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Moose's New Ride

When Moose hurt his leg a few months ago, he refused to walk, and in the time it took for the injury to heal, he lost what little strength he had in his legs. For a lot of dogs, this would have signified the end, and Moose was in awful shape, but we also knew that he had a history of bouncing back, so we moved him into hospice care with a volunteer. With lots of special attention, Moose began to sit up on his own, and with the help of a harness, he started to walk a little. He was steadily improving, so we decided it was time for him to walk on his own, with the help of some special hardware. He's never looked happier; whether he has to use his new cart for the rest of his life, or he gains enough strength to start walking without it, we're so glad to see the old guy getting around again. Read the rest of Moose's story here.

Posted on September 16, 2012 | Link

Clearwater Hounds Update

It's been three months since I first stepped out of my truck into the mud and filth that the Clearwater Hounds called home; since their rescue the dogs have made steady progress, and while they still have a lot of work ahead of them, I'm happy to report that the girls are happy, gaining confidence every day, and are perhaps healthier than they have been in their entire lives. All four dogs were spayed and vaccinated two weeks ago, finally healthy enough to undergo the procedures.

Mabel continues to be the easiest of the four to handle, although she still prefers to only go outside for a few minutes at a time. During her spay operation, Mabel had a tumor removed from her side and a second one removed from one of her ovaries; thankfully, and somewhat to my surprise, both masses were benign. As she continues to gain weight and her fur grows back, after perhaps years of battling an awful skin infection, Mabel loves her socialization with the Sanctuary staff. She seems to be more tolerant of other dogs as well, and perhaps soon she'll be able to socialize with some of the the other hounds who live here. We will continue to work with Mabel to help her enjoy the outdoors, but we won't push her too hard - if she'd prefer to stay inside, that's her choice.

The other three girls have been named: Lila is the biggest of the group, Betsy is the mother dog, and Rudy is the puppy. Lila has made the most progress of the three; she calmly approaches staff and visitors to seek affection. This gives Rudy the confidence to interact with people as well, although she has a difficult time being calm - not surprising for a puppy. Betsy remains somewhat timid and independent, but all three younger dogs happily follow our staff around the yard, take treats from our hands, and Rudy has even shown some interest in chasing a ball. Even though they are alert and easily spooked, when the dogs are outside they are all about having fun: running and chasing each other, sniffing the ground and the air, and taking an occasional dip in the pond. One of the rare benefits the Sanctuary provides is the stability these girls feel in being kept together; every so often, two or three dogs arrive here that are very bonded to one another, and we opt to keep them together to minimize their stress and help them to feel safer. Most rescues have to split dogs up to increase their chances of adoption, but we feel that in the case of the Clearwater Hounds, this would be highly traumatic, and since we're a permanent placement facility, we don't have to even consider it. We're happy that we can keep their family together as they undergo continued rehabilitation, become more confident and outgoing, and forget the time in their lives when they were chained in their own waste, rife with infection, and stinking from substandard nutrition.

Construction on the new wing of our building that will house the hounds was delayed by an unexpected complication in the form of a sinkhole we uncovered while installing a drainage system in our yard, but we have gotten back on track with the project and expect to have the outer shell of the building completed within a couple of weeks, weather permitting. The roof is going up this week. The ongoing retrofitting and improvement of our building ensures that we are able to provide ever-better housing and care for the dogs that have their home with us.
You can help us by continuing to support the Clearwater Hounds through Causes.com, by donating through our website, or you can mail your donation to Olympic Animal Sanctuary, 1021 Russell Road, Forks, WA 98331.

Thanks so much to all of you for your support for these special dogs over the last three months, and we hope you'll continue to help us erase the horrors of their past and give them the lives that all dogs deserve.

Steve Markwell

Posted on February 1, 2011 | Link

The Clearwater Hounds

A Clearwater man passed away last week, and left behind four Walker coonhounds and an orange tomcat. Clearwater isn't so much a town as it is an 'area' in western Jefferson County, near the Gray's Harbor County line, around an hour's drive from Forks. The area has a few homes, a lot of commercial timberland, a minimum security prison nearby, and a fair number of people living in travel trailers and other forms of less permanent housing in the woods.

Normally this is the kind of thing that an animal control agency would respond to, but since Jefferson County Animal Services continually refuses to provide animal control in the west half of the county, the area's single Sheriff's deputy and other local residents were left to deal with the situation. Based on past experience, we have good reason to believe that JCAS would have only killed the dogs anyway, so it was for the best that they weren't involved. A local Good Samaritan contacted Patt Doyle, owner of Pampurred Pet Care in Forks, stating that the dogs were chained, lacked adequate shelter, and that he was unable to approach them. Additionally he stated that one of the dogs was old and sick and would need to be euthanized. Patt visited the site and reported the same conditions, but that the older dog might not be as sick as the man believed.

While short on space, Olympic Animal Sanctuary responded, believing that the dogs would be better off kept temporarily in crates and walked for exercise than to stay any longer in their current situation. The following is Steve's journal:

Day 1, October 22, 2010:

I went with Darcy Gray, a volunteer from Olympic Peninsula Humane Society, down to Clearwater to see the hounds for the first time. Darcy brought a camera to photograph the rescue. There were three, rusted and rotted out travel trailers and a couple of broken down trucks, with piles of lumber, firewood, tires, and debris scattered around the property. Two dogs were chained to trees, one was chained to the tire of a rusty truck, and the older dog's chain seemed to disappear into the ground. All four dogs were living in mud, feces, and urine, with no ability to escape the filth. One dog had a rotten plywood box with no floor for a shelter, one had a plastic dog house, one had only a truck to hide under, and the older dog had a rusty steel drum, open at both ends, with rainwater flowing through it.

The dogs were all extremely fearful; some were snarling and lunging. The old dog was particularly confrontational, made more problematic by a longer chain than the others had. I started with a small dog that had the plastic house; she was chained close to the dog under the truck, and the two seemed to have an attachment to each other. As I slowly took hold of her chain and worked my way closer to her, the dog became stiff; I was able to put a leash over her head and cut off her collar with a pair of shears, and had little trouble walking her to a crate and coaxing her into it. The dog under the truck was much more fearful and tried very hard to escape, so rather than leashing her, I attached a chain leash to the chain she was already on, so that I would have a handle to hold onto after I cut her existing chain from the truck. She was harder to handle, but I was able to get her into another crate.

Next came the largest dog with the wood shelter, who had been giving Darcy a hard time whenever she turned her back. When I drew close she became much quieter, and I was able to leash her and cut off her collar like I had done with the first dog. I had come expecting the dogs to be less fearful and easier to handle, so I only brought three carriers, planning to allow one to remain loose in the covered bed of the truck; since I needed one more carrier than I had, I put the dog into the cab of one of the trucks on the property until we were ready to load up and leave.

The old dog was the most challenging to deal with; she was protective of her area and it took close to half an hour to get her into a crate. I could have done this more quickly, but did not want to injure or stress the dog. I opted to leave her chain attached and cut it the way I had done with the dog under the truck, and then by stringing it through the door and out one of the holes in the side of the crate, I was able to gently pull her in without making the experience more traumatic than it needed to be. Once her front feet were in, she walked in the rest of the way voluntarily.

Darcy and I loaded the three crated dogs into the truck and I was able to get the last dog to walk up a ramp into the bed of the truck with a little coaxing. The next task was to catch the orange tomcat, who had access to one of the trailers by walking up a 2x4 and entering through an open window. After seeing that the cat was inside the trailer, I shut the window and set a live trap in the hallway that separated the front section from the back, being the only part of the trailer that wasn't cluttered with garbage. I baited the trap and barricaded the trailer door shut with an old tire, as the latch was broken and I feared the cat might push the door open and escape. With the hounds gone, it would be especially important to get the cat out of there before it was discovered by any predators the dogs would have otherwise scared away.

With the cat trap set, we left for the Sanctuary; the dogs were given water and left in the truck for the night, happy to be out of the rain for a change. Due to their extreme fear, I felt it was better not to handle them until I was ready to move them inside, and we had a veterinary appointment the following morning.

Day 2, October 23, 2010:

The dogs were noticeably calmer in the morning, appearing to feel the way one does after an especially restful night of sleep. We returned to Clearwater to check the cat trap, and I was happy to see that I'd caught the tomcat. I put the trap in the back seat of the truck and returned to the Sanctuary, where I transferred the cat to a more comfortable carrier; he was happy to be held and it was immediately clear that he would be adoptable, so I began searching for rescue placement for him.

From there we were off to see our veterinarian. We picked up Darcy again so she could continue taking photos. Dr. Tyler and the staff at Greywolf Veterinary Hospital in Sequim did an excellent job with the dogs, and as usual, they were happy to accommodate a somewhat out of the ordinary request, that we examine the dogs inside a fenced area behind the clinic to minimize their stress.

We looked at the dog from the plastic dog house first; Dr. Tyler palpated her abdomen, which had appeared distended, but thankfully found nothing abnormal. Her collar had done some damage, and drawing fluid from a mass on the dog's neck revealed it to be a hematoma that will dissipate over time. Next we examined the large dog that had been left loose in the truck; apart from some lesions on her posterior, she appeared to be in good health.

We examined the old dog next, and found, not surprisingly, quite a few problems. In addition to obvious alopecia, she had several masses, lesions, and sores, and was of course extremely underweight. She did, however, allow herself to be handled much more easily than she had the day before, and we were able to remove her collar without much trouble. The collar had been digging into her skin for years, and when we cut it away we found that it was caked with pus and hair. Before we returned her to her crate, the dog was given vitamin injections to kick start her recovery. Lab work revealed the source of the dog's alopecia to be yeast and bacteria, and the doctor prescribed antifungals and antibiotics to address both issues. Surprisingly a stool sample yielded no intestinal parasites, so there was at least one piece of good news.

Finally, we looked at the dog that had lived under the truck, and found that she was also underweight and in need of vitamins. She had two collars, which we removed, finding that one of them had been so worn from the strain of her pulling against her chain that the metal ring on the collar had eroded away. Imagine how long it must have taken to wear through an eighth-inch steel ring, and the pain the dog must have felt as she pulled, until she finally broke free, only to have a second collar fastened around her neck, and the first one never removed.

Because they had been living in feces and exposed to the elements for perhaps years, we assumed all four girls to have compromised immune systems, and opted not to vaccinate them until they had some time to recover.

The Forks Police Department graciously allowed us to place the cat temporarily in the city shelter until we can find rescue placement for him. Back at the Sanctuary, I set up crates for the girls in an out of the way area and filled them with straw bedding, and brought the dogs inside one by one. The old dog's damaged skin had begun to bleed, but it didn't appear serious. I don't know if the hounds had ever spent a night indoors before; I set up a space heater, gave the old dog her pills, and gave each of them a water dish before turning in for the night. I decided not to feed the dogs yet, my concern being that they would be too nervous to eat, or at least to keep their food down.

Day 3, October 24, 2010:

I took the dogs outside, one at a time, and walked them around the front yard for a few minutes each; they are extremely shy, but they are beginning to come out of their shells. A few of them even wag their tails a bit when I approach. Surprisingly, the old dog, who I've decided to name Mabel, seems to have warmed up to me the fastest, despite being the most difficult to deal with in Clearwater. After their short trips in the yard, I gave each of them a small piece of pork to eat, and when I returned awhile later I found that all of them had eaten what they were given. Mabel continued to take her pills encased in balls of cheese, and the dogs become more comfortable with my comings and goings. We took a few more trips outside throughout the day, and from here, we'll work on establishing a routine and getting the dogs used to being leashed and going in and out.

Day 4, October 25, 2010:

We continued to work on leashing up and going in and out of the building today, and the dogs continue to become more comfortable with me. It's interesting how the dog that was easiest to handle in Clearwater, the one with the plastic dog house, remains the most timid here at the Sanctuary, while Mabel now barks at me to take her out of her crate and is taking her medication out of my hand. Seeing that some of the hounds seemed to respond positively to each other, I let all of them out of their crates to watch how they interacted. All seemed to get along except for Mabel, who set herself about the task of intimidating the other three by following them into their crates, leaning on them, and growling. The shy dog and the dog from under the truck seem especially close, and I suspect they are mother and daughter; I'm now thinking the dog from the truck may be under a year old.

I fed all of the dogs larger pieces of pork than they received the night before, which they each happily accepted and began eating right away. Tomorrow I will add a blend of pureed raw eggs and vegetables to their diet.

Day 5, October 26, 2010:

The dogs are continuing to progress in inches; old Mabel went outside without a leash today and returned indoors and to her crate without any pressure from me. The other dogs continue to be shy, but they are eating well and getting better with the routine. They are also becoming more territorial in their crates, which is not necessarily a good thing, but it does show that they are becoming more confident and feeling more at home. Since the crates are a temporary arrangement, the behavior isn't worth addressing, and interestingly enough, it has only been significant when I have brought other hounds through the room where they are staying - when the wolf-dogs walk through or when I feed Moose, an old chow mix in the same room, they are fairly quiet.

I started taking the puppy and the dog I believe to be her mother out at the same time; I haven't yet decided if they are calmer when they're together or if they make each other more nervous. The puppy is warming up to me, though, licking my hand and becoming a bit excited each time she sees me.

This will be the last of my daily entries. I will write more when there is significant news to report, or when there are more photos.

Posted on October 26, 2010 | Link

Burmese Python

A few pictures of our Burmese python after her daily misting:

Posted on January 14, 2010 | Link

Seattle Humane Fundraising Event

The presentation at Seattle Humane on November 10 was a success, and we want to thank Seattle Humane CEO Brenda Barnette, Marketing Director Rhonda Manville, and all the staff and volunteers from Seattle Humane who helped walk dogs, clean crates, and make the event run smoothly. We raised a grand total of $2,537.60 that will be used for facility improvements. Special thanks also to Amber Chenoweth for photographing the event.

Posted on November 11, 2009 | Link

Norton

Norton came from a rescue group in Kitsap County, where he was originally brought to them very sick and starving; we believe Norton is a very high content wolf-dog, meaning he is not a pure wolf, but he might as well be. The rescue was initially told that he was a wolf mix but very low content, however the healthier he got, the more 'wolfy' he looked, and it eventually became clear that Norton was never going to pass for a dog. The rescue was unable to keep him legally in their area, so Olympic Animal Sanctuary's help was sought.

Wolf-dogs are popular 'pets' in the US and Canada, however their wild nature makes them unsuitable as pets and potentially dangerous. It is Olympic Animal Sanctuary's stance that no wolf-dog should ever be made available to the public, and wolf-dogs should never be bred for any reason. For many, wolves hold a mystical, spiritual allure that makes people feel they need to possess or commune with these animals, but that essential wildness that attracts us to them is tragically lost in captivity.

Norton is enjoying his first day at the Sanctuary, making friends with our huskies and malamutes. He is especially interested in Micah, our blue-eyed wolf/husky mix -- Micah doesn't look like a wolf, but Norton seems to know there's something different about him.

Posted on November 6, 2009 | Link

Phoenix and Hercules

Phoenix came to us from New York, where he had been racking up bite incidents for several years on Long Island; after a few months of rehab in a shelter in Orange County, NY, it was determined that Phoenix was always going to pose a risk, so in July, Steve flew with him from JFK and brought him to Olympic Animal Sanctuary. His most recent bite incident broke Steve's hand (click if you're not squeamish). An old man with inoperable joint deterioration, Phoenix spends most of his time lying around, relaxing, but when a Great Dane named Hercules arrived at the Sanctuary, that changed. Hercules was a temporary resident of the Sanctuary, originally picked up as a loose dog and claimed a week later.

The following photos show Phoenix playing with his gigantic new friend:

Posted on October 20, 2009 | Link

Hoh Reservation Rescue

Friday, October 9, Steve was brought a six week old puppy that had been born on the Hoh reservation, about thirty miles south of Forks in Jefferson County; the next day, he went to 'the rez' with Patt Doyle from Friends of Forks Animals to catch the rest of the puppies and their mother, who had been 'semi-feral' all her life and had killed other dogs. The mother dog had originally come from Queets, on the Quinault reservation, south of Kalaloch, but was brought to the Hoh reservation where she continued to run wild.

When Steve and Patt arrived at Hoh housing, they found the mother right away, sleeping on a driveway next to a male rottweiler who is most likely the father of some, if not all, of her litter. The puppies were in the woods behind the house, where their mother was keeping them in a den beneath an old tree stump. There were quite a few hollow logs that they were also hiding inside. The forests on the western side of the Olympic Peninsula are damp and dense, not unlike a tropical rain forest, with a few exceptions: the thorns on the plants are shorter, and it takes much longer for wood and leaf litter to decompose. Moving about in this environment can be a challenge.

When Steve approached the den site, the puppies were out in plain view; there were scraps of deer and elk carcasses, dead birds, and garbage scattered around, and the dogs looked healthy and well-fed. As Steve approached, the puppies hid in their den and inside a hollow log. He had originally been told that there were four puppies remaining, but he and Patt caught six, Steve pulling them out of their hiding places and handing them off to Patt to carry back to the truck. The first three came from a hollow log, and the next two from the den under the tree stump. The last puppy, shown in the series of images below, had initially been in the hollow log, but had run to the den before Steve could catch him; then, when Steve began pulling the puppies from the den, he ran down the inside of a rotted-out tree root, about eight feet. Steve was able to pull apart the root and coax the puppy back toward the den, where he eventually captured him. Having not been handled by human beings before, all of the puppies were frightened and defensive, but at their age they learn very quickly not to fear people. It was crucial that the puppies be caught as soon as possible, before they could become truly feral.

The first 11 images below were shot on-site with a camera phone; the rest were taken later.

A view of the terrain	Steve approaching the den	Making his way through the dry brush	Crawling under the stump to access the den
	Pulling the last puppy from the den as he bites Steve's hand	The little guy was very afraid and put up quite a fight.	Steve sat with him for about five minutes until he was calm before crawling back out of the den area.
Back through the brush			Safe in the crate with his six sisters
Mom got to ride up front.	Mom and puppies at Olympic Animal Sanctuary -- two have already been adopted, including the little boy from the pictures above.

Steve reports that mother and puppies are doing well; when he went into their room Sunday morning and lay on the ground, the mother dog began licking his face, and some of the babies joined in. The mother will stay at Olympic Animal Sanctuary; her history of killing other dogs and propensity for running at large make her a poor candidate for adoption. The remaining puppies will go to a local rescue group for adoption; for more information, contact us.

Animal welfare work can be a challenge on tribal lands; cultural differences and often-tricky political situations can lead to missteps and misunderstandings when rescue groups try to help 'rez dogs'. Because Native American lands are under federal jurisdiction, county animal ordinances do not apply, and animal control officers have no authority to respond to cruelty and neglect complaints. Since only federal and tribal laws apply on the reservations, it is common to see situations that would be illegal just a few miles away; federal law pertains primarily to commercial breeding operations, not to pets. Unchecked breeding, mange, starvation, and parvo and distemper outbreaks are a few of the more common problems. It is the position of Olympic Animal Sanctuary that any rescue work conducted on tribal lands must be undertaken with respect for residents' culture, history, and rights. The people best equipped to affect positive change in animal welfare on Native American lands are Native Americans, who understand the structure and customs of their own communities. We are guests, and as such, we can only do what is requested of us. We hope to continue to cultivate relationships with members of the tribes in our area for the purpose of supporting them in their efforts to improve the quality of life for animals on their native lands.

Posted on October 11, 2009 | Link

Welcome Home, Snaps

Last June a group of teenagers were seen kicking a dog in SeaTac, Washington, and when witnesses confronted them, they used the dog to attack them. The story made headlines, and for poor Snaps, it looked like the end of the road.

But luckily for him, people took notice of his story, and fought to keep him from being destroyed. A couple of weeks ago, Olympic Animal Sanctuary was asked if we would take Snaps, should a temperament assessment show that he could be rehabilitated. We said we'd be more interested in taking him if the behaviorist thought he was beyond help. Thursday, September 3, Executive Director Steve Markwell went to visit Snaps in the shelter, and Friday, September 11, Snaps was transferred to the Sanctuary. For more information, please see our Snaps FAQ.

Today was Snaps' first full day at Olympic Animal Sanctuary, and he's loving his new life. Please enjoy these photos of Snaps, and Steve, as he gets to know his new surroundings and the people who will be loving and protecting him for the rest of his life.

Please check back for more updates, details, and fundraisers to help Snaps and the other dogs at Olympic Animal Sanctuary, and thanks to everyone for your calls and emails, supporting our work with these very special dogs.

Posted on September 12, 2009 | Link

Dog Days of Summer

Summertime is here - time for swimming, relaxing in the shade, and uneven haircuts. Enjoy these photos of the Sanctuary dogs getting a little break from the rainy weather we usually have around here:

Posted on July 2, 2009 | Link

More Snow, More Pictures

Dogs love to play in the snow, so here are pictures of some of the other Sanctuary dogs enjoying the weather this morning and this afternoon:

Posted on December 18, 2008 | Link

First Snow

Compared with last year, the weather in Forks has been pretty mild so far this year. December 14th brought the first snow of the year; here are a few pictures of the Sanctuary dogs enjoying the weather (click to enlarge):

Posted on December 15, 2008 | Link