Great Puppy Roundup is a day when residents of Leech Lake Reservation can surrender their unwanted puppies at no charge. The surrendered puppies will be transported to rescues and shelters in other parts of Minnesota where they will be vetted, checked out, spayed/neutered and then placed up for adoption.

Date:                 Saturday, September 22, 2012

Time:                10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

Location:          Leech Lake Tribal Police Headquarters

                          6530 U.S. Highway 2 NW, Cass Lake, MN

If you have puppies to surrender, please contact us at leechlakelegacy@gmail.com.

Rules:

• Person surrendering must be at least 18 years old
• Person surrendering must be a resident of Leech Lake Reservation
• Person surrendering must show ID
• Person surrendering must sign surrender form

 

The Great Puppy Roundup is held in memory of Little Dougie, an eight-week-old puppy who was found alive by the side of the road in Leech Lake with three bullets in his spine.

We were unable to save his life.

Kiki update

Kiki's soulful eyes has captured the hearts of so many ...

Kiki arrived on transport on Saturday, 7/28 with her 4 pups (Kodiak, Koko, Kachina and Kai). This sweet girl was in rough shape when she arrived with a face so swollen and infected from quills. She immediately won the hearts of the staff at the Buffalo Animal Humane Society. Kiki had surgery today (Wednesday) to remove the quills, get spayed, and to check a lump on her neck (the vet thinks it is benign). They are also getting x-rays of her rear right leg that has an interesting mass on it as she is limping a little. The vet suspects it's an old injury. Of course, we will let you know more when we get an update on her surgery and the results of all of her tests ... meanwhile, I wanted to share with you the email updates I have been receiving from the staff at AHS. I have a feeling this sweet girl hasn't spent much time in her kennel :)

From Heather, supervisor at the Buffalo AHS site:

"I just wanted to give you an update on Kiki (I call her Princess Kiki).  Well most importantly she has won the heart of every person in our building.  Yesterday she was visiting with our vet techs all day long.  This morning when I went to our incoming building she was out and about checking out all the cats.  She doesn’t react to them at all or one of the dogs who was growling at her.   She is currently laying on her stack of blankets in my office scrounging about for more treats on the floor.  By the crunching I am hearing, she just found one.  She is doing better with hard food.  I was super worried Sunday night because I found out around 6:30 that no one got my text that she was having a hard time eating hard food so I came in with my fiancé and we loved her up lots and fed her some wet food.  I also brought in some chicken broth to soften the dry food for her.  Apparently somehow during the night she got out of her run and was found sleeping in front of her babies kennels.  Today I plan on giving her a nice brushing to help her get rid of some of her lose hair and maybe a bit of a bath, we’ll see, I don’t want to hurt her.  The swelling in her cheek has gone down some but she still has the abscess on her neck that our vet is looking at on Wednesday.  He did get to look at her yesterday too.  She is set to be spayed on Wednesday at which point they are going to look at the mass on her neck, Dr. Graham thinks it is totally benign. He also suspects that they are going to find more quills when she is under anesthesia.  He even put in his notes “excellent” personality.  Our VS team did her eval on Sunday.  She scored the best score possible for all things behavior!  No surprise there.  They aged her at 1 year and she weighs 54 pounds.  She obviously still has some pounds to put on to be at a healthy weight, which should be no problem considering she is showered with treats here.  She just had a bit of an ordeal and we all think she will come out of it just fine.  Clearly by the length of this e-mail I am completely enamored with her and disappointed I cannot bring her home with me.  I guess the second best thing is to find her an amazing home.  I told all of our staff here that when she gets adopted she is required to go to a home where she gets to sleep in the bed and eat really yummy food, and maybe a few morsels of human food.  Anyhow, I will continue to update you with her progress."

"....By the way, Kiki is a huge fan of T-Bone. She got a bath and a really good groom yesterday before her surgery today so she looks phenomenal!" 

then from Megan (who also took all these awesome photos):
"We did a photoshoot with the puppies for the website and I took some photos of Kiki while she was hanging out in the office. She should be going through surgery today to take care of the rest of the quills as well as the mass on her leg. I think they’ll also spay her at this time too, which will be nice for her! She is a spectacular dog; we’ve had her hanging out in the office during the day since she came on Saturday and you couldn’t ask for a nicer companion. She loves greeting everyone that walks through,and if they have a treat or a bowl of food or just hands for a good old fashioned belly rub, all the better!

Hopefully her puppies will all find homes this week, we’ll have our chalkboard sign out for the weekend to try to draw people up the driveway to look at them! I’ll let you know how that goes.

Thanks for everything you’ve done to get Kiki and her pups into safe hands. We adore them already!"

 and here are photos of her pups ..

Kachina

Kai

Kodiak

Koko

 A huge thank you to everyone who donated to help us pay for the care of Kiki and her pups. And thank you to AHS for taking them in and for providing them with the best care possible and lots of love and TLC from your staff :)
 

Medical emergency fund is depleted!

Kiki - first round of quills removed

The voice for the Leech Lake Legacy blog since it began has been my partner-in-crime, Jenny Fitzer, who has been the one who works tirelessly on a daily basis to help every animal she possibly can. I nagged her to start a blog so we could share the stories of these beautiful creatures up at Leech Lake Reservation and surrounding areas who so desperately need for us to give them a second chance and to free them from suffering. Today I write for the first time, because Kiki and her 4 puppies (Kachina, Kai, Koko and Kodiak) need your help and support. We/Leech Lake Legacy need your help. Leech Lake Legacy formed in May, 2011 -- we're a grassroots group of volunteers working in a positive, collaborative and respectful manner with shelters and rescues in Minnesota. We are extremely grateful for all the support we have received and our growing network of supporters (individuals and businesses), volunteers, shelters and rescues. Since last May we have been able to give over 600 animals a second chance .. this has only been possible by all of us working together!

On Tuesday night, Jenny received a call from Rory, the Leech Lake Animal Control Officer/ACO. He had picked up an injured mama and her 4 pups. "She has an open wound on her face." A few days ago I shared with Jenny that our medical fund was almost depleted. The goal of Leech Lake Legacy is to partner and work with existing shelters and rescues and to find placement for the animals up at Leech Lake Reservation and surrounding areas. I've had trouble falling asleep lately worrying about the day our medical fund would be completely depleted and we would no longer be able to provide care and treatment for animals suffering and in need of vet care. Jenny receives calls from the Leech Lake ACO when he picks up injured animals ... we have taken in dogs who have been hit by cars, shot, had serious eye injuries or head injuries, and as in the case of Kiki, where her face was filled with quills and open sores. Even though our funds are close to being depleted, Jenny gave the ACO the okay to bring Kiki and her 4 puppies to the Animal Care Clinic. The vet tech tells us Kiki is such a sweet girl ... "the wounds (on her face) are all exit wounds from the quills -- she has major hard swelling -- many are still in there and they are not able to be retrieved and will fester out." They remove as many of the quills as they can and treat her with meds to keep her as comfortable and pain free as possible. Later they check on her 4 pups .. they are wormed and are full of ticks, but otherwise appear to be healthy. We need to keep them at the clinic till they can be transported to the cities on Saturday when Jenny heads up to Leech Lake Reservation (weekly transports take place to transfer animals to shelters and rescues -- a majority of the animals are taken in by the Animal Humane Society (AHS)in Golden Valley, MN. AHS has taken in countless numbers of animals with injuries. The next day when we have additional information on Kiki's injuries and on her pups we email the information to AHS. Not long after we send the email, we get confirmation that AHS can take Kiki and her pups!

Kiki patiently letting the vet tech remove quills

The staff at Animal Care Clinic in Bemidji has been wonderful. They stay in constant communication with me after Kiki and her pups arrive at their clinic .. .sending updates and texting me photos. "Kiki is an absolute sweet heart ... she just laid there patiently when we are pulling quills out of her face ... and the pups, they are all so sweet." We later learn one of the pups has lice so they are all immediately treated for lice. They are all dewormed as the pups have huge bellies probably filled with all kinds of worms. Kiki also has some kind of an injury on her rear right leg. We don't have the funds to authorize an x-ray. I confirm with the vet tech that Kiki is not in any pain from whatever injury or wound she has on her rear back leg. I can only authorize absolutely essential vet care. First and foremost is to ensure they are free from pain and suffering.

So Kiki and her pups will be coming down to the cities and going to AHS on Saturday. The vets at AHS will check Kiki and her pups out thoroughly. For the time being they will stay at the vet clinic where they will be monitored and Kiki will continue to be cared for. We are told that one side of her face is so swollen from the exit wounds from the quills. I continue to be amazed at how sweet these animals are even when they are in so much pain.

The cost of care for taking Kiki and her pups to the clinic will be around $240. The Leech Lake Legacy medical fund is almost depleted. If you are able please consider making a donation. 

There are three ways you can donate:

• Make a one time donation for any amount you are able to afford ... Click on the 'Donate' button on the right hand side of the Leech Lake Legacy blog.
• Make a monthly recurring donation of $25/mth (that's less than $1/day). Click on the 'Subscribe' button right below the 'Donate' button on the Leech Lake Legacy blog. You will need a paypal account to do this ... if you don't have a paypal account, it takes less than 5 minutes to set one up. This is a great way to donate, and you can use your credit card to set up the monthly $25 donation.
• You can also donate on the Leech Lake Legacy Medical Fund Chip In page at: http://leechlakelegacy.chipin.com/leech-lake-legacy-medical-fund

 Please also help us spread the word with your friends, family and colleagues. I smile today knowing that Kiki, Kai, Kachina, Koko and Kodiak are being loved and cared for ... and in a couple days will make the trek to the cities and begin the next stage of their journey to finding their own special forever home. I look forward to the day when these precious 5 pups will be lounging on someone's couch and being pampered and cherished and no longer having to fend for themselves or hunt for their own food.

And if you aren't following the Leech Lake Legacy facebook page, be sure to 'Like' us on facebook. I always post photos and updates on our facebook ... rest assured there will be many photos of Kiki and her pups after the transport arrives on Saturday!!

~ Marilou, Co-founder, Leech Lake Legacy

A huge thank you to those who have donated .. I will keep updating this list ...
from the bottom of our hearts, thank you!!

• Janet Wilkinson
• Mary Genell
• Vicki Neumann
• Bobbi Gruma
• Chuck Fitzer
• Sandra Olberding
• Jessica Smith
• Barbie Olson 
• Ahnung 
• Sharon Samel
• Nancy and Tom O'Sullivan
• Merry Sawdey 
• Anne Vareka 
• Jessica Hassan

 

Kachina

Kai

Koko

Kodiak

Busy Times, Sad Times and Little Dougie

It has been a while since I blogged – I seem to get busier every day – work and planning clinics and transports and re-homing dogs and cats and so on and so on and so on.  My priority list is constantly changing – depending on whom or what is yelling the loudest.

My last blog was about the successful spay/neuter clinic that was held in Leech Lake in March.  A lot has happened since then:

• Since May 11, we have transported 42 dogs and cats from the Leech Lake Impound

Yepa - Transported on May 13

• We started to help with animal transport from Morrison County Animal Humane Society in Little Falls and Northern Border Rescue in Roseau.  Since May 13, we have transported 34 animals from Morrison County and 13 from Northern Border Rescue

• We successfully re-homed 14 animals not able to be placed up for adoption including Chewy, an incredibly sweet German shepherd; and Lewis, who was literally hours away from being euthanized but was saved by the hard work of a dedicated group of people

Chewy

• On June 11 and 12, we held a garage sale/dog wash in conjunction with Kindest Cut and Animal Humane Society to raise funds for the next Leech Lake spay/neuter clinic.  We raised almost $5,000.  I figured out that if I had been getting paid for coordinating and volunteering at the garage sale, I made about seven bucks an hour

• On June 15, we found out that the spay/neuter clinic we had originally scheduled for the last weekend in June needed to be rescheduled.  After some crazy scrambling, we were finally able to pin down new dates for the clinic - August 11 and 12.  Preparations have begun in earnest

• On June 17, we transported a total of 21 animals from Leech Lake, Morrison County and Northern Border.  The transport began at 6:00 a.m. and wasn’t completed until 7:00 p.m.  It included a three-hour stop at Pampered Pooch Grooming in Little Falls to bathe all of the dogs from Leech Lake and Morrison County.  We needed to be in Buffalo by 6:00 p.m. and because of road construction and cabin traffic, we were insanely delayed and pulled into the parking lot at 5:56.  Nothing like cutting it close

Esmerelda - Bathed and groomed

And more sad news - A sweet hound mix named  Eckes was supposed to be part of the “E3” transport on June 17.  When we arrived at the Impound, we found out that Eckes had died the day before of unknown causes.  RIP sweet boy.  We are sorry you died alone in the cold and dark impound.  You will not be forgotten.

Eckes - Rest in Peace

And another especially sad event happened in June:

On Wednesday, June 13, I received a call from Rory, the Animal Control Officer in Leech Lake.  He had picked up a puppy from the side of the road that he assumed had been hit by a car and was taking it to Animal Care Clinic in Bemidji to be examined.  When the vet called later that day, I was told that Doug had not been hit by a car.  He had been shot – three times.  How he survived three bullets and how he ended up along the side of a busy road will always be a mystery.

Brave Little Doug was brought down on transport on Thursday to AHS and was examined by their vet the next morning.  The news was terrible – one of the bullets had penetrated Doug’s spine and he was paralyzed from the waist down.  Little Dougie had no control of his bowel or his bladder and was unable to move his back legs or wag his little black tail.

Little Dougie on Transport

Marilou and I spent time with Little Dougie on Friday.  We took him outside and sat him in the grass and kissed him and loved him and told him what a good boy he was.  Many of the staff of AHS came out to say their good-byes.  What an impact this sweet little puppy had on so many people.

Marilou and I were with him when he was euthanized.  What a very tragic ending for an innocent little boy.

Doug on his last day

Since January 1, we have rescued over 200 animals from the Leech Lake Impound with the help of a dedicated group of volunteers.

We have cried tears of joy and sobbed tears of sadness and frustration.

We have struggled to understand what appears to be the utter disregard of animals by some humans.  And we have opened our eyes in wonder and amazement at the kindness of others.

This journey I began more than a year ago has taken me to places I could not have imagined and introduced me to people and animals who will be forever in my heart.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Clinic and the Disease

It has been a very busy six weeks since our inaugural spay/neuter clinic on the Leech Lake Reservation (the reason why it has taken me six weeks to write about it).

Animals waiting for surgery

It is old news by now, but it was a very successful clinic.  A total of 91 dogs and cats were altered.  We also provided vaccinations and microchips for the 75 animals that were not able to be spayed/neutered because of space.  There were 49 cats and dogs surrendered to us during the two days of the Clinic.  All of the animals were taken in by Animal Humane Society (AHS) and transported to the Cities by Clinic volunteers.

Philomena - surrendered at Clinic

When I walked outside the first day of the Clinic at 5:00 a.m. to start setting up, there were already people waiting in line to have their pets altered and vaccinated.  It reminded me again how great the need is for vet care for the animals on the Reservation.

Lisa getting some exercise

Dr. Meghann Kruck and the staff of Kindest Cut along with Dr. Melanie Sharpe provided the vet services at the Clinic.  It was our first time working with these vets and their staff, and I think I speak for everyone involved that we very much look forward to our next time working together.

Heading in to Surgery

We also had more than 20 volunteers from the Cities who made the trek to Leech Lake, along with volunteers from Bemidji, Grand Rapids, the Reservation and even International Falls.

Teresa, Kathie, Heidi, Jenny

We made a lot of very positive contacts with the residents of Leech Lake – people who I imagine will continue to be involved in future clinics.  We also met a lot of amazing animals – animals who have been through a lot in their lives and yet still are happy and always ready with a lick and a wag.  The power of their spirits never ceases to amaze me.  Us humans could certainly learn something from them.

Panubis - surrendered at Clinic

Porter - surrendered at Clinic

Eleven semi-feral cats were surrendered by a woman who lives on the Reservation.  She had been feeding the cats and had named them all and they were obviously very important to her.  I could see the sadness in her eyes as she brought them in, one at a time, told them good-bye and handed them over to a volunteer.

After arriving at AHS, the cats were tested for Feline Leukemia.  Five of the cats tested positive.  Not having much previous experience with cats, I immediately reached out to my “cat people” to try and find a place for these cats to go.  I heard “no” again and again.  No one was able to take cats who were positive for FL.  During this time, I learned a lot about the disease.  I also discovered that there are rescues who will take them, but often, these rescues are full.  After days and days of trying to find a place for the cats, I made the difficult decision to have them euthanized.

We see so much disease in the animals on the Reservation - diseases that we can prevent.

Priscilla - surrendered at Clinic

It is one of the things that motivates me to work toward the day when every animal on the Rez is vaccinated and we no longer see so many animals infected with disease.

'Tis the Season for Picking Ticks

It is why we are working on a plan for monthly vaccination clinics on the Leech Lake Reservation.

It is why we are already working hard and fast on fund-raising for our second clinic – scheduled for the last weekend in June.

RIP Paxton, Peggy, Percy, Perry and Prince.  Know that your deaths have not been in vain.

Click here to watch a video of photos from the spay/neuter clinic.

Leech Lake Spay & Neuter Clinic - March 23-24

Good news for the dogs and cats on the Leech Lake Reservation!

The first Leech Lake Legacy spay and neuter clinic will be held March 23-24 at the Pike Bay Town Hall in Cass Lake, Minnesota.

Dr. Meghann of Kindest Cut and her staff will be traveling to Leech Lake next week to alter, vaccinate and microchip dogs and cats.  The Clinic doors will open on Friday and Saturday at 8:00 a.m. and surgery will be available to the residents on a first-come, first-served basis.  Vaccinations and microchipping will also be available.

In addition, on Saturday, Dr. Melanie Sharpe will join the team of vets and spend her day neutering.

There will also be a large contingent of volunteers traveling to Leech Lake to help with set up, animal care and the thousand other things that need to happen for a successful clinic.
In addition, there is a kid's session scheduled for Saturday at 1:00 which will provide kids with information on the basics of responsible pet care, the humane treatment of animals, dog/cat safety and most importantly, compassion and empathy for other living things.

Katy and her dog Elf will lead the kid's session along with Marilou and her two former Rez dogs - Ahnung and Legacy.

Elf

Legacy and Ahnung

Leech Lake Legacy wishes to thank everyone who helped make this happen:

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
Pet Haven Inc. of Minnesota
Dr. Meghann Kruck and staff from Kindest Cut
Dr. Melanie Sharpe
Animal Humane Society
Minnesota Partnership for Animal Welfare (MnPAW)
Minnesota Spay/Neuter Project

And a HUGE thank you to the many, many individuals who donated money, supplies and their time!

Keep your fingers crossed that we don't have a late March blizzard!

See you soon.

Jenny