Lavender Dreams Farm & Donkey Rescue

Here we are in the middle of a pretty major snow storm and we get a call from people who were raising alpacas but are throwing in the towel and want us to find their animals homes. The property is being foreclosed on and guess who they called for help!

This is 2012. There is no market anymore for alpacas and nobody really wants them other than for their meat. Alpaca meat prices are at an all time high and the ‘canners’ (livestock transport to slaughter) are hovering at auctions and farm foreclosures to buy them at low prices or get them for free. That is today’s reality. They used to sell for thousands of dollars each but no more.
We have been working around the clock to place these animals and there are 10 of them! They are a special breed with thick, luxurious hair for spinning and fiber arts.. Although we have had many calls on them, the majority of people want to breed them!! What is wrong with this picture! We will not adopt to people who want to make more alpacas. 4H is not an option because they will go to slaughter after the show season. Time is running out for them. We do not have the facilities to bring in 10 alpacas and can not even put up a temporary area for them with all this snow. Over 3 feet of snow and ice! It is difficult just to get in to feed them and we also have to figure out how to get a trailer in to transport them out of there. The males will need to be gelded (another big expense the owners will not take on) plus there are many other costs involved with this rescue. We just could not turn our backs on this situation! ”Who ya gonna call!”…
Donations are always very much appreciated via Big R or Smartpak.com gift cards or through paypal - (lavender.dreams.farm@gmail.com). We also need grass hay!!!

Chris loves to watch the chickens eat their breakfast under the kitchen window:

Today’s menu:

Homemade bread chunks

Grapenuts and corn flakes

Black oil sunflower seeds

It’s finally here. The year of 2012 that Mayan calendar declared to be the Year of Enlightenment. My prayer is that it will come true, that man will find peace in himself and in turn kindness will rule for our planet and her inhabitents.

We have had a brutally cold year so far with periods of intense warmtrh which makes for a thaw and freeze  cycle that is hard to keep up with. We have been asking for donations of sand and clay kitty litter to keep the corrals safe for the donkeys as it can be extremely dangerous for the animals. If anyone wished to help with sand or litter please drop it by or if you are far away a Walmart or Petsmart/Petco gift card will help us out a lot. We have gone thru over 100 bags of litter and completely ran out of sand already.

The donkeys do not mind the snow and have thick, heavy coats to keep them warm. It is the rain that they dislike intensely. Some of the longears who are not yet healthy enough or do not have sufficient weight on them wear insulated coats. We feed extra supplements thru winter along with a little grain and always kelp. Yesterday was banana treat day and a photo of them eager for their snacks is above.

We are plannng for Spring and getting our seed orders together, along with ideas for enlarging the fencing. Dreaming of a bigger barn…..

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year! Love from the donkeys!

What a summer! We barely had a summer and suddenly it was Fall and now we have already had snow. We hustled this year to get the new shelter completed for the donkeys and to get new feeding stations for them. We have a new dog kennel now for foster dogs and over 2 dozen doggies were here over the past few months on their way to new homes, other fosters or rescues. We helped with so many cat rescues I lost count. We are involved with a massive cat and dog situation now with over 85 cats and kittens and 20 dogs ranging from 5 pounds to over 100. These animals all came from 4 cats and 2 dogs the people got at a feed store TWO YEARS AGO! They have been apparently been breeding non-stop for the past 24 months. They are covered with fleas and ear mites, are mal-nourished and need to be spayed and neutered. So far 10 males have been neutered. Pend Oreille Spay Neuter Alliance is helping to see this through but that organization consists of 2 people so it is a big job and we are expecting more snow this weekend.

We got our hay in. A huge job with over 12 ton squeezed into our pole barn. We barely have room for our pickup and my tiny care but ya gotta keep the hay dry!

We took in 2 more donkeys last month and they are adjusting well. They had a lot of issues from neglect and abuse. They were also very thin due to poor nutrition and scared of everything, But slowly they are learning that life is good here and that we can be trusted. I love to watch the donkeys we bring in blossom. Most have never had a kind word or gentle touch.

We have a lot of donkeys now. This economy is scary. People are even abandoning their animals along the roads and one donkey was found tied to a friend’s gate. I had 9 calls last Wednesday before noon with people wanting me to take their animals from birds to dogs, cats and donkeys. It is never ending and I can only do so much but each animal matters and I do what I can. Thank you so much to those of you who have contributed to our rescue efforts over the years. We could never have done it without you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shirlie Jean has come so far since we rescued her. I didn’t know if we would ever be able to even touch her after the neglect and abuse she endured for years. Here she shares a hug with my donkey whisperer husband. Why do we do this? Rescue the down trodden and forgotten? This picture says it all.

This weekend I was all set to pick our Damson heirloom plums for jam. To my surprise there were NONE on the tree Saturday morning. None. The night before there had been hundreds. There was just one shriveled plum on the ground. There were also quite a few branches lying about, looking like they had been snipped. Deer would have eaten the branches but would not have been able to reach the fruit. Later that day I was up on the ladder in the barn looking for something in the loft when I saw a big pile in the corner. It was all the plum tree leaves, twigs, fruit and branches!! What could have done that? There is no way to get up to the loft without a ladder (which is moved to that area when we need to get up there) and this was all done in about 48 hours!!! Here is the picture of the pile but no evidence of who did it!

This is our newest bundle of joy. Christopher was part of a massive rescue that we were part of and had been in a cage most of his life. He does not walk very well but is quickly building up the muscles that atrophied while being penned up. He is sweet and playful, accepting of all the cats here and loves David. He is learning how to be a cat and loving it!

It has been an amazing month here. We have been involved with a huge rescue involving dozens of animals. It has been pretty much 24/7 on the phone and internet - connecting with other rescues, sanctuaries and foster homes. We have transported animals to 4 states and fostered some of these animals ourselves. But this is a happy ending story as many of these animals have found new homes, including Christopher (see his story on website) who had been in a cage so long he does not really know how to walk or act like a cat.

The 2 newest donkeys we rescued continue to thrive on good hay, open space and love. Brayson is still struggling with a massive infection that the vet can not seem to get a handle on. Nothing seems to work and it has been almost a month now. He is no worse so that is good news. We continue to do all we can for him. This has been a good bonding experience for him as he was badly neglected and obviously abused. Shirlie Jean is content to just be with us and Brayson. She is very happy to be reunited with Brayson.

The lavender is in full bloom and there are literally 1000s of flowers in full bloom. The donkeys have finally shed (with lots of brushing) their winter coats. I have been gathering wild herbs for this years’ salves, tinctures and liniments. It’s a grand year for herbs with all the rain and I have dozens of herbs in alcohol, glycerin or oil sitting in sunny windows.

I love summer and gathering the produce that we grow. We have an abundance of strawberries, lettuce and radishes. It’s been so cold here that it is iffy that we will ever see tomatoes but the herb beds and root vegetables are flourishing as are the berries.

So this month is ending with the wonderful knowledge that dozens of animals have found new homes or been transported to a place they will have a good chance of being adopted into a loving home. There is nothing better than knowing we were able to be a big part of this but it would not have been possible without financial assistance, donated food and litter . With heartfelt thanks to : Bob Anderlik, Christy Anderlik, Kerry Masters, Tia and Karl, Pacific Northwest Animal Welfare Project, Animal Advocates of the Pacific Northwest, Annie and Lee, Barb and Frank and the many behind the scenes volunteers who helped house, transport and make phone calls for weeks on end. None of this would have been possible with out this combined effort!