Golden Valley Fire Department Donates Old Hoses to The Wildcat Sanctuary
A hundred miles north of the Twin Cities, far from most normal human interaction, large tigers stalk the ground, chuffing at their neighbors, which in some cases are other tigers. Or a Canada lynx across the way. Or a panther. Or, in a couple of cases nearby, the kings of the jungle: lions.
A white lion rests on a late-winter morning at The Wildcat Sanctuary near Sandstone, MN.
“Our rescues here come from a variety of situations, be it from private owner surrenders, be it from closed-down roadside zoos, be it from seizure from authorities, yes a variety of reasons that they come here,” said Judson Tharin, who works in communication for the non-profit The Wildcat Sanctuary. “But the through-line of all of that is that they get to come here and live out the best and last chapter of their life.”
Fueled by Donations
The more than 140 cats live in enclosures surrounded by all manner of fencing and locked gates near the town of Sandstone. All of their needs are met by generous donations.
“That is a lot of mouths to feed, a lot of habitats to upkeep, a lot of enrichment to be given to these animals,” said Tharin. “A lot of vet care to be given.”
Not many visitors get to come and see them. Sometimes, donors get in. Sometimes, the media gets in, like on this particular occasion. Visitors do sign a waiver, and children under 18 are not allowed. Visitors are instructed to keep back away from the chain-link enclosures, for safety.
“Maybe some of these tigers were coming to us as former pets. That doesn’t mean they’re as safe as a dog or safe as a cat,” said Tharin. “They’re apex predators through and through, they possess the power to kill. They have teeth, claws. The power of strength these cats have is almost limitless.”
The power of those who support The Wildcat Sanctuary is nearly as limitless. Currently, all donations are matched through a campaign to help fund the program.
Golden Valley Connection
The sanctuary recently also received a donation of a different kind: 1,000 feet of used and no-longer-certifiable-to-use fire hose from the Golden Valley Fire Department.
“It’s incredibly durable. It has kind of that hard fabric layer, and it’s not only durable but it’s malleable,” said Tharin. “We’re able to weave it, we’re able to kind of button it up, and make cubes out of it, make balls. We’ve made long, almost kind of tying it, making a big tie toy for one of our rescued tiger cubs we had at the time. You name it. I think creativity is the limit when it comes to something like fire hose.”
A bed for a bengal tiger made of used fire hose inside an enclosure at The Wildcat Sanctuary near Sandstone, MN.
Firefighters at Golden Valley’s busy suburban department were more than happy to be able to donate what normally would just go in the dumpster. Assistant Chief Dominique Guzman said they normally can keep hose viable for firefighting use for about ten years.
“If we charge the line, it gets water inside, we can leave that on, as long as it doesn’t get really dirty and wet. But if it does on the outside get dirty and wet, we’ll pressure-wash it off, and we have a hose dryer we can throw it in,” said Guzman. “It’s a day or two for it to really dry out. We don’t want it to sit in the hose beds and get mildewy. Then it will start to sink. That’s no fun.”
The department heard about the opportunity to donate through an online forum with firefighters from around the state.
“It feels good, I’m not going to lie,” said Guzman. “It’s the sustainability part of things. Can we take something out of the dumpster and put it to use somewhere else? The answer here was yes. It seemed like a great opportunity for us.”
Hope to Continue Sustainable Giving
It’s a gift that the folks at The Wildcat Sanctuary hope could spur others to examine what they might have and no longer need that maybe the huge cats can use for years to come. Inside one of the Canada lynx enclosures were old street sweeper brushes that the cats could use as big scratching posts.
“We live in the day and age where we want to re-purpose, we want to reuse, we want to reduce,” said Tharin. “We want to encourage any (potential donors) to get in touch with us to see if anything they have would be of use to us as well.”
