Thursday, March 28, 2024

NORTON, MA: WINSLOW ANIMAL SANCTUARY

FEEDOM AND DEBRA

Freedom is an adorable, ten-year-old beagle mix. Her beginning is a sad tale. This sweet girl was found living in a 4′ x 4′ crate, where she was forced to live with the skeletal remains of her mother. Her only purpose at that time was to bark at intruders. She had no training, no affection and no freedom. In 2012, when she was about a year and a half old, she was rescued from captivity and brought to Winslow Farm. She joined Pandy and Wizard, the sanctuary’s two other dog residents at that time.

When Freedom arrived, she was so excited to be free! She ran around in circles just for the sheer joy of it. Denied any contact of any kind in her early life, she would often sit on Wizard just to be as close to him as possible. Freedom did not know what dog food was because apparently, she had only been fed table scraps. She enjoyed chasing the cats and the ducks, so she had to be taught about acceptable behavior with the other animals. Freedom was very excitable, but very intelligent, so she learned quickly, sometimes with a hard lesson of a cat swipe or two. Eventually, Freedom learned to live in harmony with all the animals.

Today, Freedom suffers from seizures, for which she receives veterinary care, and has undergone some hearing loss over the years. She is a great ambassador for the farm and loves to greet visitors. She likes to follow Debra White all around the farm while she works. Since Pandy and Wizard have since passed, Freedom remains by Debra’s side as her constant and faithful companion and doesn’t let Debra out of her sight for too long.