FOR THOSE WHO MAY HAVE TO EVACUATE ANIMALS FROM NATURAL DISASTERS

With all the natural disasters occuring across the nation this year, I want to remind you not to forget your fuzzy, furry, feathered or scaled pets is you should need to leave your home.

OK TO LINK TO THIS BLOG POST Please Credit: DustMusher (C) 2011

TODAY: Make a Info sheet for your pet – IF it is a foster for a 501(c)3 rescue group – list the Rescue and a local but out of area contact number as the FIRST contact – then add your name and contact number (cell phone) as the FOSTER.

List the Vet name and contact number which will have vet records for that animal.

Have a picture of you and the pet with names on the photos.

Have any special meds or food needs on the sheet.

Place the sheet in a Gallon size Ziplock bag that you have punched holes in the top edge above the ziplock so you can use zip ties (plastic wire ties) to attach it to the crate the animal is in. This will keep the sheet waterproof.

Just keep the ziplock bags (one for each animal) with info in a stack in one place to grab all at once – attach to crate when at evac location.

One of my friends on an animal list suggested that this information be put in a clearly marked Tote kept near the door, perhaps on your leash and collar hanger, in case Rescuers have to enter your home if you were not at home when an evacuation order is issued. 

Also have a SAVE MY PETS sticker on each door listing how many of each species of animal you have in your home so the rescuers will know what and how many to look for.  These volunteer animal evacuation rescuers try very hard to save all the animals left behind.

Sample Crate ID sheet: May be copied and pasted for format to one page in WORD this was originally typed in Comic Sans 48 Bold for name; Comic Sans 12 for body. Photos of pet inserted with WORD insert icon.

For more info on emergency Preps for Pets email me at DustMusher@gmail.com and I will send you information how to purchase the complete Dogs In Disasters CD.

TEMPLATE resize if necessay to fit on one side of a sheet of paper:

ICY (Call name of pet)

Male Alaskan Malamute (Gender and breed of pet)

PHOTOS HERE – Insert to Word Document – resize to fit to page


OWNER: Alaskan Malamute Assistance League (Texas)
              Susan Jones: 302-555-6689 National Contact
             Linda Smith: 210-912-5544 Texas Contact
FOSTER HOME: Cherie and Art Dell --- Belfort, TX 
                              Cell Phone: 932-453-9367


AVID Microchip H1587184747
Rabies Tag, 00158 Gold Coast Vet Hosp.
Vet: Gold Coast Vet Hosp, Belfort TX  Phone: 932 334-5833

Alternative Contact: Kelly & Trina Mickels 714 823-7711

FEEDING: 1 ½ cups dry kibble twice a day, free access to water
MEDICAL HISTORY: Age related Arthritis, HW NEG             
MEDICATION: Heartgard First Sunday each Month
                         Buffered Aspirin as needed for joint pain,
EXERCISE: Moderate leash walking only – Icy is old and arthritic

For my friends: I have decided to post my real status - to explain why I have not been too active on the board and groups.

I have decided to post my real status - to explain why I have not been too active on the board and groups.

Deciding to tell my real status: It isn't the in-laws which are the issue - FIL and MIL are passed and I never had a chance to meet either one - one of the things which happen when one re-marries at an age.

It is my blood daughters - when I lost my house and I basically gave the eldest daughter who came to help me all the family heirlooms she then decided just because I had some health issues I was essentially non compus mentus. She decided I was to move from my house in rural Texas and live near them in an apartment in Buena Park, CA (Metro Los Angeles) -- on the edge of the ghetto and they would make all of my life decisions. I was making the horrible decision to smoke and thus because I had a half gallon of vodka to make herbal tinctures, I was a drunk. At the point she and her eldest daughter began wrongly but loudly stating all the things we would as health care professionals state to get a person committed to a mental hospital, I ordered them out of my home. She then contacted her sister and both of my step children telling them how incompetent I was and tried to totally alienate them from me. She was so magnanimous that she would allow me to keep 2 of the 4 dogs which I owned IF they could find an apartment which would allow them. I owned 4 old dogs, and was a temporary foster for others for a rescue organization

It has been almost a year and a half since I have spoken to all but my step-daughter here in Texas and her son. (Step daugher and her son are a blessing without price) Some of my grand children have quietly been in touch with me by friending me on FB. Neither daughter has said a word to me - I guess that all they wanted were the silver flatware and the Spode dishes which were my mother's and the family photos - which are gone forever from me. She, DD, was supposed to scan and send copes. Never Happened. I have no photos of my parents or family and I know the kids don't know any of them.

Not only have they stolen mementos of my family here on earth, but any reminders and heritage of my past. We share the same religion, and they continue to be very active in the church (Continually letting the world know how righteous the are) - my only solace is the grand children are being raised with that value system - I hope - but . . . I don’t think she realizes this is how she is teaching her children to treat her elders.

Luckily, I have been adopted by another family -- no blood relation - but closer than my own flesh and blood at this point. I am their 'grandmother'. With that, I have the closeness and love and support I don’t get from most of my blood family.

How much problem would it take to pick up a phone and call me - or email me. All contact from daughter is to one of the adopted grand daughters usually to the extent of 'has she (me) come to her senses yet?’ But she is sure to point out that she is a good Christian Mormon. If that is what a good human is - I am not so convinced I want to play in that sandbox. Not what I see living life as Jesus would.


I love my girls and step-sons and grandchildren - wonder if they feel the same? Thank God for FB - that is the only way I know what is happening with my grandchildren. Though apparently one of the grand daughters has un-friended me.


The daughter and SIL are 'preppers' and I can only hope that they read this and understand that I love them - just not those things they have done to me. (I am re-posting this on my FB page) Sorry for all the non-family/dog friends who get this also – not your problem to solve – but you are a VERY important support group for me.)

My "unforgivable sin" was not giving up my life as I knew it and letting them totally run my life as they saw fit. They did the same thing to his parents...now his Mother has passed and God only knows what human dignity he still has been allowed. The other set of grandparents lived in the town where Maureen O worked and I at least could make sure that all was well with them from her until her change in job.
 If hurting me is her goal - oh how she has succeeded. And the only reason I have not sunk into very chronic depression is my adopted family. But life goes on. I am 66 years old, as far as I AND MY Doctor know, in good mental health, fair physical health and hopefully have time to teach my new family all I have learned throughout my life to make their life better. And my other friends are treasures.

 Thank you for reading this, I am tired of carrying the heartache and burden by myself. What are friends for and if I can't share - well I guess I will find out who are friends and who are aquaitences. Please do not feel you have to repond just sharing has helped lift a big weight from me.


Just hug your kids and parents- and think before you do somethng which may hurt them to this extent. Remember, it is never too late to mend fences and relatioships as long as they are alive.

THE LONG ROAD HOME - MALIE'S Story or: How Rescue should and can work

Rescue is getting a lot of bad publicity being ‘greedy’ and ‘out for the money’, or ‘eating its own’, however, this is a real situation – no money changed hands, it was all done with the correct attitude and cooperation which happens daily amongst the rescues I work with. I had no involvement in this rescue – and the dog never became a ‘rescue’ dog – we did even better than take the dog into rescue – we allowed the dog to remain with its owners and just get her to her new home. We don’t do it for our own glory or money – we do it FOR THE ANIMALS!


Getting this done involved four Alaskan Malamute Assistance League associate rescue groups, one independent rescuer in Louisiana who heard the story from her daughter that lived in the same apartment complex as the owners of Malie, and Pilots and Paws with a lot of communication and coordination between all these groups.

The story as told in emails. Permission to post emails and use names have been granted by those involved. AMAL affiliate rescues have a Yahoo Group we use for communicating amongst ourselves

TO: AMAL May 2011
Well this is a real long shot but we got a call from a lady in Canada on April 13th trying to figure out if we new anything about a dog in the Baldwin shelter in CA named Malie. There were several people in Canada that wanted to help this dog.
      Sylvia
     Washington Alaskan Malamute Assistance League

TO: AMAL
I received an email request from a local person wanting information on transporters from CA to El Paso, TX for a military family. Then I received this email of the whole story. It is pretty incredible, and if anyone has some ideas please share. Thanks.
      Florence T. Robinson
  Louisiana Alaskan Malamute Protection (LAMP)

TO: PILOTS AND PAWS FROM THE OWNER OF MALIE
Thanks again D** for any help you can provide my husband and me! I attached a picture of our beloved dog Malie, our almost 2 year old Alaskan Malamute.

My husband joined the Army March 2009. We were married just after his basic/AIT training July 09 and my husband was sent to his first duty station in Wiesbaden, Germany August 09. We had been told that I would be anywhere from 2-4 weeks behind him and that he probably wouldn't see a deployment anytime soon. Unfortunately nothing in the Army is set in stone and my husband was assigned to a deploying unit and would be headed to Iraq a mere 4 months after he arrived in Wiesbaden. I was faced with a tough decision, spend a few months with my husband and spend a year alone in Germany, or stay home. I decided to go to Germany, and also decided to bring a dog with me to protect me and keep me company. That's where my gorgeous puppy comes into the picture.

I purchased my female Alaskan Malamute when she was just 2 months old and started the process to get us to Germany. My husband and I turned in all the necessary paperwork to get Malie and me before my husband left for Iraq, and just when we thought we would be together before Thanksgiving we were told that all the paperwork had been lost and would have to be resubmitted which meant it would all go through after my husband was in Iraq. Defeated, we tried to get my husband home for the holidays but he was told that it was too late for him to take any leave before the deployment.

During my husband's R&R was the very first time he met Malie and boy were they both excited! Malie is a smart dog who gets herself into a lot of mischief but when you meet that doggie face, you can't help but love her instantly! We had a great 2 weeks together we were just so excited for the deployment to be over and to finally head to my husband's next duty station and be together once more!

December 2010 my husband finally was done in Iraq, he got to come home to California for leave before we packed up and headed to Fort Bliss, TX (El Paso) for the remainder of his contract in the Army. I had to drive myself from CA to El Paso, TX while my husband had to fly from Germany to El Paso so I prepared my car and Malie for the long 18 hour drive.

Not 3 days before I was supposed to be on the road, I didn't wake up to the usual morning howls of Malie trying to get my attention for our morning walks. There was a HUGE hole that led into our neighbor's backyard and my neighbors had no clue where Malie was. I searched for her everywhere I could think, called every vet hospital in town to see if she had been injured, tried the animal shelter and the most horrible thing was when I was told to come back every day to check the dead on arrival binder to see if she had come in that way.

Malie is a very sweet tempered dog, she is silly in many ways like how smaller dogs that bark at her frighten her and for some reason balloons frighten her as well. But besides that she LOVES people and would do just about anything for you to scratch behind her ears or belly. I came to terms with having to leave without knowing where Malie was, if she was alive or not, and left for Texas to meet up with my husband. Even though Malie had a microchip we just had this feeling she was alive and someone fell in love with her and kept her. She's just too big of a dog and stands out with her markings to have been hit by accident, at least that's what we thought. I was heart broken, and so was my husband, especially since our move to Texas meant he finally got to be with me and Malie after so long and get to play with Malie and walk her with me.

As I was driving through Arizona I got a call from the Baldwin Park, CA) animal shelter in my home town. Malie had been found safe and sound! My in-laws picked her up and have been housing her ever since (in Modesto, CA), now it's just a matter of how we can afford to bring Malie here.

She weighs over 90 pounds already which makes flying in cargo on domestic airlines pretty impossible from what I have researched. My husband and I share a car, so me leaving to take a round trip to CA by myself will not only be hard, but expensive, especially with the $700 deposit our apartment needs in order to have our dog live with us on top of such a long road trip. We don't know how long it will take us to save up that kind of money, and have thought we may just have to give up Malie to another loving home because we just can't afford to bring her here to us.

We hope that Pilots n Paws can help us bring our puppy home, we miss her dearly and it's so heartbreaking to even think that we may just have to give her up. She is such a wonderful dog, she is so smart and gorgeous, I miss the way she howls good morning, the way she puts her paws on my shoulders and licks my face every morning, the way she needs to sit so close to me when I brush her and the way her doggie face lights up and tail wags so fiercely when she sees her leash and knows she and I are going on a walk.

She's more than a dog to me, she's a part of the family, and after all the time my husband and I have spent apart, I was looking forward to the new special moments we would have as he and Malie FINALLY got to spend more than a couple weeks together, and how the 3 of us would spend so much time becoming a closer family.

Dog is man's best friend after all.
      -Jessica L******

Following this email exchange amongst AMAL affiliate Rescues, we got a response from Tom & Tina Dunn, Alaskan Malamute Rescue of Southern California who cover the Baldwin Park Shelter and Tina established the dog was not at the shelter, it was later discovered Mallie had been reclaimed by Jessica’s in-laws in Modesto and they were keeping her but transport to El Paso and back to her Humans was an issue – enlisted soldiers do not make much money, so AMAL started doing what we do – get dog to the home she belonged in.

Then things started to get organized.

FROM: AMRSoCal
If you are able to get in touch with the owners, let's get a few contact numbers and we can begin to arrange to transport Mallie to El Paso, if that is what is needed to help her.
         Tina Dunn
    Alaskan Malamute Rescue of Southern California

I have requested D*** (Pilots and Paws) to send me the contact information on Jessica in El Paso, and her in-laws in Modesto. Sue Adkins, Alaskan Malamute Rescue of Arizona, is also in touch with D****, because Sue is coming to Malibu. The biggest problem right now is getting Malie from Modesto to Malibu for Sue to pick up. I will definitely keep you in the loop. Thanks for your offer to help.
     Florence T. Robinson
  Louisiana Alaskan Malamute Protection (LAMP)


TO: AMAL
Looks like transport is confirmed from Simi Valley (AMRSOCAL) to Malibu at this point and a flight from Tucson to El Paso is being scheduled. Paws crossed that all goes as planned...
     Sue Adkins
  Alaskan Malamute Rescue of Arizona

TO: AMAL July 2011
Several weeks back I posted about a dog in California that needed help getting to her military family in El Paso, TX. Tina Dunn, Alaskan Malamute Rescue of Southern California and Sue Adkins, Alaskan Malamute Rescue of Arizona both played a really big role in this dog being reunited with her family. Pilots n Paws got her from Modesto to Tina Dunn who boarded her in Simi Valley and then drove her to Malibu where Sue Adkins picked her up and drove her to Tucson. Pilots and Paws then drove her to El Paso. They couldn't fly because of the wild fires. Below is a link to a Youtube video of her amazing journey. The Pitty in the video belongs to the daughter of the Louisiana independent rescuer who initially contacted me for help. Thanks so much Sue and Tina! It wouldn't have happened with out you.

To see a photo montage of Malie's long road home check out this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr1ltPjeOWU

     Florence T. Robinson
  Louisiana Alaskan Malamute Protection (LAMP)

Again, AMAL has lived up to its slogan:

Edited to add:   Please read the comments. This is NOT an unusual situation.



A SIMPLE RED STRIPE OF CLOTH

MEMORIAL DAY 2011

I was born in 1945 and although female, was named after a boy, a Marine killed by a sniper’s bullet during the mop up of Guam, Billy Belden of Horton, Michigan. A simple small town boy, a friend of my brother, a student of my father, a kid who hung out at my parent’s house, joining them for meals during the depression. I grew up on stories of Billy, Todd Wickins, and the Leggit boys all who enlisted to fight the war. In my heart I am a Marine Family. I have a step-son and a nephew who are inactive Marines.

As a child I remember watching active and inactive Marines marching in their dress blues in the Memorial Day and July Fourth Parades in my home town. Watching the Marine Corps bands performing in various venues, tears always come to my eyes when I hear the Marine Hymn. I learned at an early age that those flashy red stripes running down the seam on their blue pants is not a standard part of the uniform but are “Blood Stripes” earned by having been in combat. An honor to wear and worn with humility. Thanks are due from each of us who stayed home and remain free because they did their duty around the world.

As the years progressed, watching Marines march, slowly the number of Blood Stripes disappeared as the veterans aged and no longer marched.  New recruits took their place. By the 50’s you would only see a few of the Marines with those bright red stripes on their pants.

Then came the 60’s and more and more Marines were sent into battle – but that was an era where wearing your uniform was not so popular for the inactive Marines. Actually any uniform was not casually worn because of the reaction of many of the general populace forgetting whose sacrifice permitted them the right to still protest.

The active duty Marines still proudly wore their full dress blues and the number of blood stripes began to increase in numbers – but fewer and fewer citizens knew the significance. They were more concerned with upward mobility, buying the bigger home, the new car, the ‘right’ label clothes than respecting and understanding those blood stripe wearing Marines allowed them to live the good life and keep up with the Jones’.

Over the last few years the percentage of Marines marching wearing blood stripes has increased – way too quickly. When any contingent of Marines march almost every man now wears blood stripes. They have served their time in hell and have gotten home safely, this time.

The other day, I saw on TV the return of an Angel Flight with Marines standing guard for the flag draped casket to be moved for that Marine’s last journey home. All the Marines in attendance wore blood stripes. The Marine Hymn solemnly played and in my living room I stood and cried. Not just for that fallen hero returning home, or for the Wounded Warriors we see regularly on TV, healing from their wounds, but also for Billy, and for all of those who have not only fallen, but served with honor since 10 November 1775.

But on a personal note – especially on this Memorial Day while I remember and honor all services and all who have served our country and defended the Constitution of the United States I especially honor a teenager from a small town in Michigan, who rests I know not where, almost totally forgotten. Thank you for your service. Semper Fi, Billy.

It is March 5, 2011 The Day of Dreams

Today begins the start of the Iditarod Sled Dog race from Anchorage to Willow to Nome.  

Dreams not of just the glory of winning the race, but of what was and what can be done when a team of 16 dogs and one musher take on all the Alaska bush can throw at them - with the goal just to cross under the the Burl Arch in Nome with all dogs healthy, 

A bond not often seen in todays "It's all about ME" society of taking the easy way to a goal of personal glory and 15 minutes of famce reached by doing as little as possible.

That is NOT the mushing life style - it literally is a life style.  Whether it be the 1000 mile races or the 4 team 'snall' races and every length between.,  We fans are watching the Irod, but many of us are as closely following 4, 6, 10 and 12 dog races being run distances from 5 miles to 1000 miles.  Each race is a victory of that dream.

This is the perfect theme song for the start of the race today - written and recorded by Eskie deom Norway (Dog lsedding is truly an international sport)

The words to the song are:

Come gather young huskies
it's high time you learn
'bout a placed called the Dazell Gorge
and the Farewell Burn.

I've raised you as sled dogs
I hope I didn't fail
'cause we're going to run
the Iditarod Trail.
Chorus:
And we'll march day and night,
gonna need all your power.
Alaska can be brutal
in the wee morning hour.

Now tell me young leader,
are you're mind set on home?
Please erase that good memory,
we're going to Nome.

The trail may seem endless,
so I'll sing you this song.
To keep you remembering:
it's a thousand miles long.

Chorus

The winds will keep howling.
The trail can be slow.
25 below zero.
Yukon River overflow.

The coast wears you down,
it's a long gruelling test.
Just remember in White Mountain
You'll get 8 hours rest.

Chorus

The trail may seem endless,
so I'll sing you this song.
To keep you remembering:
it's a thousand miles long.

Then at last it is over,
The nine days in March.
When we get to Nome city
and cross under the arch.

Chorus x2

God speed, fair roads and perfect trails to all out there-  where ever yu are running throughout the word.