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 downbythecreek@yahoo.com. 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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