Where a pig can be a pig
(logo art by Eve Ujhelyi)
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| Spotlight on....Smokestack Lightning (SSL)
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 | Our gray cat SSL (short for Smokestack Lightning) has recovered from his eye surgery for entropian. Entropian is an eye condition where the eyelids turn inward and rub the eyes resulting in constant irritation and infections. SSL now has the most beautiful green eyes
and is much happier and friendlier. Thank you donors for making SSL's operation possible. And thanks to Syd, Mars, and Anna for transporting SSL to Dr. Coles in Scio.
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 |  | | Two roosters (left is Zappa; the other is waiting on his name) awaiting slaughter at the feedstore were adopted by Out to Pasture last Saturday March 6th. Our next work party on the 20th will be dedicated to expanding the rooster pen. We will also be starting a new enclosure for another pot-bellied/ farm pig mix who must be adopted or she will be
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| euthanized for the crime of being over the weight limit for pigs in the city.
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 | | We had a great work party yesterday-we finished Leroy's fence and he's now out there chomping away on blackberry leaves. Huge thanks to the Portland Animal Defense League (ADL) volunteers who cleared out the blackberry bushes and we finished the cedar fence, adding cattle panels behind the fence so Leroy can't butt the fence down.
Our next work party will be Saturday March 20 with the PSU Student Animal Liberation Coalition. More details coming soon. Anyone interested in joining us should contact Kit at kit.collins@gmail.com. Vegan snacks will be provided.
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| The goodness of honey bees
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 | | After a group of homeless bees swarmed the grape arbor last summer, John waited until dark then cut the branch and moved them to a bee hive box. We appreciate the bees pollinating the fruit trees and blueberry patch and enjoy watching them at work. Now with a home to call their own, they are happily buzzing around in the warm spring air.
You are probably aware of the importance of bees other than that they are amazing |
| creatures (and it's not the honey....it's the pollination) but some good information regarding why we need bees is provided at this site and this one. There is a lot of information out there (on the 'net) about honey bees. Save the bees...don't kill them. |
| I regret that I wasn't able to be there, was feeling quite sickly. So bummed. |
| From the OTP Facebook 'Wall' page..... |
| "Chad Miller $500 tonight at the benefit show! Come and get it. Thanks to everybody who took part. And thanks to Laughing Horse books for hosting." |
| On behalf of the OTP animals, Kit and John, thanks to everyone who participated...thanks to Chad and Emiko. Thanks to all of the musicians/bands. Thanks to Laughing Horse Books. Thanks to everyone who was there for the show and made a donation. Borrowing a phrase from a Neil Young song....'keep on rockin' in the free world'. Thanks to all who do so much to help human and non-human animals every day! |
| Kevin |
| Sip benefit, thanks to everyone...
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| ...who sipped or even slurped their drinks for Out to
Pasture on Tuesday, February 23, during the benefit day at Sip. Thank you to Sip and all you sippers for raising $478 for the animals at Out to Pasture. And if you couldn't make it there Tuesday...please stop by tomorrow, or the day after that, or the day after that for a vegan milkshake and other yummy beverages. Sip website. |
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We hammered, shoveled, dug a trench, cleaned up the burn pile, built a bunny tunnel, dug up paving stones, ate cookies and had a great time in the sun. Lots of work, not so much party. (Unless your idea of a party involves shoveling manure.) The fence project got framed and the first section of boards were put up. To be continued next work day. Thanks to everyone who came out to help. Let's do it again!
More photos in the gallery. |
| Out to Pasture has been picked to be one of the recipients of the Change for Change charitable giving program at the Whole Foods Fremont store in Portland. Customers reusing a grocery bag can either get 10 cents off their purchase or have the money go to one of three charities which change every few months. Starting January 18th OTP will be one of the three charities for this giving cycle. Thank you to Whole Foods for their kind support of Out to Pasture. |
| Greetings to Jumpy and Splotch
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Arriving January 31st, two little lop eared bunnies were adopted from their cages in an apartment and moved to OTP. Jumpy and Splotch are
now happily hopping around and digging in the straw in the Rabbitat.
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Our newest potbellied pig Hank was sent to live at OTP on February 6th, 2010 due to behavior
problems. Unable to enroll in an anger management class, Hank was facing euthanasia before finding a home with us.
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Blinky the feral cat went to Dr. Cole's office in Scio on February 3, 2010 to get much needed eye surgery for entropian. Entropian is a
condition where the eyelids turn in, rubbing the eyes resulting in chronic infection and irritation. Blinky also got treated for ear mites, fleas, lice, and was vaccinated, bathed and groomed. Testing
negative for FIV and FELV, Blinky now has an excellent prognosis for a happy future. Thanks to our donors for making Blinky's vet care possible. |
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...we submitted to rewire the outbuildings was finally approved and the permit issued. John and Jay are working
every weekend until the electrical system is finished and approved. The animals at Out to Pasture will soon be enjoying their heated pads and heated water buckets again. Out to Pasture appreciates all the
donors who made this project possible. |
| Thanks to everyone who rustled up cds/dvds from their closets for the drive organized by Food Fight Grocery. The $800 raised is going towards the Out to Pasture Sanctuary Megadrive. (Yeeee-haw)
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who spent part of your day with us. Close to 100 people attended the Open House on Sunday, January 31st, 2010. It was a great day with sunshine and lots of snacks for both
humans and animals. And thank you for your generous donations! Was so much fun that we're planning another Open House...sometime in July...with dry ground and blueberry picking...and the pigs will be out there eating grass....though I'm sure they won't mind a few blueberries. |
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| Ollie, the newest rooster, who recently was added to the rooster flock and is doing quite well. He and Nicolai are great friends and roost together. |
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| Spike, our little foster boar, is scheduled to be neutered, dewormed, and vaccinated at Dr. Coles in Scio on Saturday the 30th and will be placed in his new home later that day. The pig rescue woman, Patty Hill, picked up Spike after he was found wandering lost in Oregon City. Clackamas County Animal Control does not house pigs. We only wish Spike could be here for the Open House so everyone could meet him. |
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| John is trying out the donated wood chipper-great for small projects like walkways for people and cats. |
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| OTP mention in the 1/19/10 Oregonian
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| Cat Food Donation: Purrrr...
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| The PETCO Foundation has generously donated 20 bags of cat food to OTP. Thank you from Puff the cat and all his furry friends. OTP has helped trap, neuter and release over 60 mostly feral cats who are fed at feeding stations at the sanctuary. |
| Donor action...OTP thanks you!
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| On January 5, OTP received a $400 donation from Emiko Badillo, a Portland resident and co-owner of Food Fight! Grocery. The donation was the prize of a two-month contest that she and her friends held to see who could lose the largest percentage of body weight during the winter holidays by exercising and eating less junk food. Each person paid money to participate, with the victor winning the whole pot. OTP asked Emiko about the contest and her decision to donate her prize. |
| What inspired you to give the contest money to OTP? |
| The contest started almost at the same time as attention grew for Out to Pasture's winterization projects. A lot of us were thinking so hard on how to raise money for them, and it dawned on me there was that pool of money we all had just put in for the contest sitting there that could do Out to Pasture a lot more good than any of us. |
| Once you made to decision to donate the money if you won, did it change your approach to the contest? |
| I'm not a competitive person. But once, I decided I wanted to win for Out to Pasture, this strange side of me came out I had never seen before. I pushed myself harder than I normally would have. My husband, Chad, was a little scared because he had never seen me say words like, "I have to win!" I never said, "I WANT to win." It was more like I had to for the sanctuary. |
| Why did you pick OTP to be the recipient of your winnings? |
| I guess because I know them personally, and they're local. I know how hard Kit and John, who run it, work daily to keep the animals cared for. Not a lot of people know about Out to Pasture, yet, so they've had a hard time raising money. Kit and John are all alone out there, and they've had problems getting grants, so they need as much outside help as any group, if not more lately. |
| What would you say to others who are looking to raise money for a cause but may not know where to start? |
| Maybe get examples from how other people have done it, and don't think it's harder than it is. And remember, a little goes a long way. It's always better to try then sit there wishing. |
| Interested in fundraising for OTP? Need help brainstorming ideas? Contact kim@outtopasturesanctuary.org. |
| Thank you to all who have made donations to OTP! |
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| We believe that non-human animals value their lives as much as we value our own and deserve to live free of exploitation and cruelty. |
| The Blueberry Patch | |
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| November 23, 2009...with cars driving by at 60 mph, Cleo (Cleopatra) the peahen lifted her head while her peacock mate, crushed by a car, lay dead nearby. Luckily John spotted her as we drove by. Her leg injured, Cleo spent time recuperating in the laundry room but she is doing much better now and is hanging with the bunnies.
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| Our two new llamas arrived Sunday, September 13th. Limo and Coco had spent the last few years tied to trees (as in 24/7) before being turned over to the llama rescue. Limo and Coco are now at OTP where they roam freely in our large pasture, sampling the foliage, and grazing. Never to be tied up again, we look forward to many happy years with Limo and Coco.
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| Already loaded in the back of the pickup truck on his way to be sold for meat, we were able to adopt LeRoy the goat |
| at the last minute. Previously left tethered all day, LeRoy is now enjoying roaming around to meet the other animals and to sample the foliage. After polishing off the rose bushes, LeRoy has now moved on to the blackberry bushes for some serious munching.
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| Sergio the donkey was abandoned by his former caretaker and left in a large field. He |
| went years without any veterinary care or hoof trims until Oregon Animal Rescue brought him to OTP. Terrified of humans, Sergio had to be tranquilized to be touched by anyone or get his hooves trimmed. Happily Sergio is now starting to trust humans and no longer has to be tranquilized. Much calmer Sergio now walks up to humans looking for treats. |
| Singer is a 26 year old former racehorse and show jumper. Nervous |
| and high strung, Singer left the racetrack unable to handle the stress of crowds or commotion. Next trained to be jumper, Singer became dangerous to rideand hard to show with behaviors including bucking, bolting, and rearing. Retired at OTP, Singer is now happy to be in the pasture living a quiet life away from horse shows and race tracks. |
| For years, Ruby the pot bellied pig had lived her life in a |
| horse stall never getting to root in the dirt or forage like a normal pig. When the new property owners took possession of the property they planned to have Ruby euthanized. Luckily Patty Hill from Pig Rescue Services and Placement was able to bring her to OTP. Grossly overweight from a diet of junk food and garbage, Ruby was too fat to spay. After losing weight OTP scheduled Ruby to be spayed. Unfortunately, multiple tumors had formed in Ruby's little body. Rather than choosing euthanasia, Ruby had surgery and is now back at OTP being treated with homeopathic remedies and fed a nutritious diet. She now spends her days digging in the dirt and eating blackberry leaves. |
| Frenchie was rescued from a drug house in Portland. The woman who rescued her said large guard |
| dogs had killed the other cats before she got there. Most likely suffering from trauma, Frenchie has a variety of erratic behavior problems which make her unadoptable to most homes. She can be aggressive and destructive for no reason. Frenchie requires a lot of space and gentle handling. She has calmed down a lot and gotten friendlier since she arrived a year ago.
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