Finding Nemo: One Goat's Journey to Sanctuary

Yoga Animalia: Caprine - Nemo, Uplands PEAK Sanctuary, Salem, Indiana

Yoga Animalia: Caprine - Nemo

Uplands PEAK Sanctuary, Salem, Indiana www.UplandsPEAKSanctuary.org

Compassion saved Nemo’s life. Found at a goat meat farm lying in her own urine and feces, immobile and freezing, likely mere hours from death, Nemo’s rescuer secured her release from the farmer who had left her diarrhea untreated for a month. Likely intended for use as a breeding goat whose babies would be taken year after year, Nemo instead came to be lovingly cared for by a family that warmed her, fed her and gave her fluids until she could eat and drink on her own, who massaged her weak legs and helped her learn to stand again, and then celebrated with her when after six weeks Nemo finally walked. This family’s dedication also then secured a permanent home at Uplands PEAK for Nemo, where she settled in first with rescued calf Vegan, and then the goat herd as her strength grew. Now this affable lady shows no sign of her near-death experience as she gambols about the sanctuary, happy and loved.

You can read Nemo's full story on Uplands PEAK's page here, including the heart-filling details of her first loving human family who saved her life.

When I met Nemo, she was still living with Vegan calf, munching grass and twigs while he grazed nearby. Her affability with me, and her verve and pep, defies her origins, and this spirited lady has all the signs of growing into a fierce and dynamic individual.

Selick: Brother Light

Yoga Animalia: Porcine - Selick, Indraloka Animal Sanctuary, Mehoopany, Pennsylvania

There are some beings that we bond with effortlessly, two souls recognizing one another and lighting up at the contact. Selick was one of those souls at Indraloka Animal Sanctuary that lit me up. Trying to outsmart (and always failing) his explorations and quest for food not his own, sneaking hoof trims and giggling when successful and he yelled at me for the intrusion, helping him shed winter hairs and blackheads like I was searching for gold, enjoying his slow descent to the earth for a belly rub and then the sounds of joy he proffered when the belly rub was especially good - these are moments of light that are now dear memories. 

Muddy adventures

Post Thanksliving Pumpkin Feast...for more than a month!

The heart attack that took Selick's physical form cannot take these memories, but it did take that brother light. The grief will continue to hurt my heart and wet my eyes, but Selick's zest for life inspires me and all those who knew him. When the heaviness of his absence hits me, I am striving to remember that I am now one of the people whose light needs to shine in memory of this special boy. As I do with so many other lights whose radiance strengthens my own, I will continue to share Selick's story, his love, and his light.

Christmas Day Snuggles

Read on the Indraloka blog the story of how Selick came to sanctuary: the challenges he faced and his personal growth.

Christmas Greetings from Selick

Thanksliving Spirit: Jake

Yoga Animalia: Meleagrine - Jake, Indraloka Animal Sanctuary, Mehoopany, Pennsylvania

On this overcast and warmer than frozen day, this day that solely caused 46 million beautiful individuals to be slaughtered for their flesh, this day where I headed into the upper barn to retrieve some meds before the sanctuary residents began their morning greetings, this Thanksgiving Day I began with sorrow.

This sorrow was not from dwelling on the 46 million individuals who lost their lives - I have built healthy and loving new traditions with family and friends that help create joy and celebration on what is otherwise a very dark holiday - it was instead from an unexpected discovery I made early this morning. There is a sense that caregivers develop; a sense of homeostasis disturbed, of energy flows disrupted, of something not-quite-right. That sense drove my attention to where Jake turkey was, or should have been, except Jake wasn't there, it was just his corporeal remains.

I am not ashamed to say I lost it. The grief hit my entire body and I sobbed. It is Thanksgiving day, ThanksLiving as I now think of it. The turkeys I know personally are supposed to eat pumpkin and explore and thrive. We had already had to say goodbye to two brand new turkey friends to whom we could only give a short amount of time due to their insurmountable genetic and physical problems, and I just could not bear saying goodbye to Jake also. But that is part of sanctuary work; we say goodbye when we think it is the last thing our hearts can handle, and I feel fortunate to know humans whose hearts hurt as much as mine, but who do the work and translate that sorrow into a beautiful part of life.

Jake was 13 years old; he lived a glorious and long life, and today was his day. The beauty of a free and beloved turkey's spirit departing on Thanksgiving Day was eloquently stated by sanctuary founder Indra Lahiri, Jake's longest human friend who had originally saved he and his siblings from slaughter prior to Thanksgiving in 2003. 

Indra's thoughtful and authentic response, even amidst her own grief to Jake's passing, had the intense effect of transforming my emotional space. It didn't hurt less, but rather it shifted my energy from tragic to something calmer. It opened up my ability to hold space for Jake's transition, and though my Thanksgiving began with sorrow, it ends with peace.