Peoa • A black puppy with droopy ears and white and tan spots on his coat, Chromis, affectionately called “Charlie,” is a favorite among the Nuzzles & Co. staff.
“He cheated death twice,” said Alyn Meade, director of operations for the 100-acre rescue ranch facility at the nonprofit nonprofit animal shelter in Peoa, Summit County.
Charlie was brought in as one of eight litters from the Navajo Nation, where most of the animals cared for on the ranch come, Mead said. His three of his brothers died before the Nazruzu crew could disembark on the reservation and carry them to Peoa.
“He came with parvo [canine parvovirus]that’s why I had to inject him with antivirals,” Meade said. “He almost died, but he survived.”
Later, when Charlie was brought in for spaying and neutering, he died on the table — either he had a poor response to the anesthesia or simply didn’t have enough strength, according to the ranch’s veterinary office. said Alyssa Hughes, the medical director of
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Veterinary technician Fallon Sidway shaves a bobcat in preparation for neutering.
Parvo is an incredibly hardy virus that survives direct sunlight and cold temperatures and is easily transmitted between puppies, Hughes said. “It attacks multiple systems in dogs, the gut lining, and the immune system,” she said. “It’s like a double punch. … [Puppies] We have no ability to fight off this deadly infection. ”
Parvo is also preventable with adequate access to vaccines, Hughes said, which may be financially out of reach for many people.
Nuzzles & Co. Intake Director Darrell McCarten is Navajo. He remembered that when he grew up on his reservation, he always saw dogs roaming free and he wanted to help.That’s why he came to help create the organization lesbian rescue program.
The Navajo Reservation, which covers parts of Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, is very remote, McCarten told tribe members. you don’t have the right permissions For veterinary care of dogs. Even in border towns, animal sterilization and neutering can be expensive. Not to mention treating animals for infections like parvo and common problems like ticks during the summer months.
(Leah Hogsten | Salt Lake Tribune) Darrell McCarten, intake director for the Native American Reservation Program for the Navajo Nation and Ute Indian Tribes, has been producing dog food and animal trucks for distribution on tribal lands. of bags into the car.
McCarten said the ranch has been brought in by Navajo dogs with problems ranging from broken hips to poor eyesight. Of his 1,203 animals Nuzzles & Co. adopted in 2022, 473 (39%) were from the reservation.
According to McCarten, dogs are an integral part of life on the reservation. “The reservation has working dogs, guard dogs, which are used to protect livestock. [for] Dogs in particular protect sheep and cattle because they help protect them from coyotes,” he pointed out.
“Some of the infections we were told in veterinary school, ‘You’re bound to see this,'” Hughes said.
Nuzzles & Co. also runs a sterilization and spay clinic on the reservation and charges $25 to help economically distressed tribe members. (Private veterinary clinics charge $100 to $300 to spay a male dog and $300 to $600 to spay, depending on the dog’s size. According to United Spey Alliance.)
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Veterinary Technician Falon Siddoway says goodbye to recently adopted siblings Badger and Raccoon.
What is a “non-killing shelter”?
According to Hughes, a job as a shelter veterinarian is a no-brainer because Nuzzles & Co. has the resources and opportunities for her to make the best medical decisions to save animals and prepare them for adoption. It is said that it is easier than other facilities. Last year, the organization arranged 998 adoptions. (The Nuzzles & Co. Adoption Center is located in Outlet Park City, a shopping center at Kimball Junction.)
In 2022, the ranch’s veterinary office performed 1,941 surgeries. These include sterilization and castration, ligament repair (known as TLPO surgery), mass removal, and dental work. This is at least 5 times a day, not counting weekends and holidays. A veterinarian there estimates that 96% of his treatments saved the animal’s life.
“About 90% of kill-free sheltersaid Lindsay Ortega, executive director of Nuzzles & Co., adding that keeping animals alive and healthy is part of the group’s mission. “We don’t euthanize for space,” she said.
This 96% survival rate has a lot to do with the medical and other programs the organization offers, Ortega said.her personal favorite working cat, For cats working in barns and other private property.
At the heart of the organization’s activities, the Rescue Ranch, is home to a community of stray cats, with more than 40 on-site cats roaming freely in the winter to enjoy the warmth of the space.
Elsewhere, “cats in Utah, especially community cats, are euthanized at a much higher rate than dogs,” Ortega said.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Newly renovated feral cat shelter.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Volunteer Alix Homan (left) chats briefly with Josh Stasinos before Homan takes Scooby outside to play.
raising pets, etc.
Our 20+ staff work around the clock to efficiently provide animals with appropriate medical and emotional care and to prepare them for transfer. One day in March, a few weeks before International Puppy Day on Thursday, March 23, Nuzzles & Co. had 122 of his animals in its care system.
An animal like Scooby, a golden-haired dog that was hit by a car, is believed by veterinarians. Scooby amputated one of his legs and operated on the other. Every day, staff take him for walks to exercise.
Ranch manager Tali Yorkd said that every day is an adventure. “It’s a really rewarding job,” she said. “Nothing makes me happier than coming here in the morning and seeing the progress of a cared-for dog.”
Meade said an integral part of their care is the foster care program. She said Scooby is a great example of what foster care programs can do.
“He was put out in foster care because of a medical condition. He had to come and get an amputation, so we had to wait for it to heal,” Meade said. In between we sent him to a doting home and set up couch time instead of waiting here…waiting until he’s gone through it all and ready to adopt is perfect for him. It was a bad situation.”
(Leah Hogsten | Salt Lake Tribune) One of 50 Yorkie puppies rescued from a hoarding situation in Summit County has left Nuzzles & Co. after being adopted.
Nuzzles & Co. also helps rescue animals found in hoarding and breeding situations. Earlier this month, a ranch worker was preparing a case of his Yorkshire terrier puppy for shipment to an adoption center. They were pulled from a group of 50 found in someone’s puppy mill.
“We support every animal that we bring into the program,” McCarten said. “We do everything we can for them and then try to buy a house. I know they have a second chance with us.”
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