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The Tigers of Serenity Springs

Nanda worked in
California as a “hit cat” and was trained by Charlie Sammit. Her job was
to knock actors to the ground without hurting them and walk away. She
was trained with positive reinforcement using food and is so gentle you could
take food right out of her mouth. (Not that anyone wants to try it!) Retired at
the age of 6, she is now 15 and still loves to take down anyone in with her who
is not paying attention.

Valic was the smallest
of his siblings. When he was 6 months old he was getting injured while playing
with his sisters. An exam by CSU showed that he had a severe calcium
deficiency. We separated him and started intensive calcium treatments. After
a
year his calcium levels were 100% and it only takes a look to see that he is no
longer the runt!
Animal control officers from the Mt
Rushmore area called SSWC in 2002. The owner of an animal park had abandoned
several animals with only $35 in an account. The owner was charged with 50
counts of animal abuse in South Dakota and Colorado but only received a $1000
fine. Reyna was one of the tigers SSWC rescued. She is now happily living her mate,
Shirkhan, at SSWC.
When
Shirkhan
was used for photo opportunities in an animal park in South Dakota, he was lifted out of his cage by his
front legs and
sustained a torn rotator cuff. He is no longer
in pain but will never be 100%. He loves to play and splash with Reyna in their
pool. Watch out or he'll splash you too!
Tiger
was purchased by a couple in Texas to be a pet for their 4 and 6 years old
daughters. At a year old and 160 pounds the family became afraid of him. They
chained Tiger to a tree and called SSWC to pick him up. Tiger became an
educational cat and went to schools with Nick until he was 5 years old.
Tiger liked his trips so much that when Nick returned home, he did not want
to get out of the back of the van!

Seth, one of our fuzzy tigers, came
to SSWC with his two sisters from Myrtle Beach, SC where they were used for photo
opportunities. They were not properly
vaccinated and contracted
parvo, Seth was the only one to survive.
Seth loves to rough house and play with his buddy Daisy.

These playful boys,
Twinkle, Lazareth and Diablo
were born at SSWC. Their parents are Reyna and Shirkan. Lazareth likes to dunk his food
in the pool and then eat it. Ick! Twinkle is the dominate male, probably to get
back at the person who named him Twinkle and Diablo loves to play in the pool
and stalk and pounce on his brothers.
Bianca,
a
15 year old white tiger, was born in Dirk Arthur's endangered species breeding
program and featured in his live show and television on Dirk's Animal Planet
Special "Big Cat Magic". A calm sweet cat, performing was starting to be a bit
much for her due to her age. She now spends her time playing and resting in the
sun.

Previously owned
by Dirk Arthur, Snowmagic was brought to the SSWC to retire after being a
featured performer in Arthur’s Xtreme Magic show at the Tropicana Resort and
Casino in Las Vegas.
URGENT URGENT URGENT
We are facing a difficult decision with medical care for one of our beloved cats, Snow Magic. You may or may not have heard but we have had him under medical care now for almost 2 years. He arrived 3 years ago and after about 1 year, he had a spinal aneurism. Dr Holly Colella, a local equine veterinarian and our primary vet Dr Mel consulted and gave him steroids and acupuncture treatments. He regained partial mobility but now is on the decline once again. Dr Colella made a visit out this last Sunday for another treatment. The muscle holding the ball joint in his left hind leg has deteriorated and is now dislocated. Other than his leg he seems to be in good spirits and often chuffs at both the staff and visitors and still really enjoys his swimming pool!!! The decision we have to face is euthanasia or trying to give him a longer life and amputate the leg. This has not been done on a Tiger to our knowledge but we all believe he could still have quality of life as he is only 10 years old. Which brings us to the cost. The procedure may cost us up to $10,000 and we would like to build an new recovery enclosure not just for him but cats that may need extended care in the future. The cost for the recovery enclosure may reach approximately $15,000. Winter is coming and as you all know our toughest months but we feel he deserves the opportunity. Snow Magic is one of only 17 Snow tigers in the world. This is a tough decision but one that we must make very soon. Please let us know if you or anyone you know can help us with this project whether it be monetarily, materials or labor. If you are able to help out monetarily please note that your donation is to be applied to our Snow Magic/ Recovery Enclosure effort. Thank You!!!
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