Senior Scenter provides sanctuary for elderly dogs
Warne – It was a lucky day for Jeanne Strack when Cynthia Marie Hull decided to take her Hidden Mountain Brilliance Homeschool students on a field trip to Strack’s dog sanctuary.
The students warmed to Strack and her 11-acre farm, which houses 43 dogs and several special needs horses. It was on the farm, playing with the dogs, that they decided they wanted to help Strack’s nonprofit.
Hull, along with several students and parents, organized an auction, with all of the proceeds going to the Senior Scenter. More than 15 businesses donated 70 services or goods, which were auctioned at the Warne Community Center on Saturday afternoon.
Strack’s sanctuary vision, which was conjured in 1993, was to create a hospice for senior dogs and those with special needs. However, over the years, her organization, Puppies Under Protection, has grown to take in adoptable dogs as well.
Her farm is at full capacity because, she said with a laugh, “I can’t say no!”
When the students arrived for their field trip two months ago, they were thrilled to see all the dogs. But because there were so many housed on the farm, they could also see the need.
“My son, Gavin, toured the farm on the field trip and went back the next day to volunteer,” Mary Kay Sherman said at the fundraiser. “He’s been volunteering there ever since.”
The tour of the Senior Scenter dog sanctuary was part of the students’ life skills curriculum.
“They learn about rescue, and the importance of spaying and neutering their pets,” Strack said.
About eight years ago, Strack built an entire new home next to her farmhouse to house the dogs. She calls it, aptly, The Dog House, and built it bright and spacious, full of doggie beds and home furnishings.
“We have doggie doors in the front and the back,” Strack said, adding, “Most of our dogs are blind and deaf.”
The house is very clean, perhaps due to the medical conditions many of her dogs suffer from. For details on volunteering or donating to the Senior Scenter, visit the website www.puppiesunderprotection.com.