Dedicate a Gift - Aska's Animals

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Rest well, Maisie girl.

This past weekend, Maisie became suddenly paralyzed in her hind end, and yesterday, we helped her move onto her next chapter.

Maisie was only with us for 1 year, but she quickly became a favorite with her gentle spirit. I (aska) also feel like she was connected to our pigs because she and Milli (still here with us and also came last year) were the sisters of Doogie whom I personally adopted from @bestfriendsanimalsociety in 2014. They came from a litter of 10+ piglets from Colorado city that @bestfriendsanimalsociety took in. Picture 6 is Doogie and Maisie as young babes circa 2014.

To our surprise, Milli and Papa, who came with Maisie last year, are doing OK today despite her absence and their deep bonds. The resilience of these creatures always amazes us.

Thank you to everyone in the pig area at @bestfriendsanimalsociety and especially @lookwhosoinking who entrusted us to care for these guys and who has known all of these kids since the very beginning. This loss is shared by all of us who were privileged to care for this wonderful soul, Masie. Rosalie, thank you for digging up old photos of these kids and for all you do for the pigs in yourMaisie. We appreciate you so much. ❤️

Rest well, sweet girl.

With love,
All of your caregivers at AAF.

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Let the countdown to BINGO season begin! Join us at @highpointcider next Friday September 29th at 6pm, meet two of our amazing litters, and bring your bingo luck. 🍀 We can’t wait to see you there!

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Well, here I am again becoming a puddle after taking Esme for her last evening walk. After 8 weeks of raising babes here, she is off to @idahohumanesociety on Friday to begin her next chapter in life. What a privilege it is to form bonds with these dogs and to be by their side every day. And what a heartbreak it is to say goodbye. Somedays, I worry I have become too hardened to the sadness that is animal rescue. But then these moments come around, and I'm reminded that there is still a lot of love left in this work. Here is a low-tech patchwork of video from Esme when she first arrived as a somewhat scared, untrusting new mom. And now, we all call her my stage 4 cling-on because she does really love me a lot 🤪. If only I could explain to her that I was not here to be her family but just a chapter in her story of life. If I could explain that to her, the "goodbye" would sting a little less.

I volunteer 100% of my time for this organization that I started, but this operation has grown beyond me and we now have an amazing team with programs beyond just "Aska Crying on a Couch with a Dog." If you are able or feel moved to make a donation to help support the 34 dogs in our care tonight, please visit our website askasanimals.org and click the donate button. Or click on our Link In Bio. Our impact has grown because of your support, and I am forever grateful.

OK, back to my puddle.

Safe travels, my Esme. I hope to hear about your next chapter and I will think of you often.

Until we meet again,
Aska.

P.s. if you're wondering if I cry because the puppies are leaving too, I am not. They poop way more than Esme does 😉 the moms will always take parts of my heart before the puppies 🥰

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Sweet Mama Peaches is looking in on her 11 kids as we walk out to the field for some activities.

Peaches is one of the lucky mama dogs who has had the opportunity to raise her pups in a Puppy Palace 🐶🏰 and not a loud concrete shelter building.

Every day, the puppies get age appropriate activities that help their brain develop so they can have the best start to life as possible. This doesn't mean that every 🐶🏰 resident is going to be perfect. After all, these are dogs, not robots. There are so many influences in the environment that affect dog behavior that we can not control. Genetics, the stress from mom when the pups were in utero and so much more are things we cannot change. And there are also a lot of things we can control. Making sure our dogs get enough exercise and also sleep (everyone forgets that dogs need to sleep upwards of 15 hours a day sometimes!), providing an enriched life and managing the environment so their are not in stressful situations regularly are all have a huge impact on how your dog behaves.

If you want to learn more about how the world influences your dogs' behavior, join us for one of our September Behavior Workshops. These workshops are for people only, and we offer a virtual (9/15) and in-person option (9/22) from 5-7pm.

Link in bio to register.

#AnimalRescue #dogbehavior #puppypalace #rescuedog #behaviorworkshops

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The days of pigs cooling off in their water holes are limited with fall and winter around the corner.

As we start to get ready for the winter season, we think about the cost of caring for our 15 (yup, fifteen!) Pigs. During the easy breezy summer, the pigs graze on grass and require very little food and bedding. In the winter, the pigs eat hay, pig pellets and they use shavings and straw in their sleeping areas.

If we start a "sponsor a pig" program, are you interested in helping us with the costs associated with the pigs this winter season?

Let us know and stay tuned for this opportunity to get more involved with the 🐖 🐷 🐽 🐗 .

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the "Alaska" litter from 2022.

It isn't often that the families of an entire litter of puppies stay in touch, let alone have dogs that grow up to all get along. So today, the families of last years litter from Mama Juno threw a 1st birthday party here for the pups. We know their exact date of birth because Juno gave birth in 🐶🏰3.

Thank you to all the families for organizing this and driving from CO, UT,CA, and WY to come celebrate here on the farm with us

If you think you've thrown a good dog birthday party, this was next level amazing. Birthday signs, pupcakes, human cake, and best of all, a custom hedgehog pinata that the dogs could open, and it rained down squeaky hedgehogs.

Sometimes, it is so easy to get wrapped up in the logistics and day to day grind of animal care. Today, we were reminded that we do all of this so dogs can get adopted and live amazing lives with amazing people.

Thank you to our amazing volunteers who also joined us to see these guys all grown up. You all cleaned so much 💩 when these guys were babies 😉

This litter was adopted out through @animaladoptioncenterjhwy and we are so grateful to be included in their stories so we can also stay in touch with the families.

What a perfect way to celebrate #nationaldogday

Happy birthday, kids!!! See you next year for your 2nd birthday! 😘❤️, your first human mom, Aska.

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Tonight, the weight of the crisis that so many shelters are facing is weighing heavily on me.

Regional and national shelters that haven't had to consider euthanaisa for space are once again having that converation. There are just more animals coming into the
shelters than there are getting adopted. Even if we had 50 palaces and all the money in the world we couldn't solve this problem.

So, I constantly remind myself of this quote:

"Saving one dog will not change the world, but surely, for that one dog, the world will change forever."

Thank you to all of our amazing staff, volunteers, board members, supporters, donors, cheer squad, and more who have brought this organization to where it is now. The impact that WE have now is so much greater than what I could have accomplished alone. Together, I can't wait to see where all this ends up one day. But for every animal that walks through our gates, their lives are surely changed forever.

Sending ❤️ to all our friends who work in municipal shelters, who are facing euthanizing for space and who continue to show up every day for the animals.

Love, gratitude and an evening ramble while Aska sits with some new Mama dogs. 🐶🏰❤️

#AnimalRescue #animalwelfare #animalshelter #adoptdontshop

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8 weeks.

Often, we get mamas and their babies shortly after birth. This gives us 8 weeks to mold, influence, and educate the kids. And it gives us 8 weeks to fall in love with the mamas.

Rosie arrived 8 weeks ago after giving birth in the shelter and being transported to us. When she arroved here, she growled to protect her kids, she distrusted our presence, and we gave her the space to do all of that.

Many moms arrive here, stressed, life up-ended, and trying to keep their puppies alive and safe. The least we can do is accept this instinct and nurture their environment to support them. Over time, we build trust, and the moms quickly realize we are the ticket to their daily outings away from their tit-suckling kids 😉.

Rosie and her kids begin their journey to find homes of their own next week with @animaladoptioncenterjhwy . Our focus is on behavior and supporting the development of puppies, and we are so grateful to our partner whom we pass the baton to to facilitate their adoptions. We celebrate the strength of our partners and focus on the areas where we can impact the lives of animals through behavior support and an enriched temporary palace to grow and learn in.

Rosie and I (aska) have 2 more sunset walks and 3 more sunrise walks left together. These moments are bittersweet because I am so excited for her to find her family, and I will also miss this relationship we have built over 2 months.

Thank you for letting us be a chapter in your lives, pups. We can't wait to see the places you will go.

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Alright, friends. Today is the last day to donate (before 5pm. MST) through the Tin Cup Challenge.

The Arrested Development litter would like to thank all of you who have donated so far and encourage those of you who have not yet donated to click on our link in bio and do it today.

The best part about Tin Cup is the number of $10, $15, $25 donations that all add up to thousands of dollars that get matched by the Challenger Fund. If every single follower on here donates $10, that is almost $20,000 for the animals!

Thank you for all of your support through the Tin Cup Challenge. All of the animals that call this place home temporarily or permanently, thank you.

@cftetonvalley #animalrescue #tetonvalley #tincupchallenge2023 #dogsofinstagram #puppiesofinstagram #dogbehavior

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Aska’s Animals Foundation

Providing a progressive environment for animals through rehabilitation, adoption, education, and community outreach and filling the critical gap between shelter and permanent rescue.

Phone Number: (646) 258-2512

Email: info@askasanimals.org

Instagram: @askasanimals

Facebook: @askasanimals

Website Photos by Ben Dann | B Dann Creative, Grace Peck | Little Scout Creative, and Lara Agnew | Lara Agnew Photography.