Every Dog Has Its Day by Allison Eldredge

ALLISON ELDREDGE

PHOTOS by Every Dog Has Its Day

by ALLISON ELDREDGE

Beth Roberts of Bristow Barnyard Farm and Domestic Animal Rescue tends to Maeve the skunk.

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 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

all things continue as planned without any unexpected delays. The 975 foot clinic will have two surgery tables. Animals will be able to have the surgery and be returned home the same day. Beth hopes to find several willing veterinarians to perform the surgeries. In a perfect world, there would be enough to rotate and not cause burn out on one or two willing individuals. She hasn’t settled on a final name, but the Spay Station was suggested by her daughter. Personally, I like it.

In our tour, I was introduced to several wonderful animals. The sanctuary side of the Rescue is nearly full. These animals will live out their life onsite and enjoy plenty of food and care. The Rescue side fluctuates. Dogs that arrive are checked out by a vet, given a name, and then started down the path of getting them ready for adoption.

Melman has a friend named Guinness. Guinness is a longhorn and less apt to come visit a stranger, like myself. There were six pigs: JD, Hamilton, Lucy, Rugby, Pua and Abigail. Pua had lived on the streets of Tulsa until rescued. Abigail fell off a truck that was traveling through Bristow. Maeve the skunk was sleeping and didn’t really want to wake up to be seen. She gets to go to school sometimes and let the kids see her. Travis, the turkey, decided he needed to announce himself with his loud turkey sounds. Most of the dogs were curious and happy. They were kept in their enclosures for my visit. Each day, dogs that get along well together are let out to play in groups. They have full run of the huge fenced in area.

Since my visit, several of the dogs have moved on to new homes. Beth keeps everyone updated on her Facebook group: Bristow Furry Friends. Others post in the group when an animal seems to be lost or in need or when their animal is missing. In this group, we have followed the story of Valentine (the Sapulpa Walmart dog) and Juno (the Bristow Walmart dog). Both of these girls were living outside their Walmart for a very long time, they both were skittish of humans, and they both took a long time to rescue. Valentine is a beautiful black dog, but she has an escape plan for every situation. Juno is white and brown and still very untrusting of new faces. She hid behind her dog house when I approached her area.

The Rescue is always looking for families to foster dogs, connections for finding good homes, donations of blankets and towels, donations of dog food (Pedigree adult and/or puppy food), donations of round bales of good hay, and financial donations. Since the Rescue is a non-profit, these donations are tax-deductible. PayPal donations can be made to BBarnyard. In the fall, undecorated pumpkins can be brought to the Rescue for the animals to enjoy.

It was a joy to see all of the animals. Beth loves each one. She petted and loved on all that would come near while she was sharing their stories. Getting attached and then sending them on to their new adventures is hard, but rewarding work for her. n