We head back to The Sanctuary office to meet up with the other volunteers and enjoy our bag lunches.  The other volunteers painted cabins near the office and so did not see any elephants, but they did hear some trumpeting coming from the Asian habitat! 

 

Scott Blais joins us for lunch. He is wonderfully patient, answering questions from everyone covering everything from "Are elephants afraid of mice?" to "Why do zoos still keep elephants in inadequate conditions?"   Of course, we have to ask about our beautiful friend, Dulary.

Scott tells us Dulary is adjusting very well to The Sanctuary and spending a lot of time near the barn with Misty and Delhi.  He described a recent incident where Dulary started to walk over a huge pile of logs (The Sanctuary is on a site formerly used by International Paper) and stopped when she realized she didn't know how to climb over them.   This story reminds us that Dulary spent over 40 years in the same 1/4 acre enclosure at the Philadelphia Zoo and is experiencing so many new things.  We thought of stories we heard about dogs rescued from puppy mills, who spent their entire lives in pens made of chicken wire.  When they were finally free, they were afraid of grass and had to learn how to climb stairs.  But we know Dulary has a supportive new family at The Elephant Sanctuary who will help her adjust to her wonderful new home.

 

Scott also told us about the other elephants, including Delhi.  He said before Misty was released from quarantine, Delhi appeared to be getting ready to let go of life.  Delhi has severe osteomyelitis in her feet, in part due to her feet being soaked in 100% formaldehyde (it should have been no more than 10% formaldehyde) while she was confined at the Hawthorne facility in Illinois, which caused severe chemical burns.  However, when Misty (also a former Hawthorn elephant) was released from quarantine and joined Delhi, they joyfully recognized each other and Delhi seems to have a new lease on life.   

 

Scott also described some of the differences between  the founding Asian group, the African group, and the Hawthorn elephants (now called the "Divas.")  He said that new elephants seem to merge more easily into the founding Asian group, which was developed over a ten year period, so that each new elephant was welcomed into the herd by more experienced elephants.  With the African elephants, all three arrived nearly all at the same time, and even more so, the Divas.  Scott explained that the elephants in the African and "Divas" groups appear to struggle more to establish their social status. 

 

After lunch, we are offered the option to stay and work for a few more hours.  We didn't drive all the way to Hohenwald to sit in our cabin, so we volunteer to stay.  We drive back to the African habitat, where some volunteers join Sandra on the ATV to gather browse for the African girls.  Nemo, right, is ready for the ride!

 

Our job is to clean out the barn.  Using a high-pressure hose, we spray the floor where Flora, Tange, and Zula hang out.  It isn't very dirty because the girls spend most of their time outside during the summer months.   It's fun!  After we're done hosing out the barn, we drain the automatic waterers. 

 

4:00 pm
Our work is complete and it's time to leave the peaceful Sanctuary.  The day was beyond our wildest dreams and we practically float back to our cabin, stopping first at a Mexican restaurant in downtown Hohenwald where we pick up some delicious burritos for dinner.

 

We enter the cabin and know that something is very wrong.  Blood and fur are all over the entrance area, and we see only Buddy and Suzy.  Inside the cabin, we see Soapie limping, soaked in blood.   Somehow the dogs got into a fight while we were gone.  Suzy and Buddy seem fine, and we suspect it was Suzy that fought with Soapie, so we pack Soapie and Buddy into our car to rush Soapie to the vet.

 

Our friend knows where the office of Dr. Scott, the Sanctuary's vet, is located, and we follow her there.  We are so grateful for our friend because we are a state of near-panic - Soapie is in really bad shape.  Both ears are torn - the right one from the tip to the base, like a piece of material. She has a huge bite in her back, and who knows what other wounds that are not immediately apparent. 

 

It is after 6:00 pm by the time we reach the Dr. Scott's office, and no surprise - it is closed on this Saturday night.  Our friend calls Dr. Scott's emergency number on her cell phone (ours never did work once we got near Hohenwald) and he promises to be at the office in 15 minutes.

 

  <--- Dr. Scott, our hero!  (Photo Copyright The Elephant Sanctuary)

 

Dr. Scott, his wife, and his nurse/receptionist arrive and immediately start working on Soapie.  Dr. Scott is a wonderful, kind man, and his wife is just as nice.  We are incredibly grateful that he came in on this Saturday night to help Soapie out.  Soon Soapie is stitched up (wire stitches and a drain in her back, which makes her look like she's been through major surgery) and ready to go home.

 

Although we will never know for sure what happened, we think that our young pit bull Suzy was agitated by something outside the cabin, and redirected her aggression on Soapie.  When we returned home, a friend with a pit bull found this link on the internet describing "redirected aggression."   

 

We know that this incident doesn't have much to do with elephants, but we are relating it in this newsletter just in case we can help to educate other people with dogs on the potential for this type of thing to happen.  We think it was the combination of a strange place and Suzy's insecurity that led to Soapie's tragic injuries, and we will never leave them alone together in such conditions again.

 

Back home, Soapie healed up fine (thanks to Dr. Scott's wonderful job!) and all three dogs act like nothing ever happened.  Please see photos below taken this week of Soapie, Suzy and Buddy enjoying their nightly treat - marrow bones!