7-8-08

You were so generous to us before, please help us again now!

After being hit by the Santa Clarita wild fires and evacuating our 60 animals and our human family to safety, we were displaced for two weeks and then had to repair our property. In the midst of the repairs we were notified of 400 animals in Lancaster that were in need of immediate rescue. We brought food, water, shelter, blankets, vet care and volunteers to the sight in Lancaster. Once the animals were stabilized, we helped evacuate them to safety. It has been an exhausting process spaying and neutering, vaccinating, socializing, and placing all the animals that were under our care, and we are still not done.

Starting in October we would have ordinarily raised money to support us through the summer. But instead we were busy saving animals lives.

We are doing really great work, but we need your support to see it through. The 60 rescued animals that reside at The Gentle Barn need hay and feed, the puppies from the pregnant dogs in Lancaster need to be spayed and neutered right now, and the remaining dogs and cats from Lancaster need to be fed and cared for until they are placed into homes of their own.

We need your help, please send your donations and support these amazing animals. We have now begun fundraising for the fall, but we need your help to get through the summer.  We are almost there, but still need you!

Please visit our website at www.gentlebarn.org to make a donation through PayPal, or send a check payable to The Gentle Barn at 26910 Sierra Highway, D-8 #318, Santa Clarita, CA 91321.

Thank you so much for your continued support.

With love and gratitude,

Ellie and Jay

The Gentle Barn

THE GENTLE BARN

FINDS ANIMALS LOVING HOMES

DOGS AND CATS FROM LANCASTER HORDER ARE FINDING LOVING HOMES AFTER TERRIBLE ORDEAL

Santa Clarita, CA – It’s the big day! After living in cages full of filth, being tethered to wires, having no food or water, and living in freezing temperatures, the Lancaster dogs are on their way to a new start. The Gentle Barn Foundation, with the support of other rescues, has now spayed or neutered the dogs and cats and is having their first adoption day at Canine Country Club Saturday, March 1^st from 10am – 2pm, located at 20341 W. Blue Cloud Rd. Saugus, CA 91350.

The Gentle Barn took responsibility for approximately 100 dogs, 22 puppies and 32 cats from the “Lancaster Rescue,” all of which have received veterinary care, have been spayed or neutered, vaccinated, socialized and micro-chipped.  Many of the animals have already been placed into loving homes, but there are still many dogs who still need loving homes including some mother dogs with their puppies that will need to be fixed and find homes as they mature in the near future.

Additionally, there are several dogs that have been in foster homes and are ready to go home with permanent families, who will be available at the adoption event.  The Gentle Barn needs your help to find homes for these rescued animals.  We have dogs, puppies and cats of all shapes, sizes and colors that are waiting to be taken to their new homes.

Come join The Gentle Barn and all of the dogs, cats and puppies for the adoption day at Canine Country Club Saturday, March 1^st from 10am – 2pm, located at 20341 W. Blue Cloud Road, Saugus, CA 91350 (cross street is Bouquet Canyon Road, look for the balloons).

The Gentle Barn is a nonprofit, registered 501(c) 3 charity - a sanctuary home to animals rescued from abuse, and host to at-risk, inner-city and special needs children. The Gentle Barn will not stop until the last dog is sleeping in someone’s warm bed, but they can’t do it without the help of the community. To adopt a dog, puppy or cat or for further information, please call The Gentle Barn at 661-252-2440, send an email to info@gentlebarn.org or visit us on line at www.gentlebarn.org.

February 2, 2008

Gentle Barn Rescue Update

The Gentle Barn is a sanctuary for animals rescued from abuse and we work to teach kindness and compassion to abused children. We became involved in this rescue that we are calling the "Lancaster Rescue" because we were asked to help the animals, and because once we knew about the animals in the situation they were in, we could not get those desperate, lonely, suffering, animals out of our minds.

The first day on the Lancaster property we spent nine hours assisting Animal Acres in evacuating all the farm animals, approximately 200. We took home a pregnant horse, an emu, a llama, two pot bellied pigs and a 600 pound farm pig. We built shelters and pens for them and had the vet out the next day to make sure they were healthy.

By the third day in Lancaster we had hired a tank cleaning company to come out to the property and pressure wash the tank and refill it with 6,000 gallons of fresh water for the dogs.  We also purchased a new generator, 6 large two headed work lights, about 1,000 feet of extension cords, clips for the dog cages, zip ties and some other supplies needed.  We also purchased 2 catch poles so we could safely handle the dogs that were aggressive because they were scared. Just so it is said, we always tried to get the dogs with leashes or by picking them up first before using a catch pole.

There were many other things that The Gentle Barn brought to the property including truck loads of food, 1,000 pounds of DTZ for bettering the retched smell for the dogs (and us), 10 large Vary kennels, rakes, shovels, large industrial pooper scoopers, hose attachments, trash bags and flashlights to name a few things.

There were 15 dogs that were not in runs but were chained, so we evacuated them to foster homes. Then there were about 15 dogs who were pregnant and if they had babies at the Lancaster site the harsh weather would surely kill them so we evacuated them into foster homes as well. Then we called the breed rescues and had them come and get the purebred dogs. Then we called the small dog rescues and evacuated all the small dogs off the property. Then we called the all breed rescues and begged them to come and get as many dogs off the property as they could. In the first week approximately 125 dogs were placed into foster homes or dog rescues.

We also evacuated a dog from the property that was on our home page named Sophie, and took her to the 24 hour emergency hospital because she had her face torn open from many dog fights. She seemed to have lost one eye, had puncture wounds all over her body, her legs were swollen because she was rancid with infection and she could not lift her head off the ground. The veterinarian said that it was a good thing we brought her in because if the infection went from her very infected, puss ridden eye to her brain she would have died. At the vet's suggestion we spent a week boosting her immune system and ridding the infection with antibiotics and Monday, January 28^th she had reconstructive surgery to repair the enormous damage done to her face. The surgery was a success and she is on her way to starting a new life with love and dignity.  You can see a picture of her on our web site.

We also have rescued 32 cats, some very ill. We will be healing the ones we can, and when they are stronger will be spaying and neutering them and placing them into loving homes. Please email us if you are interested in adopting a cat (or a dog).

It was our intention to build kennels on a property in Acton to house the remaining dogs but the project was stopped due to the rain. Desperate to have the remaining dogs out of the freezing cold we begged animal control to step in, but they didn't. So the next day after the dogs were shivering in the snow, several dog rescues went to Lancaster and evacuated all of the remaining dogs.

There have been about 300 volunteers and we couldn't have gotten this far without them.  You know who you are and we love you for the gift you have selflessly given.  You have been the backbone of this rescue and we thank you for continuing to show your support.  There have been so many rescue groups who have stepped up to the plate to take in animals and many wonderful people who have fostered animals.  There have been about 10 different veterinarians and several veterinarian technicians who have helped in this rescue. It has been so amazing to witness the outpouring of support of these very special people.

The dogs and puppies that we placed into rescues and foster homes all need to be healed, socialized, spayed and neutered, and placed into good homes. We are disseminating all the donated food and shelters to the dogs at the various rescues, foster homes and boarding facilities. The donated items and donated money belongs to the rescued animals, and to the support of the animals it has been and will continue to go!

We are exhausted! In the eight years that The Gentle Barn has been in existence we have never worked this hard. We have had very little sleep. We haven't even finished recovering from the fires that went through our property.  This rescue has taken over our home, our time, and our lives. We would love to have our lives back, and resume our violence prevention program again but, The Gentle Barn is, was and always will be about the animals who need us the most. The Gentle Barn, our wonderful supporters and volunteers are committed to this rescue effort, until the last dog and last cat are sleeping in their new home and in someone's bed!

We have an enormous amount of work left to do and we can't do this without our community's support. Mostly we need loving homes for these animals. Please contact us if you can adopt a dog or cat.

Thank you so much for your help!

Jay Weiner & Ellie Laks

The Gentle Barn Foundation

Founder

A Wish for Animals

As you know we found the property in deplorable condition; dead animals, filthy kennels, sick, pregnant and injured dogs, and all animals intact and breeding. There were about 20 dogs who were chained to the ground, 15 pregnant dogs about to have babies at any moment, and several injured and sick dogs who needed emergency medical attention. Within four days we brought a truckload of food, a water pump, generator and water, lights, volunteers and staff to clean the kennels, blankets and shelters for the animals, on site veterinary care and emergency medical attention, and placed over 100 dogs into homes or with other rescue groups, including all the tethered, pregnant and injured dogs.

The County had a deadline of January 24^th to remove all of the animals from the property in Lancaster, so we got right to work. Our intention is to get every single dog evacuated, healthy, spayed or neutered, and placed into loving homes.  There are 90 dogs that still remain on the freezing cold property.

This has been a very difficult, heart wrenching and unfortunately political situation, but The Gentle Barn is going to stay focused on the job at hand of rescuing the animals and finding them good homes.

Thank you so much for all of your continued support.