Several animals found new homes after a pet rescue event at the Greenfield Farmers and Crafters Market on Sunday.
Representatives from SATO Dog Rescue, the NH Rescue League, and Francestown’s Morphs and Milestones all brought rescued animal to the market. As of noon, several animals, including two dogs and a tortoise, had found new families.
The Greenfield Farmers and Crafters Market is held every Sunday at Oak Park in Greenfield from 10 am to 1 pm through October 25. The market also includes local fleamarket and antiques vendors as well.
Nate Monty, founder of Morphs and Milestones, said he was very happy to support the Greenfield Farmer’s Market.
“I’m so happy people came here and they’re supporting the community. It’s all about supporting our local farmers,” Monty said.
Monty brought several tortoises who had been rescued and rehabilitated, including Bowser, a 41-pound Sulcata tortoise who had spent his life living in a small box that had prevented him from walking.
“When we got Bowser, he really couldn’t walk because he had been so confined. Now, my volunteers are taking him for walks all the time. They walk him from our building in the Mt. Crotched firehouse all the way down to the cemetery, and now he’s like a 40-year-old guy who found CrossFit,” Monty said. “All he wants to do is walk.”
Monty pointed out a dented portion of Bowser’s shell, which he says is a result of years of malnourishment.
“But now he’s good. He’s happy,” Monty said.
Bowser took full advantage of the visit to Oak Park, cruising around the edge of the fenced-in baseball field for hours. Mario, another rescued tortoise, was making good time crossing the outfield. Each tortoise had a balloon on its back so volunteers could keep them in sight.
“They keep losing their balloons, but luckily, we can keep up with them,” said volunteer Sadie Patten. “They can move pretty fast when they want to.”
Another tortoise, Lizzo, has a type of hypoplasia, or underdeveloped vital organs, which Monty says is the result of “being fed the wrong diet.”
Another tortoise, Bane, was unable to eat or drink when he came to Morphs and Milestones because his beak had grown over his mouth as a result of malnutrition.
“So when he came to us, I had to do a little re-sculpting on his face, because his beak had grown over his face like a fan. And when I re-sculpted it, he took a big gasp of air, and then when one of our volunteers took him outside, he immediately started eating grass,” Monty said. “These animals are just so amazing.”
Many of the animals at Morphs and Milestones suffered from being kept in confined spaces and from being fed an inadequate diet. According to Monty, tortoises need a large enclosure that allows them to move around.
“They have to go in your basement, or you need to build yourself a large area. These small tortoises could have like a 4 x 8 area, and they would need an outside area as well,” he said.
Bowser and the other tortoises can follow voice commands, including getting up to walk or finding a target.
“All my tortoises get trained; they are like dogs,” he said. “I have the best workers and volunteers in the world.”
