Little by Little – April Sanctuary Update

I don’t think it would be exaggerating to say that this has been the toughest month since the sanctuary first opened. Volunteers, and in a bigger sense, people, are a cornerstone of the Our Companions organization, and a huge part of everything we do. Not having you all by our side for the past few weeks has been like missing a limb, and we are not as joyfully resilient as Dobby and Vinny. But doing the hard work necessary to see our mission through is what we’ve always done, and now is no different.

Always up for a Challenge
Our Companions was founded on the idea that, just because something may be a challenge, that’s no reason to give up or seek an easy way out. Doing the right thing for animals has always meant finding creative answers to tough problems, and putting in the hard work to make it happen. With volunteers being severely restricted, the staff has all been putting in extra hours to make sure the dogs and cats are well cared for. For the volunteers who can help out, we’ve creatively figured out how to pass a dog off to a volunteer outside to be taken on a trip, or schedule cat volunteers to have the absolute minimum of human contact while here. And with Canine College classes shut down, Deanna and many of the trainers who are familiar with the dogs at the sanctuary, have come here to help get them all the exercise and training practice they’re used to. And you think this place was clean before? The staff here has gone above and beyond to target every germ hiding space in these buildings. And I find it highly amusing that, while we’ve always had an eye for where a cat or dog could be contaminating the area, now we have to be far more worried about where all those germ infested humans have been putting their hands.

Pushing Ahead
And while it may feel like we have one paw tied being our backs right now. We continue to push forward on what we need to get done. In addition to the regular day to day action of dog walks and cat play, we’ve made some good progress on many of current furry friend projects. Over in the cats, Max and Maya had dental procedures recently that have them both feeling much more comfortable. Skip, our newest diabetic cat, has made some huge progress in getting his blood sugar levels under control and is now moving around his room much more comfortably, usually in search of a meal or some love. On the dog side, Sugar had a follow up look at her knee infection, and it’s doing much better, meaning she’ll be healthy enough to start heartworm treatments soon and get one step closer to going home. Juno has been learning lots of new tricks, like pushing a ball around with her nose and walking with a muzzle on, to help manage her high energy herding dog instincts. And of course, we’re continuing to move forward in finding the special pets their forever homes. You can see the most recent adoption updates below.

Little by little we adjust and move forward. We change our work models, we make backup provisions, we create new cleaning protocols, and we re-evaluate medical and behavioral strategies. And most importantly, little by little we help these dogs and cats become the best that they can be on their way to their happy ever after. It’s what we’ve always done and will continue to do.
And though you all may not be able to be here right now, your support is felt each and every day. This place was built as much by all of you as it was by us, and our ability to weather this storm is a tribute to all of your contributions.

This month, again, was predictably slow with adoptions, but it was still wonderful to be able to see some fantastic cats go home, even in these difficult circumstances. Finding their forever homes this month were the magical pair of Draco and Neville, as well as Pegaleo. Finding her way to our door just a few days ago is the gorgeous Luci.