Providing Sanctuary to Animals in New Brunswick - including some of the toughest medical cases
Did you know that Wallflower Sanctuary provides sanctuary to some of the toughest medical cases in the province?
It’s true! Just this summer alone, Wallflower welcomed Hazel Mary (pictured below) and Chance (pictured above) - two potbelly pigs, both from different backgrounds, but both who have long roads of recovery ahead of them.
The specialized care that our summer intakes have been receiving, along with regular, ongoing individualized care for the animals who already call Wallflower home, has made one thing crystal clear for the animal care team:
Wallflower needs a medical suite.
What’s a medical suite?
For Wallflower, that would mean a building that the animal care team could use to perform specialized treatments for the animals who need some extra TLC.
For example, Bert (shown above), our resident rabble-rouser, needs daily foot soaks due to a particularly resistant case of bumblefoot. “Bumblefoot” may sound a bit funny, but it’s no laughing matter. It’s caused by a bacterial infection that also comes with a painful inflammatory reaction.
Having a warm, cozy place like a trailer or RV with a working furnace and hot water heater would allow the care team (and Burt) to provide “spa services” to Bert (and any other residents that need them) away from the chill that will soon be upon us as winter sets in.
Another example is Goldie (shown above), a sweet hen who came to us early in the summer. Goldie was found wandering the streets of a neighbourhood all alone. After searching for where she might have wandered off from with no luck, she was brought to Wallflower. She was undernourished, in poor health, and extremely skittish. The animal care team jumped into action to address her medical concerns with great success. Goldie started feeling better, looking better and even made several other feathered friends to hang out with.
Late in August, Goldie's health took a sudden and drastic downward turn which resulted in her needing specialized care once again. A supportive chair for her to recover in, tube feeding, medications, and round-the-clock attention from our animal care team got her back on her feet again. Had this happened in the winter, without a medical suite, it would have been much harder to provide Goldie with the comfort, warmth and quiet her body desperately needed for healing.
Additionally, we are mindful of the fact that our pals at the sanctuary are outliving their life expectancies. Many of them were bred to live short lives with no consideration for their long-term health.
As we navigate providing the best care possible for each and every one of them through all their life stages, a stable, safe medical suite will provide them with the respite they need for optimal wellness.
Can you help or know someone who can? Perhaps you have a creative solution or a lead on something to make our dreams of a medical suite come true? If so, please reach out (wallflowerfarmstead@gmail.com) - we’d love to hear from you!