Life with animals is entertaining! Pets make us laugh, bring us joy, and provide us with unconditional love. The more time you spend with your pets, the better you feel. Did you ever notice that when you are with your pet, you are smiling more, and you are more apt to strike up a conversation with a stranger? And then you share a silly story about your pet and people immediately chime in about their own pet’s antics! Pets help us find an even greater link to each other and our community.
Our pets are gifts in life in which we are eternally grateful!
Meet Louie and Hendrix from Conshohocken, PA
Anthony and Erin are the owners of Louie and Hendrix and shared the following about their gratitude and love:
“In early November, we lost our 11-year-old Louie, an 18lb Yorkshire Terrier – Yes, you read that right, 18lbs! We have come to realize that with the loss of Louie that pets come into our lives as gifts and can never be replaced. However, another pet can help us start to heal our hearts. Louie was more then we could have ever dreamt of. He was our protector, comfort, shadow, our understanding of all things good and warm. We cannot imagine this life without your noise, your love, your energy, your smile, and your wiggly nub. We know we will move into other parts of our life without you, but we have faith you will still be our shadow and our angel. There are no adjectives big enough to describe our love for you and the gratitude. We will miss you every day our sweet baby boy. Forever grateful for our years together. Rest In Peace our sweet Lou Lou Bean ❣️
After a few weeks with a NOTICEABLY quiet, empty house, we decided to take on the challenge of getting a 10-week-old Rottweiler puppy. As you can imagine, it is quite a change for us. Our puppy, Hendrix, already weighs more than Louie! Hendrix is such a love bug – He cannot get enough of other people, dogs, and strangers (and our carpets ????). His personality and confidence are a whole new adventure for us as we continue to grow as he does. We start puppy training soon and are excited for the new journeys, walks, and playing yet to come! “
Meet Duke, Daisy, Silvio, Marbles, Sophie and Mo from Furlong, PA
Jill and her family are so GRATEFUL to have Duke, Daisy, Silvio, and Marbles in their lives. If it were not for the amazing staff at Last Chance Ranch, these animals would not be alive today. Here is their rescue story:
“Duke and Daisy arrived at Last Chance Ranch in December 2019 from a kill pen along with three other donkeys. Under a year old, both were in very rough condition and experienced a number of medical problems. Shortly after arriving, Duke had a prolapsed rectum, where part of his bowel was outside his body. Our veterinarian rushed over to suture the bowel back into his body. He was carefully watched for the next 24 hours to ensure the sutures stayed, if not, he would not be able to survive. Luckily, after 24 hours, Duke continued to improve under the dedicated care of the staff and volunteers.
Shortly after Duke’s emergency, Daisy was unable to stand in the paddock. Once again, our vet rushed out to evaluate the little girl. Being so skinny and having a depleted immune system, her body was crashing. Our vet started to immediately treat a botulism infection, due to the paralysis in her legs. She was moved into a heated isolation stall to help increase her body temperature during the cold freezing temperatures. For a full week, Daisy was rotated and flipped as she was unable to stand. She was on a course of medications to treat the infection brewing in her body and help her overcome her illness. After a week, the vet returned, and Daisy was able to stand for a brief period. For the next few days, the staff needed to lift Daisy several times a day for her to build up her strength. A week later when she had gained enough strength, she was able to go into a small paddock with Duke. A couple of weeks later, another blood test was conducted to check her overall levels of nutrients, signs of infection and organ functioning. This bloodwork came back all within normal limits, so she was well on the road to recovery!
Today, Duke and Daisy are the most affectionate animals you could ever meet. They greet everyone with a ‘bray’ and a hug. They enjoy playing and will chase each other and their goat friends through obstacle courses and pastures. They are very loved and receive daily treats from the neighbors!
Silvio is the son of Marshmallow who was a super friendly Boer goat. She came to Last Chance Ranch in December 2019 from the Pennsylvania SPCA. She was rescued from a farm that was not properly taken care of and her owner was prosecuted. Marshmallow arrived extremely skinny and pregnant. The staff at LCR nursed her back to health and delivered a healthy baby who we named Silvio. Marshmallow died unexpectedly when Silvio turned 6 months old and had just stopped nursing. She was an angel who survived her horrid conditions to bring him into our lives. Silvio loves people and his barnyard herd. A day never goes by without him making us smile with his goofiness and playfulness.
Marbles came to LCR in December of 2020. He was surrendered to a PA rescue after being purchased on Craigslist by a family who could not take care of him. Marbles was fostered by a staff member at LCR, for the first few weeks of his life. He was bottle fed five times a day as a baby which was an unbelievable experience for our family. He has brought us so much joy and laughter as he has grown and became acclimated to the rest of his animal family. He has a perpetual smile, and you cannot look at him without feeling joy!
In addition to our rescues from LCR, we also adopted Mo and Sophie, our two potbellied pigs. We adopted them from Ross Mill Farm in Rushland, PA. Sophie was surrendered from a family who lived in an apartment and could not accommodate the 100+ pound pig. Mo was found in the wild and was pregnant when she came to Ross Mill Farm. They are both quite charming and Sophie loves to be petted, brushed, and will sit for a treat!
We are grateful to our rescue herd who brings us joy every day! We hope we can continue to help the world with the challenge of animal homelessness in any way we can.”
Would you like to tell us why you are grateful for your pet? Please email Jill at [email protected] or Jackie at [email protected] to share your story for our blog!
If you are interested in adopting any of our animals, please fill out an application on our website www.lastchanceranch.org.
Posted: January 8, 2022, by Jill Roggio