#eng 145

When I was in high school, I volunteered at this therapy stable called Horsefeathers (http://horsefeatherscenter.org/). When I was volunteering there in the summer of 2011, these eight horses were the ones that were being used as therapy horses. The type of therapy that these beautiful creatures are used for is called hippotherapy, which uses horses to help people with disabilities or who need therapy to improve their life. I worked alongside a lovely lady who was very nice to her clients and patients, and she helped me improve both my relationship with our clients and with the horses. For the summer before my senior year of high school, this was probably the best thing to happen to me. I loved these horses, and working with them only increased my love for them.

Here are the descriptions of the horses, from my point of view (starting from top left and ending in bottom right):

Apollo: He is a chestnut, Belgian Draft and Quarter Horse cross. He is a very strong horse, but he’s a gentle giant, and very sweet. He greeted me every day, and I just had to give him a big rub on the nose. He’s a bit of a dunce, he likes to push, and he likes to nip. When he’s happy, he’ll smile.

Big Red: He is a large, chestnut, Thoroughbred horse, who is actually retired now. He was a police horse before he became a therapy horse. And he loves his hugs. (He is my favorite.) He’s very calm, very laid-back, and he loves to nuzzle.

Calvin: He is a chestnut Paint pony, and he’s actually a rescue. He has issues with people trying to feed him from his hand, as he was malnourished before he was rescued. He’s stall-aggressive, and he doesn’t like people handling his food. However, when I took him to pasture, he let me pet him, and he even nudged me in thanks before we went back in.

Harley: He is a black Quarter Horse, and he’s a bit of a bully. He likes to shove us workers around, and he absolutely doesn’t like it when you tighten his saddle around him. However, he’s a silly boy, and he liked to use me as a scratching post.

Lucky: He is a red roan Welsh pony, and he is very rambunctious and sweet. He’s very small, only a few inches taller than Little Red Rover, but he’s the fastest equine at the stable. I saw him during morning turn-out, and boy, was he fast.

Ice: He is a bay Paint horse who belongs to one of the owners there. He is the ‘alpha’ of the herd. He’s very laid-back, though sometimes he has a bit of an attitude.

Poco: He is a black Paint horse who is a sweetheart. He knows how to bow and nod, and he will hug you back if you hug him. He is my second favorite, and he is such a happy horse. I feed him carrots after he bows and nods for me, and then he licks me.

Paradise 4 Paws, a premier Chicago pet resort, offers cat and dog boarding, cat and dog grooming, dog day care, and dog training. Airport parking available,

Over the weekend, I went home for Easter to spend time with my family and my dog. However, I also was able to get an interview with a pet resort company called Paradise 4 Paws (see above link). I am super excited by the outcome of this interview, and also how much I enjoyed myself while I was there.

For the past three years since leaving high school, my summer job was a summer counselor for children aged 3-7 years old. Last summer, I realized that I didn’t like my job anymore; sure, I enjoyed my coworkers and some of the kids that went to camp, but it wasn’t a pleasurable experience for me. So, this year, I had been looking for other avenues of work, whether that was through volunteering or an unpaid internship, or even a job.

My sights turned to where my family boards my dog when we go on vacations that she can’t come with us on. However, I use the word ‘board’ loosely, as Paradise 4 Paws is, as it says in the description, a pet resort. It has a small dog play area, three large dog play areas, and a cat jungle area. The dogs have their own suites, though if they’re in the same family, they can be allowed to be in the same suite. The cats are all together in one area, but there are places for cats to go if they don’t want to be with other cats.

Over spring break, I went down to New Orleans to visit my sister, and then my parents and I went to Texas to see San Antonio and the Alamo.

While I was at New Orleans, and my sister was at work, my parents and I went to the Audubon Zoo, and I was able to get a private tour with a keeper at the zoo, who happens to be my sister’s friend.

Aimee, my sister’s friend, is one of the keepers of the Asian Domain at the Audubon Zoo, and she told me what a normal day would be at the zoo. She showed me where they kept the food for all the animals in the zoo, and she even showed me some animals that weren’t on display. Porcupines are one of them, as they like to burrow and wouldn’t be a good exhibit animal to view, and another is a fox that was kept as a pet. Aimee told me that they have to come in early in the morning to feed the animals, and then they turn the animals into their pens at 10:00 am when visitors arrive. Then, the keepers hose down the animals’ overnight enclosures. They do that for all the animals, and then when their chores are done, they can do what the keepers call ‘animal enrichment’.

The four animals pictured were four animals that Aimee and an intern, Katie, did animal enrichment with, so they could show me what they do. For the Amir Leopard, that’s the male, Sasha, and Aimee used some ginger plant to get him to come by the fence to say hi to the guests. For the Bengal Tiger, Aimee threw a blood-popsicle for him to lick up and move around instead of just lying in the enclosure all day. For the otter, Aimee and Katie threw fish down and had the two otters swim to get the fish. For the pig, they threw some grass stalks for him to nose through.

This is a ball python, a type of domesticated snake that most snake owners start out with when they decide to purchase one. This one belongs to a couple who were letting people hold and take pictures with this snake, as well as a boa constrictor that was much, much bigger. I was on Bourbon Street in New Orleans when I saw the snake and asked his owners if I could hold him and get pictures with him. You see, I want to have a snake when I get my own place (my father doesn’t like snakes and won’t allow them in the house, so I am respecting his decision on the matter).

While it may seem creepy to some people, I love snakes, and they are my favorite reptile. There are so many different snakes that exist, and they are all so beautiful, from the rattlesnakes that live in the south and west to the green tree boas that live in the rainforests of South America. They aren’t slimy at all; in fact, their scales should be smooth and soft to the touch, if they aren’t shedding their skin. And as long as you treat these beautiful creatures right, they won’t feel the need to bite you. As it stands, I know that I’m not going to get a venomous snake, as even if I think he will be the sweetest thing and never bite me, you can never be too careful with animals. Something might set them off and they may feel threatened--just like me when I’m in a crowded room with people I don’t know well.

Throughout my life, I have been blessed with best friends while growing up. My parents are huge dog people, my dad a bit more than my mother, and so, they passed their love of dogs onto me. It’s probably because of the dogs I’ve grown up with that started my fascination with everything animal related.

The larger black dog (although she’s a shiny black puppy in two of the three pictures) was a flat-coated retriever by the name of Sheeba. I don’t remember much of her, as she passed away when I was only three or four years old, but I do remember how soft she was and how tolerant she was of me, a rather boisterous toddler.

The black poodle (the curly-haired monster) was the dog of my childhood. His name was Monet, after the French artist, and he was my best friend and playmate. We grew up together; I helped train him with my dad. We had him from when he was eight weeks old (February 1999) til he was almost 12 years old (April 2010). I had him for twelve years of my life, and he was probably the goofiest poodle I have ever met. He was relatively tolerant (until he got to be a grumpy old man) and I knew that he loved me. He would let me dress him up in dolls’ clothes, which was funny and I still have pictures.

The ginger dog with the green bandana is my current dog, a goldendoodle named Brandy. She’s the sweetest dog, always happy to see me, and generally a happy dog. She has her moments where she’s a brat (hiding under the table when she has a toy she knows we’re going to take it away from her), but even then, she calms down and then just lays down to cuddle. She loves hugs, she loves walks, she loves to laze around all day. Basically, she’s my dog, and I love her to pieces.

The yellow lab-type dog is named Cowlie. She’s my sister’s first dog, and she’s 3 years old. You know she’s part Lab just by the fact where she’ll bring you a ball and just bother you until you play fetch with her. She’s a lazy bum who loves her belly rubs, and I will babysit her whenever my sister needs me to.

Rusty is the blue-eyed dog. He’s a Catahoula leopard dog who is the biggest dope you will ever meet. He’s such a lazy dog and he will literally let you do anything. I met him for the first time over spring break, and I can’t wait to see him again in the summer. He’s about 2 and a half years old, and he has some little quirks that are cute. For instance, when he has to go out, he will bark at you. Not a rapid succession of barks, though. More like, a couple of sharp barks that mean “I gotta go”. However, he doesn’t stare at you. Instead, he looks out of the corner of his eyes when he barks at you, just to make sure that you’re looking at him.

When I think about what I want to do when I'm older, my thoughts immediately shoot to wolves or hyenas. Not only are these my favorite animals, but they are beautiful animals that are threatened by humans and development. While I do have a rather unrealistic dream of owning one of these beautiful creatures (unrealistic because it's illegal without a license and because they are wild animals and, unless they are unable to provide for themselves, they should stay that way), I would still love to have hands-on experience with these beautiful animals.

I've been thinking of places to visit and perhaps apply as a volunteer or even to work there, and there are several places that I have in mind. For one, there's the International Wolf Center in Eli, MN (www.wolf.org), which has an internship program that I would love to enter. That, however, is for wolves.

Another place that I have looked into is the Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Africa. If I ever have a chance to go to Africa, I will drag whoever I am with to this center just to look at it and (hopefully) apply to work there.