Vermont is home to nine species of bats. Six of these species are year round residents and three migrate south in the winter. Our six year-long residents live in caves and mines during the winter and during summer months can often be found roosting in barns and other buildings. Of the 6 resident species all but one are either state or federally endangered.

Little brown and long-eared bats are the ones we are most likely to see in Norwich during the summer months from mid-April to October. They have been a part of our summer landscape as long as we can remember, swooping over fields and ponds tirelessly hunting the night flying insects that make up their diet. We sometimes wonder what part these nocturnal mammals with their impressive echolocation play in our lives, but because many of us rarely see a bat, we are unaware of the services they provide.

The bat holds an important place in a healthy ecosystem. Like insects, bats play a role in pollinating the fruits and flowers we enjoy. They are a critical player in insect control, hunting down the flying insects like mosquitoes that spread disease as well as various moths that turn into the caterpillars that eat our fruits and vegetables. According to the Bat Conservation International Website “a single little brown bat can eat up to 1,000 mosquito-sized insects in 1 hour.”

Beginning in 2006 a disease known as White Nose syndrome was discovered in a cave in upstate New York and spread rapidly east into Vermont. The syndrome gets its name from a white fungus that attacks the bat’s nose, ears and wings during their winter hibernation. The hibernating bats in attempting to fight off the effects of the disease exhaust their fat supplies and they weaken and die. All 6 of Vermont’s hibernating species have been affected and their populations have declined by over 90 percent.

There is some good news. According to Vermont wildlife officials, this situation seems to have stabilized somewhat for certain bat species. The Northern Long Eared bat has lost 98 percent of its population and does not appear to be recovering. However the Little Brown Bat seems to be holding on , doing better in the Champlain Valley. The Big Brown Bat is actually doing pretty well, maybe because they have two pups a year instead of the usual one.

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is very interested in monitoring the population of Little Brown bats and is working to determine if we still have a population in Norwich. Alyssa Bennett (Alyssa.bennett@vermont.gov) is collecting information and answering questions about them and is collecting samples of bat guano to analyze for species identification.

There are some things we can do to help our struggling bat populations.
• We can reduce our use of pesticides which poison bats as well as the insects they eat.
• We can plant flowers that attract night pollinators
• We can participate in citizen science programs sponsored by the Vermont Wildlife Department that monitor summer bat activity.
• We can install bat boxes in our yards to make our land more bat friendly.

As much as we appreciate these amazing creatures, we do not want them in our houses. If you are find a bat in your home, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife web page gives instructions on removing it.

The image of a livestock guard dog that comes to mind for most people is that of the Great Pyrenees, and it isn’t wrong, but there are more of those fluffy white breeds than you might have known. The Kuvasz, Komondor, and Maremma all have similar looks but slightly different personalities.

Maremmas are becoming increasingly common as farmers re-discover their wonderful traits and smaller size. Maremmas get along with a wide variety of animals, large and small, including cats and other domestic pets, and they are known to be very affectionate with their families and children.

Senti had a little lamb

Eva Smith* of Norwich, VT researched the breed heavily before investing in her first puppy when she was still living out west. In her research, some of the most critical things Eva found were that they bark less, roam less, and are more accepting of visitors. They may remain aloof but not aggressive. Sentinel “Senti” came to her from Texas in the spring of 2016 and went straight to work.

One of the ways to raise livestock guard dogs is to put a separate pen inside the sheep pen so that the puppy and the sheep get to know each other first. Senti ended up at the mercy of two sheep who coveted his food and broke down his fence many times. However, it sent him patrolling early.

“I was losing sheep like crazy to coyotes out west. He was the best investment I ever made,” Eva noted.

Eva described the Maremmas’ personality as having wolf-like independence and ability to make decisions. They aren’t dogs for the obedience ring! While they will follow the commands of their leader, these dogs aren’t likely to listen to anybody else.

That’s an instinctual trait bred into these dogs over centuries. A shepherd would need to be able to trust that his dog would only listen to him and not a potential thief, the dog needs to trust its instincts and make decisions at the moment, and the human needs to make sure that the dog is always set up to have positive experiences from the beginning.

Eva decided to move back to Norwich, VT in late summer 2016 and brought – along with her children, house pets, home furnishings, and the rest of accumulated stuff from 12 years of life out there – 16 sheep and Senti in a trailer.

Sheep aren’t the only animals Eva and her family have, of course. She also has two alpacas, a mini horse, goats, and chickens. Last winter, she acquired a second Maremma, Ginger, who is driven to be with the lambs. Eva now summers her sheep at Sweetland Farm in Norwich, VT.

Ginger

Right now, while the lambs are being born, Ginger is in with the alpacas and the mini horse as she is just about to turn one and still in training. Ginger does make daily visits to see “her” lambs and sheep, though.

Senti, on the other hand, still hates being inside, but seems to enjoy being a family farm dog. He loves his family and protects the area around the house, the sheep in the winter, and the other animals in the summer. Unlike their neighbors, Eva and her family haven’t had a single bear problem at their house, though Senti will bark for much of the night if a bear is around.

Later this summer, Ginger will get her chance to actively guard her flock, when Eva’s lambs are old enough for the sheep to move to a different pasture at Sweetland Farm. It will be a good move for all involved. Sweetland Farm will get a new pasture grazed, allowing the older one to come back, the sheep will have fresh grass, and Ginger will be out and able to do her job. When small agriculture works cyclically like this, even if it means involving a few farmers, we get back to a more environmentally friendly agricultural system, one that has been practiced for centuries.

*Name has been changed by request

Throughout August and continuing through September, White River Animal Rescue (WRAR) is running a campaign called the #50/50 Campaign. The #50/50 Campaign is based on the idea that a puppy born in the US has a 50% chance of survival, and that many rescues in the local area and beyond have a lot on their plates trying to pull dogs from the south as fast as possible. The goal is collaboration among rescues and shelters to save as many dogs’ lives as possible.

Amy Knight, the founder of WRAR, emphasized the need for collaboration among rescue organizations to take that 50% chance of survival and bring the number as close to 100% as possible.

Amy began rescuing dogs unwittingly seventeen years ago when she took in Shiba, a Belgian Malinois puppy who was about to be killed by the farmer who bred it. A teenager who was on the property managed to rescue one of the litter and brought it to Amy. While she intended on keeping this sweet, wriggly thing which showed up, Amy was concerned for the other pups that remained on the property. She called the neighbor, who turned out to be the farmer’s sister-in-law, and the woman collected the rest of the puppies.

Amy also didn’t know she ended up with a pure Belgian Malinois until she took the dog to the groomers. Shiba ended up being quite extraordinary and sadly passed away this previous winter.

When Amy moved to Vermont, she ended up on an email list for rescue volunteers where she was asked if she could help transport three dogs from White River Junction to Burlington. Once people have a line on you, especially from down south, they start calling.

All signs pointed to her need to be involved in animal rescue, so in 2009 Amy decided to start White River Animal Rescue. She also works as a college professor, teaching psychology part time. Her focus is on bringing dogs from dangerous situations in the south up here where they live with foster families with the goal of finding forever homes. Many of the dogs are pulled from overcrowded southern shelters with anywhere from 24 hours to 3 minutes to live, but some come from other places as well.

Amy and Justine at Revolution

Amy said, “We don’t only rescue dogs from shelters… Because not all dogs are in the shelters, some dogs are on the side of the road. Some dogs are way out in the country. Some people, they don’t want to bring the dog to the shelter, they dump them wherever, in whatever state. People say, ‘Oh my god! That dog’s not from a shelter?’ And I say ‘no, it’s from the side of the road or a ditch, or in a drainage culvert…’ But it’s still a rescue because they are living on the side of the road.”

Justine Kohr is a WRAR volunteer and self-proclaimed foster failure. She spends her days working as the assistant director of marketing and communications at the Tuck School as well as being a writer and editor. As a volunteer, Justine has utilized her work skills to assist with the marketing of WRAR. “Everyone who volunteers is a little bit involved in everything.”

She has worked with transports, new arrivals, and other aspects of the rescue, as well as training her rescue dog and previous foster, Pepper.

Justine is heavily invested in the #50/50 Campaign as well. In a prior interview she shared, “We know that other rescues and shelters have a lot on their plates and they have a lot of animals that they are bringing into their spaces, and we want to partner with them and help when we can.”

According to Amy, there are currently seven other rescues or shelters participating in the campaign. On the website, the first dogs highlighted are the ones who need the most donations to fight health problems. Then the list continues.

For WRAR they ask that the rescue or shelter send them a video, photo, and description of the dog in need and they will promote it. Half of the donations stay with WRAR, but all of any adoption fees go directly to the original rescue.

The final hope of the #50/50 Campaign is that rescues will continue to collaborate rather than trying to do everything individually. Helping each other, in the end, means helping more dogs.

Meet Callie, a six-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who was rescued last October. We – my family and I – adopted her on October 20th and just passed the sixth-month mark. We have been so lucky to have Callie come into our lives. As my daughter said to me early on, “Mom, I feel like something just snapped into place when we got Callie; like our little family fits right, now.”

Callie came from a puppy mill. She had what I call ‘whoa’ eyes in her picture… major whoa eyes. We could see the whites of her eyes the whole way around. My wife felt a connection with Callie; she loved the puppy’s “wooly-bear eyebrows,” serious expression, and her beautiful coloring. I wish I had saved a copy of her rescue photo.

She was a breeding dog at this mill, so from the time she had her first heat until approximately seven weeks before we got her, she was either pregnant or having puppies. A puppy mill tends to be a large-scale breeding facility – although they can be smaller breeders – where female dogs churn out puppies for profit with little to no genuine care for the health and welfare of the dogs.

These dogs are left to live in kennels for their entire lives with minimal human contact. The females are bred every heat starting at 6-10 months, and their puppies are either sold locally, online, and at pet stores nationwide. There are a few things that can get a dog kicked out of the puppy mill: 1) Being too old to have puppies; 2) hitting age two without getting pregnant; and 3) not being sold as a puppy.

Those dogs, the ones deemed unfit for the mills, are either grabbed by rescues ahead of time or sold at breeder auctions where rescue organizations try to purchase as many dogs as they can possibly rehome. Lucky for us, Callie was one of those dogs grabbed ahead of the auction block by a Vermont rescue organization.

There can be unexpected differences between adopting a rescue dog and adopting what is sometimes referred to as a ‘puppy mill survivor.’ All rescues will have had different life experiences that will color their reaction to their adoptive families and new life. Usually however, rescue dogs in general are excited to meet their new people, their house, toys, and love. Puppy mill rescues tend to be very shut down when you first adopt them. They don’t understand the concept of love, playing, toys, or humans that touch them kindly.

It took Callie about two months to start reacting excitedly when our daughter arrived, about four months before she began really reacting to me, and recently until she started behaving like she is one of the family, sometimes.

She still doesn’t understand what toys are for or how to play. We’ve introduced her to a few safe dogs, and my favorite, a Lab, scares her a bit because he’s too bouncy. She can’t figure out what he is doing when he is playing with us, with the cat, or trying to play with her. He’s learned to leave her alone.

Callie is a relatively happy dog now. She still has her oddities, but every dog does. She will always have the trauma of the puppy mill behind her, but every time she goes on a new adventure, every time she gets to cuddle up with our daughter, every time Callie gets a bone, she settles in a little bit more.

We work very hard to accommodate some of Callie’s issues that we know will never go away. For instance, we know that the only time she saw a groomer was when she was rescued. That groomer had to do several of the rescue dogs that day, so she had to work quickly, she shaved her down (likely due to mats in her fur from being stuck in a cage), clipped her nails very short, and the next day the rescue organization took Callie to be spayed.

Due to this experience, we are aware that Callie is scared of going to the groomers. There would be several other dogs there waiting and stressing, it is an unfamiliar place, and I wouldn’t be there with her. Instead, we chose to hire an in-home groomer. The groomer, Dirk who owns Fresh & Furry Pet Grooming, was fantastic. He spent about 15 minutes on the floor with her first, just talking to her and letting her sniff him, his equipment, and such.

Molly and Callie

When I put her on the table, she didn’t freak out or try to get away. She sat stoically, or stood, depending on what he needed, for a long time. I never left the room, he and I chatted the whole time – either to each other or her – and she took it in stride for a while. Dirk recognized the signs when she started to get overwhelmed, and he stopped. While her grooming might not have been entirely finished, he did a fantastic job. I was impressed with my girl and with him.

I have made a concerted effort to socialize Callie as one would a puppy. She goes into the stores where she is allowed, and she meets new people all the time. Together we walk up to ‘scary’ things so she can sniff them. And we recently took an obedience class with Caron Bronstein at the S.A.V.E.S. Canine Club.

Callie still won’t let strangers reach for her to pet most of the time, even when she goes running up to greet them. They have to go for her sides, and sometimes I have to be petting her, too. But that is only true when it comes to adults. Kids are Callie’s one true love. She can be surrounded, in a way that might make another dog feel overwhelmed, and will be more comfortable than she is anywhere else.

We had thought about training Callie as a therapy dog. Now we know we have to. There is nothing she would love better than to show up in a place like the children’s cancer wing and bring smiles to the kids there.

Sue Kenney and the Golden Bookends, Pablo and Lady

Norwich-based dog trainer, Sue Kenney hasn’t always been a professional dog trainer, but she has always been involved with training dogs. It started with raising Guide Dog puppies for the blind.

Sue raised Guide Dog puppies since her children were young and would bring them into the Marion Cross School in Norwich. The dogs were even incorporated into the curriculum; students would keep journals about each puppy’s weight, nutrition, and behavior. Of course, the benefit went both ways, it was excellent socialization for the puppies as well.

When Sue moved on from the Marion Cross School, she studied under other instructors until she became a dog trainer herself. Although it was a big leap, she decided to start her own business called Goldenbookends Family Dog Training. The Golden Bookends, Pablo and Lady, were her two golden retrievers at the time. Pablo was a pup they raised for the Guide Dog program who didn’t make it, and Lady was a rescue.

Sully has been blilnd since birth

Sue did not advertise her business and, although that made her worry, she quickly found that news spread by word-of-mouth. She now teaches classes at SAVES in Lebanon. The realization that you can start a business at any time in your life and be successful has also been one of the biggest bonuses of Goldenbookends, Sue commented.

“If you enjoy what you are doing, people know that. They know you are in your element,” she said.

Sue built her training philosophy around establishing a team between the handler and the dog. In the classroom, she teaches the handlers positive reinforcement and attention games to teach the dogs to become “a thinking partner in the process.”

Her main goal is for the handler and the dog to develop a strong bond through the use of games, focus exercises, and self-control in order to communicate with each other. Unlike the traditional dog training classes where the idea is to have a dog submit to the human, Sue encourages obedience but with a give and take, an understanding of dogs, how they are wired and how best to work as a team. Using this philosophy, she tries to create an enjoyable experience.

I asked Sue her favorite class to teach: “Puppy First Steps,” she said. “That is when emotions run high, just having someone to talk to is so important. Each phase tests your creativity and patience. This is good for us. It’s about enjoying every minute. [As an instructor] You have to love people as much as you love the dogs. Guiding people through those early moments are some of the most satisfying parts and you have to be available [outside of class] for that too.”

The classes themselves create a wonderful sense of community among the humans too, as well as the dogs of course.

“[In a class] no one talks about where they come from. They are all there for a common purpose, to work together as a team.”

She also noted that the community often extends beyond the classroom as the handler/dog teams sometimes get together outside of class, building a supportive camaraderie that can create lasting bonds.

The original Golden Bookends have passed on since Sue started her business, but she has a new arrival in her life. Sully, a twenty month old blind golden retriever came to live with Sue in August of this year. She found the young dog, who has been blind since birth, through Yankee Golden Retriever Rescue based out of Hudson, MA. It’s been a new challenge, she said, but Sully has been a very willing participant, happy to live out in rural Vermont where he can hike whenever his handler wants.

Dan Kelly and son Sam

Their location may change, but their occupation is always animal health. Norwich residents, Dan and Jodi Kelly, founded the first Stonecliff Animal Clinic in Bradford, VT, in 1991. At the time, Jodi says, they had a “pretty historic” farm tucked under the cliffs north of Bradford, where they raised replacement heifers. Dan made farm calls as a large animal vet, and the Clinic began in order to care for the pets of these farmers.

The Kellys dreamed of opening an emergency hospital for animals, a service that was not then available; owners of seriously ill pets had to take them to Burlington or Concord, NH. The junction of two interstate highways seemed like a smart location. They started a satellite Stonecliff Clinic at West Lebanon Feed and Supply, since they “really clicked” with the owners there, and in 2010, they opened SAVES (Small Animal Veterinary Emergency Service) in Lebanon near the high school. (The clinic moved into that building, too.)

Dan, Sophie, and Elliot take a break to shoot some hoops

Success has haunted the Kellys, and as the business grew to almost 30 employees, they found themselves spending more and more time on administrative tasks, and less time with the animal care they love. It was time for another change. Last October they sold the hospital business, staying on to create a smooth transition, which is now accomplished. They have opened the Stonecliff Clinic at 227 Mechanic Street, across from Longacres. (The Bradford clinic was also sold.)

Veterinary surgery and medicine have made astounding advances in recent years. Dan mentions an x-ray they show to children on school tours, of a cat with an arrow shot into both thorax and abdomen. “You wouldn’t believe the things we’ve taken out of dogs,” he exclaims (though most dog owners certainly would). He is pleased to have the skills to heal even extreme cases, though he laments the suffering of the animals he sees.

“Another big concern in general – this is something we worry about – as animal care becomes more advanced, it also becomes more expensive,” Dan says. “We don’t want to see people priced out of caring for their pets. We make a point of working with people to figure out the level of care that will provide the best for the pet and still be workable for the owner. For us it’s never ‘Go big or go home.’”

Dan and daughter Sophie

Dan has a special interest in orthopedic surgery. He’s been trained in a recently developed technique of knee repair for dogs who rupture their ACL. “We’ve created problems without realizing it,” he explains, “by breeding for certain characteristics,” and ignoring changes in conformation. He has studied wild canids, such as coyotes found as roadkills, and seen that the angle of bones making up their knees averages 10° nearer the horizontal than in domestic dogs. The domestic dogs’ steeper angle  changes the forces within  the joint resulting in torn ligaments.  “There’s a paper there,” says Dan, “but I don’t have the time.”

Animal care has always been a family affair for the Kellys, whose four children have all worked in the clinics and on farm calls as well as just spending time with animals. Jodi notes one of the benefits of this involvement: “Many of our clients have been with us for 20 or more years and have watched the kids grow up. The clinic is more like a huge family than a business.”

Jodi Kelly

“My kids have learned so much about life working in the hospital. Lots about how to listen,” says Jodi. Their oldest daughter is now completing a master’s degree in Colorado, aiming for a career in counseling. As far as Jodi knows, none of the children intends to be a vet. “We kind of burned the bridges on that,” she admits. “They saw so much of how it takes so much time. And they have spent many hours cleaning kennels, and waiting for their parents to finish treating just one more sick patient.”

But Dan and Jodi are doing what they love: caring for animals and calming their owners. As the form of their business metamorphoses yet again, they look forward with pleasure to the future, because, says Jodi, “It’s where our heart and soul is.”