Half Way There and Baby Lynx

Ohio University students have just passed the half way point in the Fall 2016 semester and HART is just over half way to their goal of buying Hawgs and Dawgs hay for the winter.

HART Members stood outside the College Gate at the end of September selling Puppy Chow for donations. Over the four days that the groups were out there, HART raised enough for just over half of what is needed to buy Hawgs and Dawgs hay for the winter. A huge thank you to all who donated!

At the end of September, HART members made and sold Puppy Chow to raise money for the hay Hogs and Dogs will need in order to get the animals through the winter. Thank you to all who donated!!!

Puppy Chow! The chow was made and bagged by HART's president, Corey
Bullerman, and Vice President Megan Grigsby.

HART visited Union Ridge Wildlife Center Sunday, Oct 9, in place of our
meeting. Everyone said at the end that they had a great time and the animals
were excited to see us. Gumby, the camel, even photo bombed
our picture (see upper right)!

Sunday, October 9, in place of our meeting, HART went to Union Ridge Wildlife Center's opening event.

One of Union Ridge Wildlife Center's lemurs. This was the only orange
colored one out.

Many of the lemurs stuck their paws out to hold and touch your fingers. 

Union Ridge Wildlife Center is home to many types of moneys.

One HART member discovered that some of the moneys enjoy popping
bubbles, just like little kids.

Many returning members noticed many improvements to the center and all members enjoyed interacting and photographing the animals.

Elizabeth, a tiger, enjoyed having her picture taken by the many people at the
Wildlife Center. Her playmate passed away on Thursday, Oct. 6. HART sends
our regards to Cy and the rest of the center. We were informed that there is plan
to expand the Tiger area and possibly take in another tiger to give Elizabeth a friend.

One of the Center's newest members, a baby lynx! Banshee
and Chip, both females, were brought into the center over
the summer and seem to be enjoying their new home.

HART members found out that lynx kittens act much like house cats. Their
 huge paws and claws were a reminder that these cats belong in the wild, though.

HART members were able to capture some great photos when the kittens
would come right up us. They purred and rubbed their heads on the cage, while
the viewer would snap a few pics.

HART Treasurer, Drake Heth, gets close to Bumper, the Box
Tortoise. The temperature had begun to drop that weekend, so the
tortoise had retreated to its shell. 

Gumby, the camel, loves to give his visitors kisses, if
they'll let him. Many heart members enjoyed getting up
close to him and kissing or petting him.

HART Secretary, Allison Cook, gets a kiss from Gumby!

Hanging out with Gumby, is a sheep. This sheep was sad to see HART leave,
but came to watch us go (may be in hopes that we'd return?).

Our next meeting is Sunday, October 23 at 3:30pm at Emeriti Park. Hope to see you there!

A Goat, Fundraisers, and Monkeys to Come

A huge thank you for all who were able to make it to our September 18th meeting. Despite the grey weather, our group was bright with excitement and ready to dig into this year's first round of fundraisers.

At our meeting on Sunday, we had a puppy and a goat. Throughout the meeting, the crowd blocked these two from
interacting. Here, they look at each other with great curiosity and excitement. 

New members pet the shy, but sweet, goat while at the meeting.
This was member's first chance to meet our friends from Hawgs&Dawgs.

Forest was a rescue pup from Hawgs&Dawgs that was just adopted and was thrilled
to spend his first day as an adopted dog with HART members. 

New members played with and held Forest while at the meeting.

For those who could not make it, don't worry! There are still many opportunities for you to get involved and be apart of this wonderful group.

On Saturday, September 24th (during Parents Weekend), we will be selling Puppy Chow outside the Alumni Gate starting at 2pm to raise money for Hawgs&Dawgs. The proceeds will be going towards hay that the farm needs to keep the animals warm through Ohio's crazy cold season.

Come and get some Puppy Chow!!!!

If you can't make it on Saturday we will also be selling it on Tuesday (27th) from 1-2:30pm, Wednesday (28th) from 11am-12pm, and Thursday (29th) from 1-3pm at the top of Baker. We will have both Peanut Butter and Peanut-free. The price is a donation of your choice.

We will be selling both Regular (peanut butter) and Peanut Free.

Like last year, we will have tables set outside of Baker. This year's tables will
be out Tuesday the 27th through Thursday the 28th. This year the bags can be
bought with a donation of your choice.

Finally, our next meeting will be on Sunday, October 9th. We will be visiting the Union Ridge Wildlife Center. If you are interested in going please notify our President, Corey Bullerman, so we can reserve a seat for you on one of our vans.

The Union Ridge Wildlife Center is located not too far from OU's campus.
It's owner, Cy, rescues animals from all over the country and does everything
he can to help them and then either release them or give the them a home.

Many of the lemurs and monkeys at the Wildlife Center are very interested
in you and have fun interacting with visitors.

Among many other wild animals, Cy has rescued two beautiful Tigers. We
have also heard he has two baby Canadian Lynx.

We, and all the animals, hope you can make it to this wonderful event!

HART Takes on Hawgs&Dawgs

HART Leaders visited Hawgs&Dawgs and is proud to announce that this rescue
farm will be the focus for our Fall 2016 semester.

HART would like to announce that we will be helping Hawgs&Dawgs this semester. Our goal is to provide enough hay and blankets to get the rescue farm through the winter.

The HART Team is shown around the property by it's owner and runner, Tammy Hannharlan. Dogs run around the area pretty freely, while the pigs and goats are kept in large fenced in areas.

Last week, HART leaders went to the farm to meet the animals and talk with Tammy Hannharlan, who is the lead on the rescue farm. She has about 40 pigs and seven dogs, as well as cats, goats, chickens, roosters, and she is currently housing a few raccoons. And that just scratches the surface.

Say "PIGS!!!" :)

As well as pigs and dogs, Hannharlan has goats. This goat was very excited to say
hello to HART members.

HART Treasurer, Drake Heth, is overloaded with animals. He has fallen in love with, Forest,
the puppy and is now being surrounded by new goat friends.

Hannharlan has a variety of different types of pigs.

HART President, Corey Bullerman, and Vice President, Megan Grigsby, are getting up
close with some of the pigs. Hannharlan informed HART leaders that the pigs enjoy
rubbing up against people.

While the raccoons at Hawgs&Dawgs are only temporary, they are still at a very sweet stage of
their lives. Hannharlan has rescued, nurtured and is now releasing the raccoons. They are
free to leave now, whenever they are ready to find a mate.

Hannharlan told us that while some of the animals she has are given to her, or she buys them herself, many of the animals were rescued from farms or from natural disasters. Every animal has a name, and when she is able to name the animal, she gives it a name that has meaning to its story

Grigsby pets one of Hannharlan's smaller pigs.

Bullerman is reunited with Bart, a very cute cat that has
 no eyes. HART met Bart last year at the very first meeting
we ever had. My, how this little guy has grown!

Africa Coordinator, Marrissa O'Callaghan, gets a few hugs and pics with Eeyore.

This Sunday, September 18th, HART will be talking more in depth about our plans to help Hannharlan and her Hawgs&Dawgs. Our animal guest(s) this week are from the farm too!

Rocky can't wait to see you there!

HART Members Respond With DART to Gas Leak in Crookesville Ohio

Left to right... Jaylen Bannerman-Oden,  Dr Carol Osborne, Drake Heath, Leah Huff

 

 

Monday, February 1^st, I had the chance to do something truly amazing. My evening began in the lounge studying for a biology exam, when my GroupMe went off with a message from Sandy Moss with Bobcat HART. There had been a gas leak in Crooksville, and an immediate evacuation of people and animals had been started. DART was going to help, and Sandy was giving us the chance to go along. When I read this, my first reaction was “I’m going”, however, my second was that I had a bio exam I really needed to study for and it was already 10:30 pm. I made the decision to go, and I’m glad I did.

Yes, it was a late night, but I felt like this was our chance to help, and that’s what HART is all about. I’m a Pre-Vet major, so this is part of what I want to do with my life, and I felt like it was where I belonged. For that reason, I know that if I stayed, I wouldn’t have been able to study anyway because I would have been thinking about what I should have been doing. Boots on the ground. It turned out that Drake and I from HART, and Jaylen (a friend of mine), were the ones to rush out to Briarhill Veterinary Clinic to meet Dr. Osborne and Sandy. There, we loaded up cages, water, pens, and anything else we thought we would need, and waited on Tammi to show up with DART. After putting in the last cage, Dr. Osborne gave us a rundown of what was going to happen when we got there, explaining how the procedures were going to go, and how we would be helping. So we set off on the hour drive to Crooksville.

            Arriving, we went inside the bus garage where they were setting up for any animals to arrive, and Dr. Osborne went to find the one in charge. Turns out, they evacuated half the town, but they were estimating that everyone would be able to go home around 2:30am, and that they were fixing the leak fairly quickly. They also had no way of getting the animals to us, and they had managed to keep it all under control. He thanked us for coming out, saying that it was amazing we did, and that he was glad we had this program and was so willing to help. After we got back to the clinic in Albany, we unloaded the trucks, said goodbye, and made it home around 4:00 am.

            Even though we didn’t get to help, and we turned around and went home, it was still a great experience. We were there, willing, and ready to help…and that’s what truly matters. I’m grateful to call myself a member of Bobcat HART, and I know that we’ll always be there whenever needed. There’s some truly amazing people doing amazing things here, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.

                                                                       Submitted by Leah Huff

Fall 2015 Wrap-Up

Before our 1 month break, HART made some awesome progress on our project and made some really cool memories too!

HART members play with a pig at one of the early meetings during the Fall 2015 semester.

First, we were very successful in reaching our goal for the Local Fire Department's respirators. The ceremony to present the respirators to the Firefighters is in the process of being scheduled. 

More information to be announced. 

One of the oxygen masks from a set that will be given to a local fire department.

Overall, our group worked really hard to fundraise and accomplish this goal. We cannot thank the Coolsville Elementary students for their artwork and everyone else who helped us along the way.

But HART is not just about hard work, we like to have a little fun too!

Snap! Snap! Snap! HART members grab a few quick pictures
of the cute alpacas during a trip in late November to Phoenix Hill Farms.

Before HART members went on Winter Break, they had a little fun at Phoenix Hill Farm with alpacas!!! 

Look at that cute face! Yay for Alpacas!!!

As we bring this chapter to an end, we have begun two new ones. Here's a few hints: Spider Monkeys, and Elephants and Bees. Stay tuned for more information and updates!