"Where Olmsted County News Comes First"

Comment(1)

Laughter echoes through the forest like leaves rattling in the trees above us as we traipse down the winding path near my brother’s home.

In the distance, chipmunks chatter, scurrying beneath the crusty husks of fall while birds dart and hurdle through the low branches.

Itasca, my brother Mike’s family’s dog, soars down the trail ahead of us, scampering after an especially roguish chipmunk. The tiny sprinter’s coat glints fiery red in the sunshine as it flickers across the grass, trying to escape the dog.

Itasca follows it through the mud, sporting her bristly, snow-white coat without a care. After just one roll in the grass, her shimmering sheen will emerge a tapioca cream.

Itasca is a friendly, outgoing pup with few worries today. Her wide, toothy smile resonates her happiness as she skips and scrambles through the woods. She just enjoys being outside with her family while making time to say hello to all of her neighbors.

But Itasca’s life was not always care-free.

Five years ago, Mike, his wife Judi and their three girls adopted Itasca from the animal shelter Paws and Claws in Rochester. Itasca had been taken from a crowded home over-filled with dogs and brought to the shelter.

“It’s scary for most animals,” Paws and Claws Manager Tanya Johnson says of the adjustment to living inside the shelter.

Before adopting Itasca, the family found Buttercup – an equally dazzling and mischievous flame-orange feline – also from Paws and Claws.

Buttercup’s mom had been found pregnant, lying in a ditch. Foster-parent volunteers took her in and cared for her and her newborn kittens until they were old enough to live at Paws and Claws.

“Buttercup’s rascally brothers were running all around and this little kitty was kind of hiding behind my ankles,” 13-year-old Abby remembers. “My heart melted.”

Bringing the kitty/puppy duo into their family was just one part of Mike and Judi’s life-long journey to rescue and care for animals in need.

Making a Difference

During their 21 years together, Mike and Judi have come to the aid of numerous dogs and cats that had seen unfortunate and desperate days and were injured or homeless.

Lucky, a German Shepherd, met danger head-on the day Mike and Judi found him running alone in the highway.

“He almost got hit by a car,” Mike remembers.

They rescued Lucky from oncoming traffic and were able to locate his owner. Lucky had already survived being hit by a car once before, they learned. His owner believed he would likely be struck again. “We offered to take him,” Mike says. They wanted to give him a safer home filled with attention and love.

Judi recalls, “We had three dogs in the car when we found Lucky.”

But they couldn’t turn away. “It’s something about the innocence of the animals,” Mike says. “I hate to see anyone – human or animal – suffer.”

Lucky soon became a cherished member of the family.

“He was so full of positive energy and playfulness,” Mike says. “You couldn’t help but see him and smile.”

And then there was Elsa – a black Labrador with a quiet sweetness emanating every moment from her tranquil, brown eyes. Mike and Judi found her emaciated and forlorn at a shelter in Fargo.

“She kind of looked ferocious,” Mike says. “But she was very gentle. I knew right away she was a great dog.”

Judi agrees. “She was the nicest dog you could possibly have,” she says. “She had this inner sense of knowing your mood and being there when you needed her.”

And there were so many others... Kirby, the unwanted dog given to local shop owners in an unbelievable exchange for a vacuum cleaner – Mike and Judi took her in, too, when they discovered no-one wanted the little girl, renaming her Daisy.

And then there was the stray dog that had wandered into their yard, its ears torn by a swarm of flies. They tended his wounds and took him to receive medical care.

A Community Can Make

it Happen

Paws and Claws is full – brimming with dozens of cavorting kittens and playful pups waiting to find families to love them.

The animals provide companionship and camaraderie for people of all ages. “They definitely are stress-relievers and have a calming effect,” Johnson says.

Walking through the halls of the shelter, the echo of their pleas is palpable. Take me home, their voices cry. Me.

Paws and Claws is a no-kill shelter, so animals will stay there until they are adopted – for as little as a week to years.

While staying at the facility, the animals receive medical care, medications and immunizations – all thanks to others that care – volunteers, veterinarians and donors. Paws and Claws does not receive government funding.

“Volunteers are constantly here getting them out of their cages,” Johnson says.

But the need for proper homes is growing. The shelter adopted out more than 700 animals last year.

“Millions of animals are euthanized each year in the U.S.,” Johnson says, reminding people to spay and neuter their cats and dogs.

Right now, the shelter has 60 cats living inside the facility and 50 cats in foster homes. “We are always full on cats,” Johnson says. About 35 dogs stay at the facility.

Paws and Claws welcomes volunteers and donations of money or supplies. For more information, visit Paws and Claws Humane Society at 602 7th Street Northwest, Rochester, call 507-288-7226 or see their website at www.pawsandclaws.org and click on “how to help.”

Mike says, “What you give to the dog or cat, you’ll get back tenfold in love, affection, fun and energy.”