Red Lake Rosie's Rescue

Red Lake Rosie's Rescue is an organization near and dear to my heart. I have worked with many animal rescue groups but in my experience this one has the purest motives and greatest need. I write their blog (www.redlakerosie.blogspot.com), help with transports, clinics, and foster cats and kittens for them.

This video was created with photos from a clinic at Red Lake in March 2010 and includes an interview with Karen Good the creator and driving force behind Red Lake Rosie's Rescue.

The Animals at Red Lake Rosie's Rescue from JanetRoper on Vimeo.

Red Lake Rosie’s Rescue is an all volunteer, non-profit organization with a board of directors from the Red Lake Indian reservation, and operates a shelter on Red Lake Tribal land leased to Karen Good. Karen grew up in a large family on the reservation, left to get a college degree and returned to teach at the high school.

On March 21, 2005, a Red Lake 16-year-old killed his grandfather and his grandfather's girlfriend and then drove to the school where he shot and killed seven people on the school campus, including five students, one teacher and an unarmed security guard. Five others were wounded and the shooting spree ended with the boy committing suicide.

The day of the Red Lake massacre, Karen was driving home in a state of shock and horror. She noticed a skinny dog at the dump scrounging for food. On the spot, she decided she had to take some kind of action to make some kind of positive change. She took that dog home and that act ultimately resulted in the rescue which is named for the dog, Rosie.

Now animals are picked up routinely from the reservation dumps where stray animals go to find food or where their owners have abandoned them. Police, social workers and residents have come to know that the rescue will take the animals that may be suffering from malnutrition, injuries and exposure. Before the rescue, the only option was to shoot them.

Animals taken in by the rescue have been transported to nearly 50 different rescues across Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. Prevention and education are the other main components of Red Lake Rosie’s mission. The rescue organizes several animal care clinics each year with Animal Ark’s Neuter Commuter, the Animal Humane Society’s mobile clinic, vets from Minnesota and Wisconsin and HSUS/RAVs (the Humane Society of the United States Rural Area Veterinarians). Hundreds of spay/neuter surgeries have been performed and animals receive shots and basic medical treatment.

Education of the animal owners about appropriate pet care is also a big part of the clinics and continues with school children. The very basic information about the need to provide shelter, water and food is the starting point and people are provided with buckets for water and food, as needed. Visits with animals are made to elementary classrooms and the last two years the children have saved their pennies to make a donation to the rescue. Some groups of high school students have been able to visit at the rescue or help at the clinics.

Finally, there is a metro support group for Red Lake Rosie’s Rescue that helps in a wide variety of ways. Some volunteers drive north to help at the rescue or a clinic or they transport supplies up and animals down. But, many volunteers help from home by raising funds, creating informational materials, fostering animals. Learn more at www.redlakerosie.org.

Fundraiser for Red Lake Rosie's Rescue at Galleria, Thursday, May 13

Red Lake Rosie's Rescue animal clinic

Vets Perform 200 Spay/Neuter Surgeries in 3 Days During Huge Animal Care Clinic

March 17, 12:35 AM
Minneapolis Pets Examiner
Mike Fry

Three days, two veterinarians, a mobile surgical hospital called "the Neuter Commuter" and a couple of dozen volunteers resulted in about 200 spay/neuter surgeries for animals on the Red Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota last week. The effort was one of a series of clinics being coordinated in order to help the poverty-stricken community address dire animal welfare concerns.

“When people live in poverty, the people and their animals suffer,” said Mary Salter of Animal Ark, one of the coordinators of the project.

By anyone’s measure, the residents of the Red Lake Reservation are some of the most impoverished in the state of Minnesota. The per capita income there was estimated at just over $8,000 in 1999. All of the conditions that come with poverty are rampant on the reservation including violence, drugs and crime.

In 1863 the Pembina and Red Lake Bands of Ojibwa Native Americans signed the Treaty of Old Crossing. This ensured their sovereignty on their land. It also made them some of the most isolated humans in Minnesota.

“When we first started visiting the reservation a few years ago,” said Salter, “the situation was pretty dire.”

Packs of feral dogs roaming the fields and dead dogs and cats along the road were commonplace. However, after a few years of hard work and several spay/neuter clinics in which hundreds of animals have been sterilized, people are starting to see improvements.

“Things are clearly changing up there,” added Salter.

According to some volunteers, residents of the reservation now look forward to the clinics and begin lining up for services hours before they are open in the morning.

“We open the gates at 8 AM. But, there are usually people lining up starting by 6:30,” Salter said.

The days were long, generally running well into the evening hours. In addition to spay/neuter surgeries, staff and volunteers from Animal Ark and Akin Hills Pet Hospital in Farmington handled a variety of emergency situations - a dog that had been hit by a car - a mother dog with hypothermic puppies. They also provided needed vaccinations, ear cleanings, nail-trimmings and other services.

Dogs and cats that required more medical care than could be provided during the 3 day clinic were taken back to the Twin Cities where Animal Ark and Akin Hill Pet Hospital are providing the care they need. Once they are recovered, they will be available for adoption.

The animals on the reservation live in a very communal environment and tend to be very well socialized to people and other animals.

Three more clinics are scheduled for this year. Volunteers and donations are needed. If you would like to help, visit the Animal Ark web site.

Red Lake Rosie's Rescue video: Before and After

I maintain the blog for Red Lake Rosie's Rescue and am happy to share with you this video of some of the good work done there. The video was created by Sarah a young woman who lives on the reservation and has seen the sad beginnings for these animals.