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!