Blossoming - March Sanctuary Update - Our Companions Animal Rescue

Hi Everyone!

Spring is coming! It may not feel like it quite yet, but there are some warmer days on their way. In the meantime, it’s wonderful to look around and see the resilience and growth all around as the ice, snow, and wind retreat and vibrant life returns, and with it our work at the sanctuary. Some areas of our work are returning back to some sense of normal or returning after taking the winter off. Other areas are growing and improving. And there are some new faces around to brighten things up as well!

Skunk cabbage – a sure sign of spring on the way!

Sunset is creeping later and later in the day…

The creek has finally thawed and is flowing freely

We have lots of returning favorites getting up and running over the next few weeks. The cat team has already started enjoying play yard time again on some of the nicer days. Ralph and Captain have especially been enjoying their return to the great outdoors. We’ll also be looking to try out some new cats in the play yard and many of them are working on their carrier training to prepare. We’ll also be looking to expand to more days of the week with more volunteers as well.

Dog training classes will also be returning to the sanctuary over the next month or so. Over the past couple of years, as our dog team staff build and strengthen their training skills, we’ve been able to offer a variety of training class experiences to our sanctuary dogs. This year we will continue to expand those offerings and will be looking to include dogs from outside the sanctuary as well.

And of course, with the warm weather comes more field trips for the sanctuary dogs. Last summer, we were able to explore group trips with as many as four of our dogs hitting local activity spots together. We’ll be looking to keep up that work and shoot even higher this year.

Captain Crunch enjoying the sun on his fur

Gidget practicing her skills during our most recent sanctuary group dog class

Best buds Neo & Angel always have a blast on their field trips together

As we continue to grow and change, we often get to have new people join the work. This past month, the dog team added two new relief caregivers, Marissa and Michelle. And in another big return at the sanctuary, after a five year pandemic hiatus, we once again have our intern program up and running with the UCONN Animal Science department. We’ve been joined on the cat team this semester by Giana, a UCONN student intern working her way towards a veterinary career. She’s been making a big impact, especially with little Woody. Lastly, in another move towards becoming a bigger and increasingly more professional operation, we’ve added our first part time HR employee. Laura Gayton joined our team in February and has already made huge improvements in our operations and team building. It’s all onward and upward from here!!

Marissa, one of our new canine staff members, working with Princess on her bike reactivity

Michelle, our other new canine staff member, becoming a Gidget friend!

Lastly, I’d like to make my annual March plea for help for the upcoming spring and summer yard care season. We have a great team of volunteer mowers and gardeners, but we could always use more. We are especially in need of gardeners this year. Even if you’re not a plant expert and just enjoy a little quiet outdoor work, we could use your help. Our gardens are well established and have a simple, low maintenance design, but do need some help to stay pretty and well-maintained. If you’d like to join the crew, just email me at [email protected] or go the volunteer tab on our website! Thanks so much!!

Patches’ Purr-spective

It’s been great over the past few weeks to see the snow and ice fade and our wonderful volunteers traversing the grounds a bit more comfortably. Spring is a great time to reassess and reorganize lots of elements of life. I’ve been starting to adjust my routine to include more time watching birds outside my window and even venturing out onto my catio! As your life ramps back up into high gear, maybe take a look at your schedules and see if there’s time or space to help out in new ways here at the sanctuary. Many of our volunteers help out in multiple capacities with different teams at the sanctuary to spread the love a bit farther. Also, many of volunteers find it rewarding to commit to set schedules of spending time at the sanctuary. This might be a good time to see if you’d like to establish or increase your committed times here. The team and the furry guests would really appreciate it!!

Can’t wait to see you again!

Patches

And of Course…Adoptions!!

Our adoption action is certainly blossoming as well this season. On the dog team, sweet little Freddie went home and made room for sweet not-so-little Rosie to join the fun. In cats, Emi & Ollie, Zoe, and Charlie all went home, while Woody, Mitzi, and Daisy have arrived and been settling in. And with the small animals, guinea pigs Maureen and Susie went home, with guinea pigs Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, rabbits Rhea and Nougat, and dwarf hamsters Hera, Persephone, Pandora, Calypso, and Calliope filling Suzanne’s Place with their magic. Wow, what a way to kick off spring!!