Monkey’s House – A Dog Hospice & Sanctuary
Monkey’s House – A Dog Hospice & Sanctuary
In this week’s episode of “It’s A Dog’s Life,” I got the chance to sit down with one of my favorite people, Michelle Allen. Michelle Allen is the Founder and Owner of Monkey’s House – a dog hospice and sanctuary.
Michelle is currently quarantined in her house, Monkey’s House, with 23 dogs and a few more temporary fostered dogs as well. Yes, it’s a lot. And on a usual business day, Michelle would have anywhere from 1-8 volunteers helping around the house. But, because of the pandemic currently happening – she and her husband have had to get creative managing everything themselves.
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A Typical Day
Every morning starts with 23+ dogs waking up and Michelle and her husband feeding them breakfast. After eating, everyone gets to enjoy a nice walk before break time at lunch. With that many dogs, break time isn’t that long either. Usually, early afternoon is when things start kicking off again and Michelle and her husband finally get to call it quits around 11 pm at night. To add, throughout the day Michelle is also making sure everyone is healthy, all the dog’s nails are good, and just typical pet parent tasks.
Also, with this many dogs, you’ll have a lot of different personalities. All current dogs at Monkey’s House are senior dogs except their own puppy. Out of the 23+ dogs there, there are multiple blind and deaf dogs that need a lot of guidance on their walk and activities. There are also two dogs that can’t go to the bathroom on their own. Plus, there are two dogs who don’t always get along with the others. So, sometimes it’s hard, but all-in-all most of the dogs all get along and Michelle loves what she does. (So do we).
How It All Began
Like a lot of things in life, Michelle began Monkey’s House by accident. But, she truly believes she was meant to do this and was guided.
“In 2009, my one dog had passed away leaving us with one. I’ve always had a dog growing up, same with my husband. Not being in the best emotional space, I knew one dog in this household wasn’t enough. I ended up calling a friend that worked at the volunteer shelter and needed her to find me a dog. Knowing I couldn’t go in there, I asked my friend to pick one for me. After she went through multiple dogs, I ended up bringing home two. These dogs ended up filling our home again.”
This is where Michelle started helping the shelter without actually physically going there. Taking dogs in, doing their laundry, you name it!
Finally, the volunteers got Michelle to enter the shelter and she fell in love.
If there was one story that really began Michelle’s journey for Monkey’s House though, it would be the sweet Golden Retriever, Goldey.
The Sweet Golden Retriever Foster
Once the shelter pulled me in, I ended up fostering this sweet Golden Retriever named Goldey. She had lots of problems. A big lump on her skin that she couldn’t lay down on, she wouldn’t eat and I needed to help.
Now, when you’re fostering someone else’s dog, you need to take them to their own vet and go by their schedule. Michelle usually follows the rules, but this time, it was for the good to change up the system.
Goldey was planned to have surgery, but Michelle knew that wasn’t a good choice. She was too sick and old to be going under surgery and she had to do something.
After making a fake appointment with the vet tech who was supposed to give the surgery, Michelle explained her side of the story and expressed why she doesn’t think this is a good idea.
Michelle was surprised, “this vet was amazing.”
After some testing, the vet was 99% sure that Goldey had a brain tumor. She didn’t have much more time left on this earth.
“We ended up adopting sweet Goldey and made sure the last few days she had on this earth were happy and comfortable for her.”
Next, the word started spreading about the amazing things Michelle did for Goldey, and others wanted her help.
Our Family
Right now at Money’s House, it’s a packed house. Trying to go through all the amazing dogs at the house would take a couple of posts, so I’ll just share a few.
One of the dogs currently there is a big German Shepard with DM (Dog ALS). He can’t use his back end and can barely use his front end. Michelle has put him on a four-way cart and takes him everywhere with the dogs to keep him part of the pack at all times.
Another pup, named Arial, currently at the Monkey’s House only has two legs and a massive mammary tumor. Even with these struggles, once Michelle got Arial on a cart – she was happy and off running with all the other dogs.
No matter the health issue or obstacle these dogs have, Michelle and the other great people at Monkey’s House find a way to make sure these dogs are happy and do their best to make sure their pain free.
Taking Care Of The Seniors
“I use to feed kibble to all my dogs my whole life. I didn’t know better.”
It wasn’t until Michelle took a class from Dr. Judy Morgan that she learned the difference and importance of what our dogs are eating. Also, knowing what specific diets we should be feeding our dogs for their specific needs.
Once Michelle started feeding specific diets to her dog’s needs – the difference was insane!
“I started seeing resolved health issues that I didn’t even know were there.”
Diet is everything, our dog’s health begins at the gut.
Learn more about your dog’s diet >>
Using CBD
Michelle uses CBD Dog Health’s products to help many dogs at her rescue.
The German Shepard mentioned at the beginning has bad separation anxiety since the day she stepped foot ay Monkey’s House. So, Michelle gives him CALM Full Spectrum Hemp Extract (CBD) and the difference is night and day.
“She lets me know she is calm after I give her the CBD and I leave her.”
Michelle has also had great results using EASE Full Spectrum Hemp Extract (CBD) for the dogs with allergies!
“The itching just stopped.”
CBD Oil has also been a great product for dogs, especially senior dogs.
Dosing CBD
One of the most common ways to dose CBD that companies recommend is to dose by weight. But that is not always the best or the most accurate way to use full spectrum hemp extract (CBD).
Despite common misconceptions, dosing has very little to do with your dog’s size or weight. Finding the right dosage depends on your specific dog, their specific ailment, and how sensitive their endocannabinoid system is.
Just like Michelle, a lot of pet parents need to dose by the actual aliment their dog is experiencing.
The most important thing to remember is that your pet cannot overdose on CBD. If you give your pet too much, the most that will happen is that they may become sleepy or have diarrhea.
Learn more about dosing CBD to your pet >>
Monkey’s House
We appreciate and love what Michelle and everyone at Monkey’s House does every day.
Please check out their site here, or their Facebook page here.
About Angela Ardolino
Angela Ardolino is passionate about animals and has dedicated her life to providing all-natural relief to pets of all ages and breeds. Ardolino has worked with animals for over 20 years and operates Fire Flake Farm, a rescue farm in Lutz, FL. A medical cannabis expert, Ardolino holds a degree in the therapeutic uses of cannabis from the University of Vermont School of Medicine and is the founder of CBD Dog Health. Combining her background in broadcast journalism and her passion for pets, Ardolino is the host of a pet-centric podcast, “It’s a Dog’s Life” on Cannabis Radio. Additionally, she is the owner of Beautify the Beast, a natural pet salon and spa. Ardolino cares for anywhere from 5 to 20 dogs, 9 geese, 12 chickens, 12 ducks, 2 rabbits, and 1 pig at any given time on her farm. Visit www.AngelaArdolino.com and www.CBDDogHealth.com to learn more.
About Michelle Allen
Michelle Allen is the founder of Monkey’s House – a hospice and sanctuary for dogs. With dogs of her own, Michelle takes in senior dogs every day that need the help and care form herself and the awesome volunteers at Monkey’s House. After learning more about diet, supplements, and natural ways to take care of senior dogs – Michelle mixes her knowledge and love for animals to give you a safe place to take care of dogs. Visit https://www.monkeyshouse.org/ for more infomraiton and to donate to such a great cause. Also, visit their Facebook page to get up-to-date information on Michelle, the team, and all the great dogs currently at Monkey’s House.