In Loving Memory of Matilda, a Cinderella story if there ever was one, and a promise to every dog or cat who longs for a Home for Life.

If only we had known of Matilda’s years of loneliness at the end of a chain, outside in all weather, having one litter of puppies after another... we would have intervened long ago. How could a dog suffer such maltreatment and neglect just a few miles away from Home for Life® sanctuary, a beacon of caring and kindness to animals. But we didn’t know how Matilda suffered until one of our employees found her one day on the way to work. How many dogs and cats spend lives of quiet desperation without notice or help? Animal rescue organizations don’t have to travel far to find animals in need. Often the one who needs our attention and help the most is right nearby.

Matilda's story is featured in our holiday mailing, 2020 

Matilda’s Story

About three years ago, one of our employees found a stray dog running at large not far from Home for Life.® The dog had no tags, collar, or other identification. She was filthy with matted fur, and looked frightened and starving. The Home for Life® employee coaxed the forlorn dog off the highway and into her car, and brought her to the sanctuary for, if nothing else, a meal and some water. 

Matilda the day our employee found her on her way to work

No one had ever seen this dog before. Over the years, people have thrown animals over our fence or tied them to our front gate. They’ve left their dogs or cats in boxes at our entrance or just let them loose near our property to face their fate, hoping we will find and catch them before they are struck by a car and killed. Given the lost dog’s condition, we believed someone had driven out “to the country” and abandoned her. However, some digging revealed that she had actually spent most of her life chained outside at a property just a few miles away from the sanctuary! She had had multiple litters of puppies in that time. She had reportedly gotten loose when the homeowners were raided and arrested for cockfighting a week prior. After a lot of heartache and tribulation, and even a legal battle, Home for Life® became Matilda’s official guardian. She was now part of the sanctuary family! She could finally enjoy the love, care, and companionship that she deserved.

Matilda was groomed and her filthy coat came off like a pelt

Everything we went through to protect her during this time was worth it. And it would have been no matter what happened to Matilda, whether she just became one of the happy dogs of Home for Life,® or as fate had planned for her, a new chapter that amounted to a true renaissance for this special dog. Matilda blossomed at Home for Life® sanctuary. She had friends, a clean environment, warm soft beds to rest on, and freedom of movement. She was spayed and her vaccinations updated. Matilda was so grateful to be groomed at last, and she regained her health and strength with a high-quality diet and veterinary care. All this would have been enough, but Matilda’s horizons were about to get wider. From living a lonely, hard life, chained outside, Matilda became one of Home for Life’s Peace Creatures® therapy dog team members.

 Matilda in her WonderWoman costume with  Home for Life volunteer Debra Peterfeso

Along with Home for Life® volunteer Debra, she was certified for pet therapy, helping the vulnerable, seriously ill children at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. She also worked with other Home for Life® volunteers to help the lonely and fragile elderly in nursing homes and memory care centers. In the spring of 2018, Matilda even got to walk in the Home for Life® dog parade at our gala where our special guest was Dr. Jane Goodall! Matilda was such a hit that she made an encore appearance in the dog parade in 2019 at Home for Life’s® gala with special guest Ashley Judd!
 

Matilda was an integral part of our Home for Life’s Peace Creatures® initiative, providing
pet therapy to at-risk people of all ages, a program that was on track to reach over
8,000 kids and adults in 2020 before Covid-19 hit.

Matilda had a special affinity for the lonely and vulnerable elderly people who are a huge part of the Peace Creatures® pet therapy outreach. With her soft coat, tall stature and gentle demeanor, the patients and residents of the hospice, memory care and nursing home facilities gravitated toward Matilda and could easily pet her from their wheelchairs or hospital beds.

What does it mean to truly save an animal?

Matilda at  the Linden Nursing Home, Stillwater, MN at a Peace Creatures visit

Matilda found love, family, and loyalty at Home for Life,® and she reflected those gifts back into the wider community through her pet therapy services. When an animal comes to our care-for-life sanctuary, our commitment is for the long haul. We take in the hard cases who have faced intense or prolonged suffering and cannot risk one more rejection or major disappointment. They’re fragile and need love and security to heal in body and spirit. But with our care they do mend. And many, like Matilda, share their renewed joy with others through our Peace Creatures® programs. A true home for an animal, and truly being saved, means more than four walls around them. It took more than good intentions and mercy to help Matilda. It required a major commitment of our resources—time, patient loving care, and money—to give her a home for life.

Loving care, a place to belong, a home for life, for all
seasons of life

This summer, our groomer found another lump on Matilda’s chest. She had a tumor in the area removed a few months before and now there was a recurrence. As frequently happens with female dogs, left
unspayed, who have one litter of puppies after another, Matilda had developed mammary cancer. Although Matilda had been spayed by Home for Life® within weeks of her rescue, she was already more susceptible to developing cancer because of the maltreatment she suffered at her previous “home.” Now, two and a half years after becoming part of Home for Life®, she was fighting for her life. After all she had survived and all she had gone on to accomplish, we felt devastated by her diagnosis. It seemed so unfair. We removed the second tumor but x-ray scans showed inoperable metastases (spread of the tumors) to the lungs. Matilda was on borrowed time.

Matilda at nursing home - the inspiration for the illustration by British watercolorist Iain Welch, above

The oncologists at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical center thought that very intensive chemotherapy would not stop the cancer and might cause her a lot of suffering. We decided on a conservative, non-invasive course of care for Matilda to maximize her quality of life and give her as much pain-free time as possible. By the time we had received this grim news and the guarded prognosis, COVID had shut down all the outreach visits that Matilda participated in.

Matilda took the opportunity of the hiatus to rest. She was on a medicine called piroxicam to help with pain and for the secondary benefits it provides as a chemotherapy. For months, she did very well, although she slept more than normal. The cancer did not seem to advance aggressively, and she continued to eat well. She was able to walk, and could breathe normally, and was comfortable, which was all we could hope for.

A true and loving home, for all seasons of life

A care-for-life sanctuary like Home for Life® is a home for all seasons of the life of our precious cats and dogs. We make a huge commitment to each animal at our sanctuary—of time, money and resources—sometimes for 10 years and more. A sanctuary is not a transition chute nor a short term holding facility for animals at risk. Instead, a sanctuary is a safe and stable base to imagine an array of new possibilities for cats and dogs like Matilda who may have been so easily dismissed, overlooked and discarded.

As a sanctuary, from the time we first took Matilda in without question, to the ordeal we went through to protect her from being returned to her chained-up life, to her days as a cherished therapy dog, to the last chapter of her life when she needed safety, comfort, understanding, and finally help to ensure a gentle passing when the tumors spread again—this time to her spine—and she could no longer walk, Home for Life® was there for Matilda. She was never forsaken when it might have been easier because of time, expense, and hassle to do exactly that.

What we did for Matilda, we do for all the animals that are part of Home for Life®

The life we were able to give Matilda in her last 3 years would not be possible without our sanctuary. All that we accomplish starts with the belief that led to the founding of Home for Life® 23 years ago: Animals who need us are not a problem to be solved but an untapped treasure.  We believe in the significance of every life we care for, and that the life of each cat and dog counts. And it counts always, no matter what twists and turns may happen, for the life of the animal.

That perspective is transformative, a premise that creates miracles—from establishing and taking new ground for the most vulnerable cats and dogs, to creating a safer world for all animals by showing what’s possible, to reaching out to the community through our animals, like Matilda, who serve as ambassadors for our mission and conviction that all life is valuable.

Matilda  at the Masonic Children's Hospital with HFL volunteer Debra during a Peace Creatures visit

From a lonely and neglected dog who had lived life to that point outside on a chain, so close yet so far from the loving embrace and protection of our sanctuary, to a beloved member of Home for Life® and of our Peace Creatures® pet therapy programs, Matilda’s journey shows how Home for Life® opens a door to animals in need who have overcome a terrible start in life and who go on to not only thrive but also to pay it forward to the community who make their new life possible.

Matilda, we love you and miss you. It never mattered to us what you had suffered before we found you, so forlorn and alone. What you grew to be will live in our hearts forever. Your story is a promise to all the animals, whether near or far, who long for a Home for Life.

Above illustration by Ian Welch Art and Design

2020 Year-end and holiday card featuring Matilda

What counts

This summer we had a video produced about our Peace Creatures® programs -- innovative, cost-effective model programs that bring solace and joy to at-risk kids and adults in our community through healing pet therapy. This year our sanctuary animals, staff and volunteers will reach over 7000 vulnerable children and adults through the Peace Creatures® programs and provide nearly $900,000 worth of pet therapy benefits to those vulnerable people, many who are populations who often don't receive this service.

These accomplishments would not be possible without our sanctuary. All that we accomplish starts with the belief that led to the founding of Home for Life® 22 years ago:Animals who need us are not a problem to be solved but an untapped treasure. We believe in the significance of every life we care for, and that the life of each cat and dog counts.
That perspective is transformative, a premise that creates miracles-From establishing and taking new ground for the most vulnerable cats and dogs, to creating a safer world for all animals by showing what's possible, to reaching out to the community through our animals who serve as ambassadors for our mission and conviction that all life is valuable.

As a supporter said to me in an email message this year " Home for Life is a sanctuary for us too because you show that there is still kindness and compassion in the world." That message made 22 years of hard work, trials, and tribulations, worth it.

The theme song, "One" was written by the artist Tina Dico, who is from Iceland and she gave us permission to use it after watching this video. And after you watch, you'll understand why it fits so well: One animal matters, one sanctuary can change the direction of animal welfare and one person can make a difference. Let that one person be YOU!

Our thanks to Hold Tight Video of Minneapolis for producing this video for Home for Life and to Tina Dico for the use of her song.

The Power of One

"How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world."

                     - William Shakespeare

What is one life worth?

We live in a society where market forces determine the value of everything,including living things. We talk about people in terms of their assets, how much they are worth, what they have to offer, or how they can sell themselves. The market mentality is so pervasive that it has also infected animal welfare to the extent that online rescues trying to find placement for cats and dogs now resemble online dating apps or websites.

Sometimes we forget that there is another more important economy that binds our society together. It is an economy of good will, kindness, and empathy- qualities that cannot be bought or sold like commodities, but must be given.

Home for Life® operates within this second economy, working to amplify its call to action on behalf of the animals and people in our community. Our sanctuary welcomes animals based on their need, not their marketability.

The following story reveals the power of the kindness economy, and the benefits that accrue when people care. It is the story of what happened to a plain, homeless black cat named Jonathan and how the kindness shown him has paid huge dividends!

The Story of Jonathan: A Black Cat Lost in the Crowd

A feral cat colony had been living peacefully for several years at the site of a stalled construction project in Florida. Many of the cats were former pets, abandoned there. They were looked after by a kind woman, a caretaker, who was providing them regular food and water, reducing their numbers through trap-neuter-release, and generally monitoring their well-being. Then one day, the site owner let this woman know that construction at the site was about to start again. The cats had to go, he said, or he would have them sent to animal control. The caretaker scrambled to gather the colony and shepherd them into the rescue system. She managed to convince local rescues to accept all but one of the cats - Jonathan. Nobody would take him.

Why was Jonathan the only cat rejected for placement? From a market perspective, he had several factors working against him: he was an adult, semi-feral, deaf cat. He might have stood a chance if he had unusual or interesting looks, but he was a short-haired all black cat whose only distinguishing mark was a ragged left ear. The situation was more dire for Jonathan than it first appeared, for his caretaker was ill with cancer. Though she was housing Jonathan on her porch in a large dog crate, she knew this set up could only be temporary as her cancer treatments would soon leave her too ill to continue caring for him.

Jonathan's caretaker needed help. Faced with her own health crisis, her last wish was to make sure that Jonathan,the vulnerable, deaf cat would be safe. After being turned away from dozens of adoption organizations, at last she reached out to Home for Life®. She hoped we would look beyond Jonathan's plain wrapping to the treasure within.

Home for Life's® sanctuary exists to form a loving community for the most desperate animals with nowhere else to turn. Our cats and dogs don't need curb appeal to deserve our help and welcome. At our sanctuary they find affirmation whether they are plain or old or disabled or dealing with a chronic health condition. We know that having a place to belong and a home for life changes everything for animals like Jonathan. Sanctuary residents who once faced repeated rejection and uncertainty are now enjoying a stable base and consistent care, the solid ground to flourish and reach new potential.

  Who could imagine the result of one person caring? Who could foresee the potential of one cat, looking for a home and a place to belong? Who can doubt the magic of one sanctuary opening its doors to this cat? This is the power of one—a gift of kindness that grows!

Who could have predicted what the future held for Jonathan—a deaf, black cat who lived for years virtually on his own as a semi-wild feral when his caretaker was desperately searching for help for him? That he would evolve into a beloved therapy cat, with the care he received and the confidence he developed at Home for Life®? How incredible it is that this cat had the opportunity, because of your support of Home for Life to demonstrate how truly special he was, not just another plain black cat, but part of Home for Life's Peace Creatures® programs, which will touch the lives of nearly 7,000 at-risk kids and adults in our community this year!

Now a Crowd Favorite

A Black Cat Crossing Your Path Means that Animal is Going Somewhere 

— Groucho Marx

Despite his disability, Jonathan is a friendly and fearless cat, who even loves the car rides involved to travel to our community partners—the nursing homes, prisons, and mental health facilities we visit. A black cat who's going somewhere, Jonathan reaches out to those who cross his path with friendship and attention, bringing solace and joy to those vulnerable people he meets through our Peace Creatures® programs. Like so many of our residents, Jonathan has blossomed. Once just another plain cat, indistinguishable from so many others in need, he is now who has delighted everyone including his longtime caretaker by becoming part of our therapy animal team working in our Peace Creatures® programs!

Each year Peace Creatures volunteer nearly $900,000 worth of  pet therapy* to non-profit and community partner organizations throughout the Twin Cities metro area that have scant funds for these much needed services. Last year, our therapy teams worked with more than 6,000 vulnerable children and adults in the Twin Cities area—people facing loneliness and despair in battered women's shelters, hospitals, mental health facilities and prisons. Home For Life is reaching out to these people and helping to connect them back into the embrace of community.

Jonathan didn't seem special or distinctive when he was being rated for his potential in the adoption market. Yet all that he has become was always inside of him, just looking for the space and opportunity to grow. Over the past 20 years, Home for Life® has provided a doorway to a new life for hundreds of cats and dogs, many of whom have participated in our Peace Creatures® programs. They serve as ambassadors for our mission and for our conviction that all life is valuable.

*Based on a Twin Cities, Minnesota non-profit offering pet therapy to schools and other organizations. They charge $4,000 for a ten week session for a group of 10 people, a cost of $400 per person. We have always offered our outreach services free of charge. Last year, we allocated more than 27% of our annual budget to our outreach programs and our volunteers worked with 2200 kids and adults—a value of over $880,000 to the community. In 2019, we will be serving 7,000 people, to more than double the value and impact for our community, effectively and economically. Every dollar Home for Life® raises is leveraged to produce the most good for our animals we care for and for the community who supports us.

Moving toward a Caring Community and an Economy of Kindness.

A sanctuary is not a holding facility or transition chute. Rather, it is a community asset, much like a library or playground, and the sanctuary's living residents are a dynamic resource, building benefit through each interaction. In creating this pioneering new model of animal welfare, Home for Life® is defining a new space in our society where animals and people celebrate and uplift one another. We are demonstrating how a sanctuary can be a huge asset to its community, helping to bind members together in affirming acts of kindness and empathy. Home for Life® has multiplied the initial kindness by Jonathan's caretaker, and we have made it pay huge dividends!

Home for Life® has gained new ground for desperate animals like Jonathan and for Animal Welfare. Our sanctuary is a new model of rescue where homeless dogs and cats are not a problem to be solved, but an overlooked treasure with much to live for and much to give.

THE POWER OF ONE

• One person who cared enough to help a desperate animal
• One organization that welcomed him home without demands or expectations
• One black, deaf gentle cat who is touching the lives of so many vulnerable people in our community
• And One person—YOU—whose support made the difference for Jonathan!

There are so many other cats and dogs just like him for whom Home for Life® can make a life changing difference. These animals just need someone to recognize that they are worth helping. The power of one person can transform the future of a vulnerable animal like Jonathan and create a whole new world for them and those they will go on to help and the light they will shine to show the way.

Art and Life: Pirate KittyCatToons in Partnership with Home For Life Sanctuary

Artists have always appreciated Home for Life and our unique mission and have always generously    supported the sanctuary, from contributing items for our gala auctions to helping us create our newsletters. It was a natural for us to partner with Aza Cody aka @the codifyer as she is known on Twitter. She has created an inspiring video for children which illustrates the principles of courage, empathy, friendship and kindness. The video is narrated by Home for Life sponsor LuRain Penny.
After I watched the colorful and captivating short film I knew it was a perfect tool for us to incorporate in our Peace Creatures program.This program, now in its 8th year, strives to model kindness and empathy to kids who are living in domestic abuse shelters with their mothers who have often  fled chaotic and violent home situations. These kids have frequently witnessed things no child should see. Our goal is to model a different strategy, employing our animals from the sanctuary to impart empathy in a fun way.Many traumatized kids are much more receptive to animals and learning new ideas is  easy  when presented via vehicles like loving, special needs  dogs and cats or an enchanting film.

We had no idea how timely this collaborative effort would be when we commenced the project. Who could have imagined the heartbreak of the Sandy Hook Elementary school massacre? This tragedy just underscores how critical programs like Peace Creatures are. We must reach our children with the lessons of empathy and kindess to prevent the outcome that we are seeing too frequently-young people murdering others and then committing suicide . What a cry of despair and futility to commit such a violent act against others and oneself.    

Below is Aza's guest post, and also the PirateKitty Toon; it is a beautiful piece of art besides being a fun cartoon!. I have also included the short video about our Peace Creatures Program with comments from the Tubman Family Alliance staff and our volunteers.   





Thanks for all the support and encouragement for the Pirate KittyCat Toon™ project!

LuRain Reads Pirate Kitty is getting hit on youtube.

A wonderful review of the work by Cathryn Wellner just came out.

Indigo Black : Adventure Cat has his own Facebook page.

And orders for the book are coming in!

This presents a challenge in self publishing which I will be detailing in the next blog.

In an effort to raise awareness of the project & generate income, I’m selling my art & products through theCodifyerGallery & from me directly.

As always, I welcome any insight or advice on the subject of publishing & will pass it on through the network.

The Pirate.KittyCat.Toon Store donates 10% of royalties on sale to Home For Life® in Minnesota to the end of 2012!

This wonderful organization provides a true home for life for pets whose age or physical condition makes them otherwise ‘un-adoptable’.

From their website:

Home For Life^® is an expression of a new kind of animal shelter—the long-term animal sanctuary. We provide animals with loving care, a nurturing environment that is safe and stable, a place to belong. We provide lifetime care for cats and dogs with special needs who cannot find a home, but who can still lead a quality life. Most shelters offer two options for animals: adoption or euthanasia. A typical family home is not appropriate for every animal.
Those who are old, or who have disabilities, health or temperament problems may do better in another setting. Home For Life^® believes that these special animals deserve an alternative that will meet their needs. Hence, we created “The Third Door” animal rescue and welfare program where special animals have an option previously unavailable. The Home for Life^® animals enjoy a quality life, where they can be themselves, run and play, and be loved and cherished for as long as they live. The Third Door™ program provides an animal rescue option for such special animals.

Through their various community out-reach programs, “HFL touches people of all ages through our innovative community outreach programs and the client organizations we serve. Animals that were once rejected and neglected are given a second chance at our sanctuary, and then, with faith in life restored; give back through their participation in the Pet Peace Corps.”

I am proud that the LuRain Reads Pirate Kitty has been chosen as part of the HFL Peace Creatures^® A collaborative program with the Tubman Family Alliance of the Twin Cities and the Women of Nations Shelter in St. Paul, MN, the Peace Creatures^® project uses volunteers, staff and animals from the sanctuary to teach peaceful conflict resolution to families impacted by domestic violence. This is truly an honor & exactly the use to which I hoped this project would be put; teaching empathy through Art.

Support the Artist & Home For Life – please pass along our links & consider us for your gifts this Holiday.

Thanks to all who have encouraged this project.

Cheers!

thecodifyer

~^~

2012

More about Home for Life's Peace Creatures  Prgram in the video below: