Axle in Red

We have had Axle since he was three months old. He has grown into a wonderful therapeutic alliance. We raised him to help people, putting him through intensive sensitivity training. He loved every minute of it and enjoys his job immensely. He has the kindest eyes and seems to have a sixth sense about when people are sad. He will follow them, put his head in their laps and lick their hands to try and help them feel better. He loves everyone and forgives immediately if someone lashes out at him in anger. 

Axle's favorite things are people, treats, his adopted brother Thor, swimming, playing, and his red shirt. He also loves his tummy rubbed and going for walks. He is a kind-hearted soul and has helped many to learn to love in a safe and caring way. 

Thor Puppy

Thor is Axle's adopted brother. He is cute, playful, spontaneous, determined, focused and smart. In the beginning, he had a hard time believing he could live peacefully with chickens. After minimal training, he graduated from chicken harasser to chicken babysitter. Currently, him and Axle take great care of their girls, protecting them from all danger. 

Thor's therapeutic specialty is in teaching healthy assertiveness. His love for fetch forces people to draw the line on how much they can take. He is so adorable and responsive that it is easy to help people grow healthy boundaries around him. Thor loves his new job and excels at it while providing excellent comic relief. 

Chickens

We have raised Maggie and Molly since they were three days old. As a result, they are tamer and more personable than most chickens you meet!  They get along like the sisters they are with Maggie always making sure she gets her treats first even though Molly is bigger!

Maggie is a redhead and Molly is a deep brunette. When they hear us coming to visit, they get excited and you can hear them clucking a mile away! By the time we get the door opened, they are up on their perch waiting to greet us. We pet them and they eagerly await their special treats. 

Maggie and Molly have eight sisters and one brother. Our chickens specialize in teaching nurturance by messing up their coop regularly and supervising while our program participants learn to clean it. They also play hard to get when people try to catch them, thus instilling a well-earned sense of accomplishment and pride when they do finally accomplish this task! Helping people develop self-esteem and confidence is their  therapeutic specialty. As for working with aggressive people, there are no better monitors for animal abuse then our chickens. You absolutely cannot abuse them without the whole world knowing it. 

All of our chickens are very friendly and love to meet new people. They are wonderful therapists and have helped many to overcome their life issues. 

Bunnies

In the beginning, there was only one bunny. Mama bunny. Then another "female" bunny was donated and lo and behold, there were hundreds of bunnies everywhere!  Nature has now run its course and we are left with three bunnies that mostly live outdoors, running from dogs. Catching a glimpse of them while working with the other animals is a rare treat and a wonderful reward for all the hard work that goes on here!

Louie

Louie (also known as "booger") is Sheba's half brother - which makes him half Siamese. We have had him since he was a tiny little kitten. When you see Louie you will find it hard to believe that he was ever a tiny little kitten as he looks like a small bear!

Louie loves to snuggle and when he cuddles, he will roll over in hopes of getting his belly rubbed. He comes when he is name is called and loves to meet new people. Louie hibernates during the winter - spending all his time indoors and in the summer, he prowls the woods at night - leaving lots of "gifts" for us outside the doors. Louie loves to eat, eat, and eat, cuddle, meet new people, sleep, and hunt. He still has not decided to like Axle and Thor so you will find him wherever they are not! Louie is truly a "cool cat" and he is especially good at listening, purring and providing comfort to those who need to talk indoors when the weather is cold. He is always awaiting a welcoming lap to curl up in. 

Sheba

Sheba (also known as "Sheba doo"), is Louie's half sister. She is a Siamese kitty whom we have had since she was three months old. Sheba is, by far, the most affectionate cat we have ever known. The minute she hears company has arrived, she is out of bed and over the stairs to greet them! She hates for anyone to feel left out so she will hop from lap to lap, making sure that everyone is happy. 

Sheba loves to be petted and brushed. She purrs really loud whenever anyone touches her and when she does, her tongue hangs out! She will follow you everywhere, especially if you are feeling sad. She does not like people to feel sad so she will snuggle with them until she thinks they are happy. 

Sheba mostly loves people - snuggling them and meeting new ones, but she also loves special treats and playing outside when it's warm out and staying indoors in the winter. 

Rain

Rain is a purebred paint horse that only has half an ear. She was born in the midst of winter and was not found until her ears had already sustained terrible frostbite. Her legs had also froze and as a result, her growth is stunted and she will likely suffer arthritis throughout her lifetime. She was rescued by a kind lady who met her by accident. The person who owned her originally was going to take her to the auction where she more than likely would have sold for meat. The kind lady, Cindy, took her home and tried to integrate her into her herd of horses. The horses rejected her and were unkind to her. As Rain was only a year old, and a kind soul by nature, she had no defense. Shortly thereafter, Cindy heard about Dreamcatcher and donated "No Ears" to the program. We renamed her Whispering Rain and introduced her to some children with disabilities who have loved her with all their hearts. 

Rain's therapeutic specialty is in teaching tolerance, patience and boundaries. She is especially good at helping people learn healthy assertiveness as one of her favorite games is to walk on your feet if you let her get too close without letting her know you are kind but firm. She loves with all her heart and never discriminates. She steals people's hearts because she never gives up no matter how much she has been through. She is a lot like many of the people she helps and is truly cut out for this work. 

Buttons

Buttons is an Arabian Quarterhorse who was donated to Dreamcatcher by a kind lady named Maureen. Buttons had tumors on her side when she arrived but they are all healed now. She is the lead mare in the Dreamcatcher herd and she takes great pride in her leadership. She is fair but firm and accepts everyone so long as they are kind to each other. 

Buttons specializes in helping people understand themselves through her eyes. She is highly sensitive and gives clear messages to people about how they are feeling and how they are making her feel. She is sometimes anxious and has been therapeutically successful in helping people with anxiety disorders and panic attacks. She is highly skilled at helping people understand that things are not always as they first appear and she loves to teach people that they sometimes think people act a certain way because of how they feel, not because the person is actually acting that way. She has also had great success in helping people overcome their angry expression of their intense emotions. 

Buttons loves oats, attention and people. She especially loves taking care of everyone and does a darn fine job of it too. 

Echo

Echo is a thoroughbred race horse. While racing, he injured his knee and needed surgery to get back on the track. Once healed, he got back on the track but refused to run. As a result, it is believed he was not treated well and then sold to a kind lady for one dollar. She in turn, sold him to Dreamcatcher who was able to purchase him with money donated in memory of a young girl named Hillary who died of cancer. Echo is Hillary's horse and when he first came to live here he was sad and stayed away from everyone, even the other horses. He needed some help to gain a healthy weight and some extra care for his crumbling hooves. Today he is healthy and happy. 

Echo has a way of making people feel special. As a result, he is most often chosen as the horse people want to work with. This is surprising as he really did not seem to like people much when he first arrived. He has learned to trust at Dreamcatcher and now he is teaching this to others. Echo's therapeutic specialty is teaching kindness and gentleness to people who are generally aggressive or angry. He also excels at helping people follow direction and at teaching people who have been abused that it is ok to trust again. 

He has found his forever home here and appears to thoroughly enjoy his new job. He is the first to greet anyone who walks up to the fence and he even calls to those he sees coming from a distance. Meeting Echo is truly a pleasure. 

Uncle Snee

Uncle Snee was donated to us in the fall of 2003 by people who bought him from an auction. We don't know where he lived before that but we know that we are sure glad he came to live with us! He is very affectionate for a llama, curious, and he will follow you when you are not looking. He walks so quietly that sometimes you don't even know he is there until you turn around and bam -there he is, looking you right in the nose!

Uncle Snee likes to smell us and he will walk right up and put his nose to our nose. Some people scream, but we just laugh. He is so friendly and gentle and just wants to be loved - and fed! He is addicted to oats and would eat them all day if we let him. When he knows he is getting oats, he dances the llama dance and it is a hoot and a holler to watch!

Snee likes to take walks in the forest with the gang and loves his time alone too. Sometimes he will stay at the shelter and snooze while everyone else grazes. The horses like to play games with him and sometimes he will play with them too, but other times he is not in the mood and "spppttt", he spits on their heads. 

Snee loves new people and will let you pet him if you give him oats, then he'll follow you everywhere! His therapeutic specialty is in teaching socialization skills, patience, tolerance and how to overcome frustration and never give up. Snee is a very effective co-counsellor- but you have to see it to believe it!

Mr. Spitzie

Mr. Spitzie is a horse-protecting llama. If you can't find the horses, just look for Mr. Spitzie because he is sure to know where they are. Mr. spitzie was also rescued by the kind lady, Cindy, who rescued Rain. He was going to the sausage factory when she stumbled across him and took him home. He moved to Dreamcatcher with Rain - the paint horse with half an ear. 

Spitzie specializes in teaching people to care enough for others to learn to be kind to everyone. He teaches socialization skills, frustration tolerance and anger management. He is proud and gentle and a beautiful sight to behold. If you are unsure of large animals, have no fear, Spitzie will let you come to him when you are ready and on your terms. He is a quiet confidence who is always willing to lend a helping hand. 

Inty-Man

Inty-man has been helping people his whole lifetime. He was raised by a kind lady, Jeanette, who took him to senior homes, hospitals and day cares. She trained him to pull a cart and to be friendly and sweet. She even trained him to give hugs! 

Inty digs people and is easy to catch, instilling a sense of confidence and achievement for all who wish to spend time with him. You can't say that about every llama!  He specializes in making people smile and helping them to talk to others as well as helping fearful people be courageous and reach their goals. He is one of a kind. 

His favorite things are rolling in the dirt, playing "king of the castle", meeting new people and oats. He also teaches people to relax as he loves to take lots of breaks!

Moonshine

We have had Moonshine since he was 6 months old.  The lady who rescued Rain and Mr. Spitzie, Cindy, made Moonshine special for us.  She breeds mini donkeys and had promised us a Jack as soon as he was weaned from his mother.  Moonshine came to live with us in the summer of 2006.  At first he refused to walk or go through gates when he was led on halter.  Now, if he is wearing his halter, the only way he’ll walk is if he can hold the rope in his mouth and walk himself!  He is truly a donkey!  Moonshine follows us everywhere when he is not on lead and he is the first to run up and meet and greet new people. 

Moonshine loves to play and often can be found wrecking havoc in the pasture by chasing all the larger animals and smacking Echo, the race horse, with large sticks that he holds in his mouth to do so.  Moonshine is a delight to watch and to be with.  He specializes in helping people feel welcome and comfortable, providing a wonderful sense of comic relief, teaching people to remember to play and have fun and helping people who have a fear of large animals to overcome their fear while building their self confidence.