Animal rescue update: Thirteen cats taken to the vet; more cats, blind pig, chickens need help

This pig at the former Stutzman's is so fat it is mechanically blind.

So far, thirteen cats have been rescued on the former site of the Stutzman's Garden Center and taken to a veterinarian, all but one of them underweight. The one that is not underweight may be pregnant, according to Nick Ormes who is coordinating the rescue of the remaining animals from what was once a popular attraction at the nursery. They have all been put on a special diet, which has become a drain on the resources of Ormes' organization the Ranch Menagerie Animal Sanctuary.

There are still a few animals left to be removed from the property at the behest of the village, Ormes said in a telephone interview, yesterday. Among them are three or four cats that hide whenever they hear his van arrive on his daily trips to feed and rescue the remaining animals. He is working hard to gain their trust and is on the verge of being able to catch one of them that comes close when he offers food.

A rooster, a lame hen and a mother hen with just one chick, make up a family of chickens that he is also close to being able to round up by currying favor with food.

A bigger problem is the two remaining pigs that are grossly overweight due to improper diet. One of them is so fat, folds of skin have closed its eyes so it can no longer see. Ormes has to get them into his van so they can be moved to a farm where he is temporarily lodging the rescued animals. That can be tricky under the best of circumstances, but the blind pig will probably panic when he tries to move it, he said. So, he has also been working to gain their trust as he has fed them everyday since the village asked him to check on the animals on April 7. His plan is to get the pig that can see into his truck first, hoping that the blind pig will hear it and cooperate. The good news is that with proper diet, the pig will lose weight an regain its eyesight, he said.

According to Ormes, village officials will be touring the property this week to check in the condition of the village owned land.

Related post: Checking on the animals at Stutzman's

Checking on the animals at Stutzman's

This pretty kitty was obviously undernourished.

This long-haired cat had an ulcerated tail.

Animal rescuer Nick Ormes holds a sick cat
he will be taking to the vet.

Nick Ormes had a feeling he should drop by the Village Manager's office yesterday afternoon to check on the status of the 20 acres of land that was once Stutzman's Nursery. He had noticed that the nursery sign had been removed and a "No Trespassing" sign had been posted on the gate. Ormes, who used to care for the animals at Stutzman's, has been interested in leasing the property as a location for his animal rescue mission. However, although the village had evicted business owner Gary Stutzman, he had refused to leave the property where he had set up temporary lodgings, leaving the status of the property in a state of confusion.

As it turned out, the Village Manger's office, at the very moment Ormes came through the door, was in the act of trying to contact him. Now that Stutzman was fully evicted and not allowed on the property any more, they wanted Ormes to see if there were any animals left behind to be rescued. Ormes was happy to help out. He was instructed to call the YSPD dispatchers if he found Stutzman on the property.

Shortly after he arrived, he called me and asked me to come up with a camera to document the condition of the animals. When I got there, he was there with Jackie Smith, Vice President of Ormes' operation, The Ranch Menagerie Animal Sanctuary. They were in the process of rounding up several emaciated cats that were a part of the dozen-or-so roaming the lot. Some of them were in better condition than others; some were ill; and one of them had a visible ulcer. Ormes said he would be taking the worst-off of the cats for veterinary care the next day. He knows most of them by name. He is heartsick and spends the next 20 minutes looking for a cat named Callie that he had spotted briefly, before she went into hiding. She looked ill, he said.

The animals that looked the healthiest were the chickens. Free to roam, they could forage for food off the lot or in a variety of animal enclosures. With the arrival of spring, they probably had plenty of insects to eat. However, there is no way to account for how many might have been lost to predators, since they have not been locked in at night.

The two pigs that were there looked deceptively healthy. One was so fat, her belly was dragging on the ground. However, according to Smith, that is not a healthy condition and is probably the result of being fed an improper diet.

Of additional concern were the two iguanas that were still residing in one of the green houses. There being no electricity, they probably were not being kept warm enough. Happily, they seemed to be okay, although a bit green about the gills.

Not sure what he would find, Ormes had arrived on the scene with a variety of feed for the animals. He had fed the animals by the time I arrived.

"Fortunately, someone has been giving them water," he said. But he wasn't so sure about the food, especially given the condition of the cats.

Volunteers or those wishing to adopt can contact Nick Ormes at theranchmenagerie@yahoo.com. Tax deductible donations can be made to The Ranch Menagerie Animal Sanctuary Fund at the Greene County Community Foundation or to P.O. Box 123, Yellow Springs, OH 45387. For more information, visit http://www.theranchmenagerie.org/ on the Web.

Related post: Post Stutzman's, Nick Ormes is still caring for the animals

Click here to see more photos of the animals left on the former Stutzman's property.

Post-Stutzman’s, Nick Ormes is still caring for the animals

Back in 2005, Nick Orme’s had to leave the farm where he was living in Beavercreek and find new digs. That would have been a problem for just about anyone. But for Nick, the hassle of having to move was exacerbated by the fact that he had to do something with all the ducks, chickens, guinea hens and geese people had surrendered to his care over the years. Fortunately, around that same time, someone told him that Gary Stutzman was also caring for owner-surrendered animals on his nursery property in Yellow Springs. Nick came up to take a look, and thus started a relationship that lasted for some three years.

“I could see that Gary needed help,” Ormes said in a recent interview. “There were problems with how the animals were being fed and in protecting them from predators. I asked him if he wanted help.”

Nick ended up moving his camper onto the nursery grounds and splitting his time between living on the property and in an apartment in Yellow Springs, so he could be up early in the morning to feed and water the animals.

“The volunteers were only able to feed the animals on their own schedules, but they needed to be fed in the morning,” Ormes said.

Over the course of the next three years, Ormes worked as a full-time volunteer caring for the animals at the nursery and working to establish a nonprofit animal shelter, even as Stutzman’s personal problems brought the nursery business to a halt and necessitated his absence from the property for several months. When Stutzman returned last November, he was faced with an eviction notice from the Village of Yellow Springs, which owns the real estate, and most of the physical property had been attached with tax liens.

While he was gone, he’d had many of the animals removed from the property. When he returned, he took steps to evict Ormes and the rest of the animals that Ormes had been caring for at his own expense. Recently, Village Council gave Stutzman a 90-day extension on the eviction and he continues to do business there. There are still a few animals on the property.

Once again, Ormes found himself on the move, this time having to find temporary lodging for some 200 animals including rabbits, turtles, lizards, cats, dogs, chickens, ducks, geese, donkeys, horses, pigs, peacocks, goats, sheep, and a variety of exotic birds. Many of them are what he calls “special needs animals.”

“I had to find homes for everything from finches to horses,” Ormes said.

Fortunately, the organization he founded, The Ranch Menagerie Animal Sanctuary, which he is working to establish as a 501 (c) (3), was the recipient of a bequest that has allowed him to continue to purchase equipment, feed, and medical attention for the animals. He used the money to establish a fund at the Greene County Community Foundation to pay for the animals’ care.

Ormes was able, on short notice, to find like-minded folks who would take in the animals on a temporary basis. They are now spread around on family farms in Troy, Beavercreek, nearby Clark County, and Xenia. Every morning Ormes rises and makes the rounds, bringing food and other supplies to each of these places.

“Some people will not let us pay for food,” he said.

He is actively looking for a suitable location to establish his sanctuary. He would like to have it in Yellow Springs, but barring that, anywhere in Greene County, especially Miami Township where he can find between 20 and 100 acres would do, including the Stutzman’s property should it become available.

“100 acres would be ideal,” he said. “We could use some of the land to grow hay for our own use and to sell in order to be self –sustaining.”

Recently, I visited one of the places Ormes is keeping his animals, five acres with a couple barns in Greene County. The owners, Jerry and Susie have asked that I not reveal their full names or the location, because when people find out that they take in owner-surrendered and rescued animals, they will be flooded with requests and people might even abandon animals at their front gate. They have been taking in special needs animals for eight years. They have as much as they can handle right now.

When I arrive, Ormes and the owners are waiting for a farrier to work on the hooves of a crippled, 25-year-old donkey called Molly who was brought here from Stutman’s. Molly has a bad knee and often lies down in her stall. She has trouble getting up without assistance and gets bedsores that require treatment. Her front hooves need to be trimmed to improve the way she plants them when she walks on her bad knee. She is at once rambunctious and friendly.


“We spent $700 out-of-pocket on Molly for the ferrier and shots,” Jerry tells me. “It costs about $2,000-a-year for a horse, plus problems.” He often worries about having enough hay to get through the winter.

While we wait, Susie leads a blind pony called Sugar from the barn to a fenced in area. When they got Sugar, she was pregnant. Her two-year-old colt is out behind the barn with a half-dozen horses grazing on a hay bale.

Alongside the barn are three geese I recognize from Stuzman’s. One of the females is sitting on a clutch of huge eggs in a converted animal carrier. A male is guarding her and screams at us as we approach. Chickens are running everywhere. According to Ormes, the geese had been adopted out, but they were returned because the people hadn’t realized how loud they could get.

“Recognize that banty rooster?” Ormes asks as we tour one of the barns.

I do. It is one I gave to Ormes last year. We called it Henrietta until it grew a fancy tail and sharp spurs. After that it was Henry. When Henry started to crow, he had to go.


The farrier arrives. It takes three people to hold Molly as he works on her hooves. When he is done, her gait is noticeably improved.

“She looks a lot better than the last time I was here,” the farrier says. “She is gaining weight.”

Nick, and Jerry and Susie are pleased.

The Ranch Menagerie Animal Sanctuary has a five-member board and twelve additional volunteers. You too can help a pigeon-toed duck that keeps tripping itself, a one-eyed rooster, a blind pony and a crippled donkey. Volunteers or those wishing to adopt can contact Nick Ormes at theranchmenagerie@yahoo.com. Tax deductible donations can be made to The Ranch Menagerie Animal Sanctuary Fund at the Greene County Community Foundation or to P.O. Box 123, Yellow Springs, OH 45387. For more information, visit http://www.theranchmenagerie.org/ on the Web.