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DOWN BY THE CREEK
COMPANION ANIMAL SANCTUARY
NEWSLETTER
DECEMBER 2014
Welcome to our first newsletter! We hope to
publish a new one several times a year to keep you
all updated on all the latest happenings at Down By
The Creek Sanctuary.
If you are receiving this by U.S. mail and would like
to ‘go green’ and receive via e-mail, please let us
know at [email protected]. If you know
of anyone else who should be on our mailing list, let
us know that too and we’d be glad to include them.
Happy Holidays
From Fonzi, Chloe, Patience and Kylee
We are now officially a 501(c)3 non-profit
organization! This means donations to DBTC are
tax-deductible!
Along with this comes the formation of our Board of
Directors who will meet regularly to manage the
business of DBTC, and oversee fundraising activities
and grant applications. We’ll be introducing them
to you in this and upcoming newsletters.
“A Christmas Peanut”
2014 was our biggest year yet in terms of pet
therapy and educational programs done all over
eastern Iowa and western Illinois. Here’s the
breakdown:
Estimated Programs Attendees
January 3 23 February 13 182
March 16 514 April 23 686 May 24 2536 June 23 455 July 20 560
August 19 1989 September 21 402
October 18 214 November 10 151 December 21 395
Total 208 8084
Emmit
Emmit was given up to DBTC as a female Netherland
Dwarf named Emily. It didn’t take us too long to
figure out that “she” was actually a “he”, hence the
name change! Either way, he’s a darling bunny.
Pumpkin Pie
We adopted this little Abyssinian female two
months ago as a companion for our Lassie. They
bonded right away and are now inseparable.
Pumpkin is about seven months old and is very
skittish, probably because she wasn’t handled
properly or enough when she was a baby. We are
working to overcome her nervousness with gentle
hands and patience. Hopefully, someday soon she
will be sitting in laps in nursing homes just like her
‘big brother’, Lassie.
Gigi
Gigi is a female Maltese about seven years old. She
spent the first six years of her life having puppies for
a local breeder. She is a sweet girl, but has obviously
never had any obedience training nor has she been
properly socialized. She doesn’t trust people and
shies away when someone reaches out to touch her.
Chloe
This little cutie is a teacup Chihuahua, weighing in at
an awesome 2 ½ pounds. (Most of our rabbits weigh
twice that!) She was given up by a young woman
who ran a day-care center in her home. Chloe was
apparently just another toy for the tots…her tail had
been broken and her trachea damaged. She was
extremely underweight and afraid. Thanks to an
emergency diet partially comprised of Chicken
McNuggets, she is slowly putting the weight on and
learning to trust that hands reaching for her can be
kind and gentle.
Lassie
(the Silkie mix)
Lassie was adopted from a local shelter by a woman who
wanted him for breeding stock. Imagine her astonishment
when he showed absolutely no interest in mating! He’s turned
out to be a perfect little therapy piggy for us.
Troubadour
(the Peruvian)
He came to us at 6 weeks of age, very skittish, matted, and
covered with green poop. He grew up to be absolutely sweet
natured and the most beautiful cavy we have ever seen!
Bubba
(the English
Shorthair)
He came to us a large older cavy with what they said was an
"un-healing" sore on his nose! In a short time at the sanctuary,
it did heal, though, and he became healthy, chubby, and very
comical!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A special thanks to Paxton and the Roller Derby Club who recently went Christmas caroling for DBTC and got donations of $60! Way to go!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Things we can always use (besides money!) to help the animals: - Newspapers - 10-gallon aquariums with screen lids - Paper towels and vinegar - Carefresh litter - Iams dry dog food - Timothy hay - Farm and Fleet brand rabbit pellets
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Every other Saturday we provide an individualized
pet therapy program for young adults that has been
a wonderful experience for all involved!
Participants may walk or groom Shorty, our
miniature horse, or Yeller, our Labrador Retriever.
They may cuddle Francis, the dove, or Sunshine, the
cockatiel. They have the opportunity to learn many
things about animals, including compassion and
proper care tips. We have many species, so every
visit is unique!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This month a big THANK YOU goes to Adrianna
Hildebrandt. Every weekend she finds time to
exercise dogs, groom animals and clean cages. She
has even helped Debbie with programs. Adrianna is
a senior at West High School in Davenport. She
wants to attend college to become a certified
Veterinary Assistant. We love you, Adrianna!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Meet our Board of Directors:
Debbie Wallace, Owner/Director – Down By
The Creek Companion Animal Sanctuary is also
Debbie’s home. The property sits on the original
farmland that her parents bought when she was 13
years old. She was the oldest of 11 children and,
after chores, would escape to the creek and the
woodland whenever she could.
Though she fell in love with nature from then on, it
was the wounded or weakest animals that were
always her passion. She has an AA degree in Liberal
Arts and graduated from Animal Behavior College as
a certified dog trainer. After she and Ron were
married, they had three sons (two adopted) and
toured the world while he was in the Air Force.
They then returned to that same creek on the old
farm and built the house that has now been
expanded to become the sanctuary for so many
animals rescued from abuse, neglect or
abandonment for the past seven years. Her dream
of making a difference in the world comes true
every single day.
Ron Wallace, President – Ron retired from
active duty Air Force in 1994 after serving for 23
years. He has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. He and
Debbie were married in 1971 and they spent their
military career travelling the world, including Japan
and Greece.
Ron was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant and served
eight years as an officer, mostly in R & D. After his
retirement he worked for Worldcom (now Verizon)
for six years, and for the past seven years has been
working for the U.S. Postal Service as a letter carrier.
Since Debbie first conceived the idea of Down By
The Creek, Ron has always supported her through
the growth and discoveries involved in creating
something that has not been done before. His wish
is that DBTC continues to grow beyond them…the
need is there.
John Masengarb, Director – John lives in
rural Davenport. He has an undergraduate degree
in accounting from Augustana College and a
graduate degree in personnel management from
the Florida Institute of Technology.
He retired from the Rock Island Arsenal in
September 1996. Later he worked for QuantiTech,
retiring in February 2014. John’s granddaughter,
Adriana, is a DBTC volunteer.
(We’ll introduce other members next time.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Daisy is making a list and checking it twice!
(And to think she was found starving in a barn!)
In Loving Memory
David, the Netherland Dwarf Rabbit
One afternoon in September, 2008, I decided to find a rabbit to train for pet therapy work. So, I bought a newspaper and sat in my car beside the road to read the pet section of the classified ads. Though it was a small ad, I noticed the bold print right away... ’Netherland Dwarf bunnies. Purebred. Good 4H projects’, with a phone number attached. So, I called and asked if they had any for free ...adding that I didn’t care if they were crippled. The woman on the other end of the line gasped! “Oh, the angels must have sent you! I didn’t know what I was going to do with them! I didn’t want to put them down! “I have two brothers; neither would win a ribbon. One is too big, and the other is too small. The small one is the runt of the litter and he has another problem…he has only one ear! I don’t know if he was born that way, or if he was injured in the nest. He was so tiny, I didn’t even know he was in there! He just appeared one day, and had one ear! The stub is healed, and he seems to hear just fine. I call him David and the other one, Goliath.” They sounded perfect to me! I drove right over to see them, and fell in love at first sight. In the years to follow, so did everyone else, especially with David. Goliath is pure white with pink eyes, while David was a color and pattern called black otter. David’s head had beautiful conformation. He seemed to have a courageous, positive attitude!
David learned to be versatile. For instance...he made his debut into pet therapy by riding into a nursing home hiding inside our Labrador Retriever’s backpack! When I pulled little David out of there, everyone squealed with surprise and delight! He would sit motionless in laps; sometimes he was cuddled in a blanket by a senior until they both went to sleep! Other times, while riding in a cloth purse hanging from someone’s shoulder, he’d stand on his tip-toes and peek out over the edge, showing off his huge round brown eyes...and one beautiful ear! He might also be seen riding inside or atop our pink pet stroller...wearing his favorite green XXX-Small muscle shirt! He would lay peacefully with his diverse group of animal friends on rugs on top of tables....posing for photos, being dressed by many children, or staying motionless while a crippled hand felt his soft fur. He gave himself and his life to rescuing people.
One free rescued rabbit named David may never have won a ribbon....lookin like that. Most certainly, though, he won a ribbon in Heaven on March 4, 2014, for being like that! Thank you, David....it was an honor to know you and a pleasure to take care of you all these years. Love, Debbie
Please remember us as you make your year-end charitable contributions.
And don’t forget, your donations are now tax-deductible!
How to donate:
Via PayPal on our website: www.downbythecreek.net
OR
Mail your check to:
Down By The Creek PO Box 177
Long Grove, IA 52756
Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/downbythecreek
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