Dancing Bear Animal Haven

07/29/2026

07/29/2026

Last night, we finally got rain.

It has been so hot here. Some days have reached 104 or 105 degrees, and the “cooler” days have only been in the upper 90s. Funny how saying “only the high 90s” sounds almost normal after a summer like this.

This morning, though, everything felt different.

The air was cool, the ground was damp, and everywhere I looked there were kittens. Kittens bouncing through the yard, kittens chasing little toys, kittens wrestling with each other, and kittens discovering the world one tiny adventure at a time. It was one of those mornings that makes you stop and smile.

Later today the temperatures will climb back into the 90s, but thanks to the rain, they’ll have cool, damp ground beneath the trees where they can stretch out, nap, and escape the heat.

Sometimes the simplest blessings are the sweetest. A little rain. A cool morning. Happy kittens. A heart full of gratitude.

And tonight, the rodeo starts again.

God is good. 🧡

07/26/2026

New kids

07/16/2026

Little Pigweed is doing so much better now. He is eating well, drinking plenty of water, and doing all his sweet little kitten things again. We don’t go outside anymore. We stay safely indoors, where it is cool and the hot sun cannot shine down so fiercely on us. I am very thankful to see my little Pigweed feeling like himself again. 🐾💜

07/16/2026

Mimi

I had planned to write several about Mimi this week, but this is also part of rescue work.

Mimi is an indoor-outdoor kitty who loves being outside and has always stayed close by. This past week, she disappeared.

It may be that someone picked her up. She may have been frightened away by another animal, found a cool place to hide from the heat, or wandered farther than usual. I am still hoping she comes home. But the truth is, I may never know what happened.

Right now, I miss her terribly.

I am sharing one more picture of little Mimi because this work is not only rewarding. It can also be deeply heartbreaking, and this one is especially hard for me.

Even after all these years, I have never learned how to understand loss. I always do my very best, but sometimes my best still feels like it was not enough.

I may be quiet for a couple of days while I gather myself. Thank you to everyone who follows, cares, comments, and keeps these little animals in your heart.

I will be back in a few days with another little story to tell.

Please keep watching for Mimi. I am still hoping she finds her way home.

(How I will always remember Mimi;trying to scratch with her funny leg)

07/14/2026

Tuesday
A Day at Dancing Bear
This morning began before sunrise.
The dogs wanted breakfast.
The kittens wanted attention.
The birds announced to the whole county that the day had officially started.
Somewhere in the middle of all that, Mimi came flying through the bedroom window like she owned the place.
Truth is…
She does.
This is home.
Every animal here has a story.
Some arrived frightened.
Some arrived hungry.
Some arrived broken.
But they all arrive hoping someone will love them.
That’s why Dancing Bear Animal Haven exists.

07/11/2026

Meet Mimi

Mimi has a little secret.
One of her back legs never bends. She swings it from the hip, but that’s all. When she runs across the yard, that little leg flies up behind her ear like she’s trying to catch the wind.
When she scratches, she swings that tiny leg back and forth, missing the itch almost every time.
She has no idea she’s different.
She thinks she’s beautiful.
And she’s right.
She spends her days running around the farm, hopping through the bedroom window whenever she pleases, taking naps wherever the sunshine lands, and supervising everything I do.
She’ll never win a cat show.
But around here…
She’s absolutely perfect.

07/05/2026

There is a little orange kitten asleep beside me as I write this.

He does not know he was unwanted. He does not know that someone threw him away. He does not know that on the day he arrived at Dancing Bear Animal Haven, he was hungry, frightened, covered in fleas, and crying so hard he had lost his voice.

He only knows that tonight he has a full tummy, a warm blanket, and someone who loves him.

That is what Dancing Bear Animal Haven does.

For more than 50 years, I have opened my gates and my heart to the animals nobody else wanted. The old dogs whose owners passed away. The kittens found in ditches. The puppies too sick to sell. The injured, the abandoned, the forgotten, and the broken.

Some come here to heal and go on to happy lives.

Some come here because they have nowhere else left to go.

And some come here to die.

That is the hardest part to explain.

At Dancing Bear Animal Haven, no animal dies alone. If a little body has grown old, if cancer has taken hold, if time has simply run out, they leave this world wrapped in a blanket, with gentle hands holding them and someone whispering that they are loved.

A while ago, a tiny kitten arrived here after being found outside, alone and terribly ill. He fought with everything he had. We fought with everything we had. There were medications, warm bottles, sleepless nights, prayers, and tears. In the end, his little body simply could not keep going.

But he did not die cold, hungry, or forgotten.

He died with his head resting in a hand that loved him.

People often ask why I keep doing this.

The answer is because every little life matters to the one living it.

The truth is that big organizations have television commercials, advertising budgets, and famous spokespeople. Dancing Bear Animal Haven has none of those things. It only has one person trying to keep food in the bowls, hay in the barn, medicine in the cabinet, and hope alive for the next little creature that comes through the gate.

Today, I am asking for help.

Not for me.

For the kitten asleep beside me.

For the old dog who still wags his tail when someone says his name.

For the frightened puppy who finally learned that hands can be gentle.

For the animals who have nowhere else to go.

If Dancing Bear Animal Haven matters to you, please consider making a donation. Every dollar buys food, medicine, litter, hay, warmth, and, most importantly, time.

Time to heal.

Time to be loved.

Time to know that, for however long they have left, they matter.

Because here at Dancing Bear Animal Haven, every life matters, every life is loved, and no one leaves this world alone.

05/01/2026

05/01/2026

Happy girl!