Orphan season

So now is the time that start receiving lots of orphaned baby animals.  And yes feel free to call us if you find something in Ohio.  We will let you know if we can take it and how to arrange for us to take it from you. 

Some words of advice about finding baby animals in the wild, or your backyard, garage, etc. 

Rabbits:
Rabbit mothers will often leave the nest for much of the day to eat.  They return to the nest at night to keep the babies warm and feed them.  This also distracts predators from following her to the nest where the helpless babies are.  If you find a nest of rabbits, likely under a bush in your yard, just leave them alone.  Most likely Mom will come back to take care of them.  She most certainly will not come back while you are there watching, as you are a dangerous animal that could attack her or her babies.  If you suspect that she isn't coming back there are some things to look for. 

First of all, are all the babies in the nest, tightly wrapped up together sleeping?  If so, they have been fed recently and she is caring for them.  If the babies are starting to crawl out of the nest and disperse, this could be a sign that the mother has been killed.  Mothers do not abandon their young.  Even if you touch them or handle them, just put them back and she will just clean them off and keep caring for them.  Would you abandon your child because he came home smelling like a dog, or another person? 

Second, if you do think the mother is not coming back you can check.  Sprinkle a small amount of flour around the nest.  Leave it alone for 24 hours (overnight).  If the flour is disturbed then she is coming back and caring for them.  Again, just leave them there.  If there is no disturbance, then they are likely orphans and need help.  You can also arrange a set of sticks in a tic-tac-toe pattern around the nest.  Don't use string because this can get caught on an animals leg, or a bird might pick it up to use for nest. 

Squirrels:
Squirrels nest in trees.  So if you are doing some pruning of dead branches, double check them to make sure there are no nests in them.  Squirrel nests look like big stacks of leaves bundled up in the tree.  If you find baby squirrels on the ground, they have fallen out of a tree.  If you can find a nest nearby, you could help Mom by placing the babies back inside.  She will try to carry them back, if she can.  Again let them sit for 24 hours before calling a rehabilitator. 

Raccoons:
Raccoon mothers move their babies every 4-6 weeks.  If you have a mother raccoon in your garage, or shed, or a tree in your yard, let her take care of her babies for a while.  She will move them along in a few weeks and you can inspect the damage and if needed make any repairs to the building so she can't get in again.  If you find a nest of babies in your barn or garage or shed, the best thing you can do is leave them alone.  Mom may be close and she can be very dangerous if you try to take her babies.  Again use the flour trick if you think she isn't coming back. 

And finally rehabilitating wild animals is best left to trained professionals.  There is a lot to know and classes are required to become licensed.  It is illegal in Ohio and many other states for just anyone to rehab animals.  This is for the protection of the people and the animals.  Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions, or find an animal in your area. 

501(c)3 Status Update

So after several months of waiting, we finally received a reply from the IRS.  They need more information to complete our tax-exempt application.  It's a painfully slow process but we are getting there. 

Columbus GLBT Pride

We just completed 2 intense days at Pride in Columbus.  We brought with us our animal ambassadors, Buddy, Rocky, Cinnamon, and Flower.  They were a huge hit.  Everyone was in love with the little guys.  And we made a huge amount in donations.  Over all the event was a great success, although we are exhausted.  More to come soon.

Good night all.

Columbus GLBT Pride

Noah's Arc is going to be at Gay Pride in Columbus.  The festival is going to be on Friday June 17 & Saturday June 18 in Goodale Park in Columbus.  We will have a booth with a few of our animals to see.  You can come learn about foxes, raccoons, and skunks.  We will have at least 1 of each with us.

You can also talk to us about our plans to expand and create a space that is open to the public.

Open Letter

Dear Donor:

We are Noah's Arc Sanctuary.  (www.noahsacrsanctuary.org) We focus on native Ohio wildlife. We operate 3 programs:

1. LEND A HELPING PAW;  We rehabilitate injured/orphaned wildlife for release

2.  BEYOND YOUR BACK YARD; We educate children on the importance or wildlife preservation by taking some of our tame animals to schools. (Skunks, raccoons and foxes)

3.  OUR GENTLE TOUCH; We provide therapy with our rescue horses for traumatized children.

This is how we got stared :We are a same sex couple and we have adopted 4 special needs children with issues ranging from dyslexia, asbergers syndrome, to fetal alcohol syndrome.  As you know, same sex couples face much scrutiny when adopting children and we have weathered many storms. We saw a rainbow after these storms when we realized the spiritual healing that was happening with our children just by spending time with our animals.

This has provided us with an amazing opportunity to combine our love for animals with our passion for children. The support we have gotten from the community has been overwhelming! I did two shows at my sons school  (Emerson Academy Dayton Ohio) with our foxes and raccoons and the principal  (Ron Albino) was so impressed that he offered to do a fund raiser for us! We have a show next week at an animal shelter (The Society for the Improvement of Conditions for Stray Animals; SICSA Kettering, Ohio) and calls and emails are coming in from willing volunteers ..it's just amazing.

We have out grown our current site and have found an amazing 30-acre farm in Huber Heights Ohio, we just need to raise 400 thousand dollars to be able to purchase this property. We are writing grants and seeking other fundraising opportunity’s but could really use your help! :)  Our goal is to take in more animals who need us as well as approaching local foster care agencies to help more children. We could do so much more with a little help. Any assistance you could provide would be eternally appreciated.

Sincerely yours

Donny & Stephen Marlow-Kelty

We found a property!

Now we just need to find the money for it.  It is 29 acres just north of Dayton.  It has an old farmhouse built in 1888, several out-building, and 3 spring-fed lakes.  There are over 9 acres of woods on the property.  It is an awesome opportunity.  So we are looking to raise the funds ASAP.  If you know anyone who could help, have them contact us: stephen@noahsarcsanctuary.org

First show

Today is our first show. Donny, Becca and the boys will be doing it. I can't make it because of work commitments. The show is at Emerson Academy in Dayton. As part of the fun today there will be a 2 foxes, 1 grown and 1 kit, 3 raccoons, 1 grown and 2 babies, and our peacock.

It should be a great first show. Donny subs at the school from time to time so he knows the teachers and many of the students.

I will be at our next show with SICSA in June at their summer camp. More details to come.


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