Frankie riding on the boat that took us down the river of St. Croix Falls
It was a perfect day. The trees were just on the cusp of turning color in a few weeks.
Stillwater, MN and the surrounding area is lush with green and the rolling hills were perfect for a drive… as long as you keep your eyes on the road. My stomach tends to ‘go for a ride’ if I don’t anticipate a hill we are about to roll down and there were many, many hills.
The main reason for our trip was to visit Home for Life Animal Sanctuary and their event of the Memorial Garden Walk and Blessing of the Animals. This is a safe haven for animals that most likely would have been euthanized too early if HFL had not taken them in. Many of the animals are disabled and that is what drew me to them. Lisa LaVerdiere is the Executive Director for HFL and I applaud her with all my heart for what she does to help the animals. I can only imagine the amount of time, money and labor that goes into caring for all those animals.
As we made our way down 65N I watched for the sanctuary to come into my sight. As we rounded a sharp corner I saw the blue canopies and the white buildings… my heart leapt up to my throat and tears misted my eyes. There is something about an animal sanctuary and what it means to not give up hope on any animal. It stirred a deep emotion in me.
We entered the black iron gates which were wide open to welcome us. Atop each post was a statue of a dog with its butt reaching to the sky, as if stretching in a yoga pose. We found a place to park among the many cars already there.
Lisa knew John, Frankie and I would be coming to the event. As we walked down the gravel lane towards the sanctuary, Lisa met us. She introduced herself, holding out her hand to shake mine and apologizing for her callused hands. She said, “We are only allowing two dogs near the sanctuary and Frankie is one of them, so go on up and look around.” She told me where Hanz and Franz were, the two dachshunds that are brothers.
As we greeted the animals I felt my heart once again leap to my throat. To actually see them all there, happy and full of life just made my heart smile. Hanz and Franz ran to the fence to say hi to Frankie, as only a dachshund can do… bark! bark! bark! bark!… and it goes on and on. I don’t know if Hanz and Franz had a problem with their “barkers” but they both sounded like they had laryngitis. I can just imagine, knowing a dachshund and how they bark so much, that they may just have permanent laryngitis from always wanting to rule the roost with their talking.
Not sure which is which, but none-the-less this is Hanz and Franz
All the animals at the sanctuary are very special, but I was drawn to the dogs with disabilities and needing a cart to help them walk. Nike is an Alaskan Husky born with a spinal birth defect. Her back legs sit under her as she scooted toward us. I found it interesting that at first I had the emotion of feeling sorry for her, but the moment I looked into her ocean blue eyes and saw she was actually smiling, I felt such joy she has such a happy life. I got a kick out of seeing the dog carts “parked” in the upward position resting against the fence. It is exactly how I park Frankie’s cart in the house when she is not in it.
After visiting with everyone, dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, an exotic turtle and a goat without a front leg, we made our way down to the white tent. There we were served a light lunch of salads, pasta, salsa, chips, vegetable tortilla wraps, key lime pie and chocolate cake.
In front of us was the memorial garden with all the animals who have been buried there after living out their lives at HFL. The flowering bushes are planted in such a way to create a labyrinth. It felt so sacred and spiritual to sit among all the animals that had been and currently reside at HFL.
A special bunny from Home for Life and Speedy the cat who cannot use his back legs are among the animals receving a blessing on Sept. 6th.
Linda and Allen Anderson, best selling authors, provided the blessing for the event. I couldn’t help but think of the animals that have gone before me in my life. I felt hot tears spring to my eyes in missing them, but also feeling so grateful for the love they brought me. Linda and Allen spoke of how important it is to remember and honor the life and death of our furry friends. I know for me this means so much because my animals, especially my dogs, have opened a part of me that may have never been opened. I felt a soft, warm peace fill my heart as Linda chanted HU (pronounced hue), which is a “sacred love song to God that animals respond to with appreciating.” Linda ended with saying, “May the blessings be.”
Lisa pointed to a box on the corner edge of the garden. She said, “The hard part of having a sanctuary is losing animals each year.” She told us they lose about 20% with each passing year. All the animals are cremated and kept in a simple white box of their own, then stored in a chest until the Memorial Garden Event. Herb Sam, a spiritual advisor officiated a Native American service and blessed the animals that had gone on to heaven.
After the ceremony I felt renewed. I have always felt our animals are here for a special reason and we must pay attention to their teachings. Being among everyone at HFL I felt a kinship of like minded people and their love for animals. As John, Frankie and I made our way back to the car, we stopped to pause and glance into the chest of white boxes. There are no words to describe it, but all those furry hearts made a profound difference in their own unique ways… I honor and bless each of them.
Frankie relaxing with her papa after a hard day of relaxing… vacation is tough on a dog you know.