PHOTOS by ALLISON ELDREDGE
Every Dog Has Its Day
by ALLISON ELDREDGE When you hear the phrase, “every dog has its day”, you probably don’t think much about it. It’s been around for a long time. Toby Keith has a song by that title and it is fun to listen to and sing along with. Well, every dog has its day means that every person will have a successful moment in life. But what about the dogs? Or the cats? Or the pigs? Do they get a day where they are successful? Let me introduce you to a place that helps them with that. Beth Roberts of Bristow Barnyard Farm and Domestic Animal Rescue hosted us for a visit and tour early March on a nice warm day. The animals were enjoying the sunshine and many enjoyed barking at and coming over to check on the new girl, ME! I saw so many animals having their day at the Rescue: dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, cows, horses, pigs, goats, a turkey, a donkey, a llama, and even a skunk. Beth has been involved in veterinary care and animal rescue for over 20 years. When she lived in California, she rescued Melman, the steer. He is a beautiful black and white cow. He is tall and gentle and quick to lick you. Beth stated that she was helping deliver feed to a local farm and had been warned that with farm life there is death and that she would see some dead animals. However, she was not prepared to see baby steers thrown out to fend for themselves and if they died, they died. She took the four that she saw that day, bottle fed them and only Melman survived. He moved to OKLAHO MA CORRID O R M AGAZI NE / M ARC H 2 0 2 2 1 0
Beth Roberts of Bristow Barnyard Farm and Domestic Animal Rescue tends to Maeve the skunk.
Oklahoma when Beth moved in 2010. She brought all the animals that she had rescued at that point. Melman was so tall that the roof of the trailer had to be removed so he wouldn’t hurt his head during transport. He has adjusted well to Oklahoma and he was happy to come say Hi, pose for a few pictures, and try to get a good lick of my notepad. In 2016, tragedy struck the Rescue. A tornado hit Beth’s home and the Rescue. Over 35 animals perished and Beth lost her home. She sent out a Facebook plea for help and supplies and neighbors and local friends came as quickly as they could; bringing supplies and crates and prepared to help. The only silver lining of that horrible day was that as Beth was able to rebuild the Rescue and get non-profit status. The Rescue grew and expanded into more than she expected. Around 2020, she started a small adventure that she called the Spay Train. She was taking animals to a vet and getting them fixed to help control the stray population of cats and dogs in the area and to get her rescued animals ready for new homes. She opened it up to take animals from private owners and get them spayed or neutered at a lower rate. As word spread, the Spay Train went from one car all the way to 9 cars taking up to 50 animals at a time. In October 2021, the Rescue received a donation to help build a spay/neuter clinic on site. Construction began and should be completed by mid-April, if
