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| Photo courtesy of Sunrise Sanctuary |
But now I'd like to jump back in and I thought I could start featuring stories from the various animal sanctuaries I've become acquainted with since I started writing about animals back in 2010. While I love learning about and supporting cat and dog rescues, it's been interesting and fun to learn about sanctuaries for animals I wouldn't normally think about in this context, such as farm animals and wildlife.
So I want to begin with the newest resident at one of my favorite places, Sunrise Sanctuary in Marysville, Ohio. I have written about Sunrise before as it was the inspiration for and stars in my forthcoming children's book Baby Moo's Great Escape.
Curley the goat, shown above with her kitty friend Toby, came to Sunrise a few weeks ago from my hometown. Sadly, Curley's time here in Cincinnati came to a horrifying end.
Curley and five other goats were employed by Spring Grove cemetery to eat the weeds and provide natural landscaping services. The goats were kept in a secure pen when the cemetery was closed. Back in March, someone got into the cemetery and placed a dog in the goats' pen. This person/monster apparently directed the dog to attack and maul the goats for more than an hour.
Two of the goats died from their injuries. Curley was not expected to live, but she managed to make an extraordinary recovery. Now she has a happy ending at Sunrise Sanctuary, where she is getting stronger every day and is surrounded by friendship, care, and love. You deserve it, Curley!
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| Photo courtesy of Sunrise Sanctuary |
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Of course, since it's Friday it's time to Celebrate the Small Things and I'm happy to be back in the hop.
The Celebrate the Small Things hop is hosted by my buddy Lexa Cain and co-hosted by L.G Keltner at Writing Off the Edge, Tonja Drecker at Kidbits, and Katie at The Cyborg Mom. Visit Lexa's blog here to find out how join in the hop yourself and to see the list of participants.
This week I'm celebrating:
1. I had my annual physical at my doctor's office and got a clean bill of health. The older I get the more I realize how fortunate I am to be able to say that.
2. We had a beautiful week of weather here and Clancy and I got to take quite a few morning walks. I love walking in the morning when it's quiet except for the happy sounds of the birds. These walks always invigorate my mood.
I hope you all had lots to celebrate this week and have a great weekend ahead.
Yeah, I appreciate good health the older I get as well.
ReplyDeleteWhat a horrible person to place a dog in with the goats for the sole purpose of mauling and killing them.
I cannot believe a person can be that cruel to do that to the goats. I'm so glad Curley made it through and is happy now. Thank you to the people at Sunrise Sanctuary and to you for highlighting them!
ReplyDeleteWhy in the world would someone do that to those poor goats?!
ReplyDeleteYeh on a clean bill of health!
Are you going to do any Travels with Clancy posts? Those were always fun. :)
Oh, what an awful thing to do to the goats. Thank God for animal sanctuaries. When my daughter turned eighteen, almost eleven years ago, she was in England to visit her boyfriend of the time (she doesn't keep them; she's a heart breaker). His family took her to a donkey sanctuary for her birthday. She had a lovely time. His family understood her well, although I'm not sure he did. I'm glad you're in good health. It's nice to see you.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Hi Julie - it's good to see you back ... writing and letting us know about beloved animals ... cruelty is horrifying ... it's good to know Curley has a happy life now ... bet you're looking forward to your visit ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDelete@Alex, yeah, it's incomprehensible.
ReplyDelete@Elsie, I never ceased to be amazed at just how cruel some people can be. Sunrise is a wonderful place!
@Madeline, I don't know, but I thought maybe the person was training the dog for dog fighting, which is of course monstrous all by itself. Impossible to know, really. Oh, I tried to do a Travels with Clancy trip and it didn't go well LOL. Poor Clancy never really did like it and now that he's getting older he hates the heat and the sun even more. I think I need to leave him at home.
@Janie, I follow a donkey sanctuary on Twitter that is in the UK and I wonder if it's the same place your daughter visited. I love them! I would love to visit someday. So nice to see you as well, thanks!
@Hilary, thanks! And it's true I really can't wait to go back to Sunrise. :)
Yay for good health! That's horrible about what that person did to the goats (and the poor dog that was made to attack them).
ReplyDeleteToo bad there were no security cameras around to get the SOB. The sad thing is the dog would be euthanized and the SOB would get a small fine. I am glad Curley is doing much better now. One should make the laws much, much worse for people who are cruel to animals and let the people who try to help given more ability to help them when in need. I also like to think that for every SOB who hurts an animal, there are 5 who would help the animal
ReplyDeleteHow horrifying that someone was so cruel to those poor innocent goats. It makes me sick to my stomach. The incident probably changed the dogs, too, and not in a good way. Such a shame, all the way around. Thank goodness for animal sanctuaries.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank goodness for the clean bill of health, too! Good for you.
I love walking outside with the sound of birds around me. It surprised me when I was talking to my daughter who lives in DC and she said, "You can hear birds there?" It reminded me lots of places don't have those wonderful sounds.
ReplyDeleteThat's just horrible about the goats. What kind of person would do that to any animal??
ReplyDeleteYay for the clean bill of health. I hear you about the getting older part. My favorite time for walking is in the morning, too, and for the same reasons. I've always been a morning person.
Enjoy your weekend!
Gah! People are awful. Those poor goats.
ReplyDeleteGlad you've had a good week. May next week be just as worth celebrating.
I love a good morning walk, too. :)
ReplyDeleteHooray for your clean bill of health and for the animal shelter!
Poor Curley and friends :-(
ReplyDeleteBirdsong is one of my favourite parts of dog-walking - that and the stunning views. It's good to hear from you. I hope you and your WIP are on speaking terms again.
Julie, oh that's horrible news about those poor goats! I hope that wretched person is caught and punished. There's no understanding a twisted person's mind. I'm glad Curley is making a come back. Maybe they should call him the Comeback Kid! Kid. Goat. Yeah, I'm silly like that! ;) I tease DH all the time about getting a couple goats to keep our yard permanently mowed. If we ever move to the country then I'd like to look into getting a couple of them to do the mulching. Glad to hear you got a clean bill of health on our annual. That's always reason to celebrate! Our weather was spectacular this week, too. The forecast continues to look nice into next week, but it's gonna be lots hotter. I'm not too happy about that, though. I hate the heat! Oh well, have a good weekend, my friend!
ReplyDeleteSo glad for Sunrise. Unbelievable the motives of some!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean by frustration, I'm experiencing some of the same and I'm loving doing anything but writing right now. Damn, I hate when that happens, but I have to give my muse a vacation too. LOL
I'll be ready when my muse returns!
Good health is a blessing we often forget to think of. Congrats on still having it! And the walks sound lovely. . . making me wonder if I should get out there and do the same.
ReplyDeleteI was having one of those blog blocks this week. I think it took me more than an hour to come up with a single idea. I have a notebook that I keep and usually jot ideas down in it when I get one. I didn't even have anything useful there!
ReplyDeletePoor Curley!! There just is no depth to which some people won't sink. I hope karma catches up to the dog owner. Meanwhile, it's wonderful to hear that Curley has a great new home!
ReplyDeleteSorry the honeymoon ended, but they always do. I usually barrel through to the halfway point and then start stumbling around. By the two-thirds point, I'm hating the story, the characters, and myself! It's a miracle I slog through the rest and manage to finish anything. :P
Some people are just sick. I'm appalled that anyone would put an attack dog in with goats.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way you do about my current WIP. The honeymoon ended way too soon. Slog on. We can always go back and revise. :)
@Cherie, I know, I feel sorry for the dog as well because it must have a miserable life. :(
ReplyDelete@Birgit, I agree 100% with everything you said.
@Susan, it does make you ill, doesn't it? Just so totally heartless.
@Jacqui, I didn't think of it but that's a good point, I'm glad I live where I can hear them. They are one of the best things about spring and summer to me.
@Lori, yep, lifelong morning person here too. :)
@Kate, I hope so, and your next week as well.
@Tyrean, thanks!!
@Annalisa, we're getting there but may need counseling LOL.
@Cathy, Aww, that would be a great name for Curley! I love goats too and if I ever live in the country I would love to have a few. They are adorable and funny animals from all I have seen.
@Yolanda, that's a good way to look at it! My muse and I aren't fighting, he just took a vacation. I need to be ready as well. :)
@Tonja, thank you, I know I am very lucky!
@Elizabeth, that's exactly how I've been. And lately it seems to be the norm for me! :(
@Lexa, I hope that scum gets a good dose of karma too. Yeah, I'm at the hating the characters and story bit and the hostility between us is at an all-time high LOL.
@Diane, yeah, just when you think you've heard everything! I'm going to slog on too, good idea.
Congrats on the clean bill of health. It is so important. What a horrible story about the goats. At least a few survived. I love farm animals too. I used to work with them and they do have their own personalities. Animals are so wonderful. Good to have you back, Julie.
ReplyDeleteIt's the Elisabeth Svendsen Trust for Children and Donkeys. I still have the postcard on my refrigerator alongside a postcard she sent to me from Italy the year before. The postcard from Italy has a painting of Leda with a swan because I read aloud to her the Yeats' poem about Zeus taking the form of a swan to rape Leda. The donkeys on the English postcard are adorable.
ReplyDelete@Murees, oh, I bet it was fun working with the goats! Thanks so much, it's good to be back.
ReplyDelete@Janie, oh that is a different charity then. How wonderful that it is for kids and donkeys! I am going to look that up, sounds like a great organization. :)
Cruelty never ceases to horrify and amaze me. What is it in some humans that drives them do deliberate harm to helpless creatures.
ReplyDeleteGlad you found something you want to blog about.
I'm still blogging too. But have major issues. Can only blog from my phone. Microsoft Word 2010 doesn't recognize my Blogger account as legit.
ReplyDeleteGood health is a fantastic thing to celebrate:)
ReplyDeleteI can't understand animal cruelty at all... it is just horrible.
It is just so hard to understand how anyone can be cruel to animals and what happened to those goats is horrific. We actually were talking about the possibility of goats in our local churchyard to keep the grass down around the graves so I am going to pass on what happened and instead will continue to volunteer as a helper to do the weeding there.
ReplyDeleteAs for a clean bill of health - most important thing in the world and I am a keen supporter of morning walks as you know :)
Here's to another lovely, healthy week!
Special Teaching at Pempi’s Palace
OMG, those poor goats. It's really sickening to think that there are people in this world still capable of inflicting such cruelty. Glad Curley was able to recover from that horror, at least!
ReplyDeleteAnd congrats on the clean bill of health! As someone who's struggled with a handful of health-related issues, I agree, that's something definitely worth celebrating!
Feeling bad for the goats, some people are so cruel.
ReplyDeleteHi Julie,
ReplyDeleteWhoever that moron was that placed a dog in the goat's pen, is a sick, twisted excuse for a human. Outrageous!
Excellent that you got a clean bill of health! :)
Here's to sunny weather and wonderful walks amongst nature.
Gary :)
What a horrific thing for someone to do. It makes me sick to my stomach.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the clean bill of health and the lovely week of walks!
So glad all is well!! And I hear ya about blogging breaks. Right there with ya. But you seem inspired!!
ReplyDeleteI've never understood what possesses people to be cruel to animals. Poor goats. :(
ReplyDeleteI got a clean bill of health, too. (I'm staring 50 in the face, so I definitely know the feeling. :P)
I'm one of those people that can't take cruelty to animals, or to anyone else. I'm just sick over this little goat and Pulse has put me over the top.
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
Sorry to hear about the goats. I wouldn't mind having a few minutes alone with that idiot with the dog.
ReplyDelete