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It was the best of times...

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PEAK TO PEAK - The air was stinging cold—temperatures that mid-January morning dipped below zero degrees. But up in the mountains, nature doesn’t just survive—it thrives in this weather.

Just off of Magnolia Road, the open fields that stretch before a beautiful backdrop of snow-packed peaks can be found full of grazing elk at opportune times of the day. And just a little further, one can find a magical place, where animals of a different kind, from different backgrounds, are thriving in a different way.

These animals, that suffer from complications, from disorders; those in need of surgeries and of extra care; and those work animals who were “put out to pasture” have found peace in the mountains of Boulder County. 

Once neglected, forgotten, or discarded, these animals are given a second chance to be loved and be healed at the Tails of Two Cities Animal Sanctuary (ToTC).

“Though I do love humans…I love animals more,” Jess Osborne, part-owner (along with her husband and partner, Myles) and visionary behind ToTC, confessed to The Mountain-Ear. “So I selfishly get to do what feels like my life purpose. 

“The goal is to rescue unwanted animals and then spoil the sh** out of them. My hope is that if we really spoil them, then they’ll be more willing to give back to the humans, because we want to spoil the humans too.”

Approaching the sanctuary for the first time, you can hear the echoing barrage of dog barks coming from inside the main house, as four furry ambassadors jump to greet you.

Brisbane, the matriarch, dutifully gives you a security sniff-down before leading you on the nickel tour of her cozy home.

Following closely in tow will be the other three ambassadors to ToTC: biological brothers Wilbur and Ziggy, and Darwin. Wilbur and Ziggy both suffer from cerebello vestibular disease, which affects Wilbur’s maneuverability and gives Ziggy seizures. 

Darwin came to ToTC suffering from parvo; his severe overbite required the removal of 12 of his teeth and realignment of his jaw when he was just a puppy.

But these dogs don’t act hurt or neglected. They smile from ear to ear as they greet you, sniff you, and very kindly ask for a little affection. Their excitement and glee at meeting you and showing you their home can be felt immediately.

“Dublin was the most patient, kind, mediator and giver of love unconditionally that I had ever known,” Osborne said, holding a picture of the beloved dog that embodied the spirit of ToTC.

“We call him the grandfather of the sanctuary. He set the tone for patience, kindness, universal acceptance, and radical love which is what we want this place to be for the animals and all the visitors that we’re fortunate to have come.”  

Osborne’s dream has taken a long time to materialize, as she has been an animal lover since a young age, adoring dogs and fostering an interest in horses, particularly for the positive impact of their natural energies.

Her career working with animals began in elder animal care, where she learned of her own need to give these often-overlooked animals the love, care, and respect they deserved. 

“Once animal sanctuaries became a thing, I thought, ‘Wow, that’s my dream job! Why was that not at the job fair!’ ” Osborne laughs.

“To be able to interact with animals in a beautiful, safe environment is really valuable; that’s why I feel we were so fortunate to get this place, because nature is healing too.” 

“You know when you feel like you’ve been hit by a semi,” Osborne offered as she explained how she felt when seeing the view of the property for the first time. “I had to pull over! All the elk were in the meadow, and it was one of the coolest places that I had ever seen.” 

Outside on the deck that overlooks a perfect view of the Peak to Peak, six curious young goats, wearing fashionable yet protective coats for the morning’s frigid temperatures, crowd the sliding glass doors, sensing the new visitors.

Rocket, a black and white spotted goat, jumps up on a table to peer through the windows of the kitchen. Once you go out onto the deck to greet them, Kings, Olive, Ozzy, Rocket, Toumy, and Vien will surround you and follow your every step. 

The six goats were rescued from a dairy farm, where they would have worked until their usefulness had reached their limits. But they aren’t nervous or afraid. They’re alive with inquisitive energy, like talkative toddlers who, instead of asking you a million questions, are nibbling at your coat buttons. 

ToTC is also home to: Louis the cat, lovingly referred to as King Louis; Albie and Wheezy, two energetic ducks, with Albie being the more protective defender of the small and flighty Wheezy; a bonded pair of mini-horses, Brooklyn and London, who came to the sanctuary suffering from overgrown hooves caused by neglect; a therapy donkey named Murphy, who acts as the “alarm system” for the sanctuary, and is mercilessly picked on by Brooklyn and London. 

The big, bold, and beautiful horse Rio, dude-ranch retiree Dream, and the demure, former-dressage horse Luna, radiate positive energy as they approach the gate to meet new visitors. Rio, at the sight of a camera, was sure to turn her face and give the photographer her good side.

The two newest visitors, American Guinea Hogs Bolt and Berl, were rescued and brought to ToTC by local resident Stephanie Andelman. This disregarded pair were in need of some love and care, as their tusks had not been properly manicured, and the littlest pig, Berl, was severely malnourished.

Neither animal had been properly fed by their previous owners, and Berl was too small to bully his brother Bolt away from their singular food bowl. They now are separated from each other when feeding, giving Berl a little more nutritious treats added to his bowl to bolster his health, and just giving Bolt the time alone he needs to weed out his food aggression.  

Andelman has been chronicling the story of the pigs on her social media, in posts aptly named “Pig Tails.” 

“He tried to bite a flower off my pants, and I felt the sharp tusks which had not been filed,” Andelman relayed, detailing how she and a friend attempted to wrangle the pigs when they first were found on the side of the road.

“I strung two dog leashes together and successfully lassoed him. I hung on as my arm flapped up and down, but his ear came out, and it slid off his neck. I commented, ‘well that was my first rodeo.’ We broke down laughing on the street for a good five minutes.”

Possibly one of the sanctuary’s greatest success stories, and furriest of residents, is Tallie the yak, niece of Nederland’s famous Murray. 

Tallie’s personality is strong, yet playful. She sassily pushes her way into the house with her big head, looking to say hello, be in everybody’s business, and to receive love and affection. Though she doesn’t get to enjoy as much inside-privilege as the dogs do because of her size, she still acts as one of the dogs when out for a walk with the family.

“Tallie was born right outside, twenty feet away from here,” Osborne explains. “I saw Woody hemming and hawing and there had been a lot of activity and coyote howling, and I was like, ‘I think there’s a baby and something’s wrong.’” 

Tallie was unable to stand and nurse, and the diagnosis for the newborn was grim, but Osborne just became more determined to save her. 

“She was unresponsive and pretty close to death, it was so cold and wet and she couldn’t stand, she couldn’t eat, and so I wrapped her in a down jacket and put her in the car, in the heated seat.”

Osborne had to rush down to a Walmart in Longmont, where she ran the aisles looking for bovine colostrum, with Tallie in a dog bed in her cart. After Osborne put the sustenance into a baby bottle in order for Tallie to feed, she brought the baby to CSU, where she received veterinary care overnight.

“I just really felt that even though all the outward signs were saying she wasn’t going to make it, she just had this spirit and this fight,” Osborne said.

“For the first two weeks after she came back home with us she had to have antibiotics and she couldn’t stand on her own unless we helped her. We had to warm her up often with a heating pad and take her temperature before we fed her her milk, which had to be between 101 and 102.5 degrees because her body had begun to shut down. We fed her every one to two hours that first week. She beat all the odds.”

Because of her strength and spirit, inspired by her determination to live, Tallie was named after Talkeetna, the small town at the base of Mount Denali in Alaska.

All the animals of ToTC are named after cities, not only to serve the punny name of the sanctuary, but to highlight another one of Jess and Myles Osborne’s shared passions: traveling.

“The goal of naming animals after cities is, we want to teach people about different cultures, music, and food.” 

Jess and Myles met in Boulder at a local bar called The Walrus, where she bartended and he frequented as a local professor. 

Though Jess often refers to having to coerce her husband into saving a baby yak or fostering two pigs found on the street, she notes that Myles has a natural “knack” with the animals, and is the perfect companion in their sanctuary venture.

“I would say to him, ‘The universe wants us to succeed, babe,’ and he’d say, ‘I’m not sure there’s an actual business plan, Jess.’ ”

“We’re a good mix, in the sense that even though I joke that he’s the CFO and the ‘Fun Regulator,’ we couldn’t survive if he wasn’t doing all those important things that I don’t want to do, am not good at, and just wouldn’t have the bandwidth to do unless I never slept.

“Even though I’ve had lots of moments of doubt, I always did really feel like this is going to work somehow,” Osborne said, getting emotional when looking at the friends and family in the room, including hardworking volunteers Bob and Deana Segil. 

“The amount of time that they volunteer here is really astounding and they support both Myles and I on all levels, with the animals in the sanctuary as well as emotionally,” Osborne continued.

“We’ve just had so much generosity in all forms, from volunteers and contributions, and it all comes from this wonderful place of love that I think helps us to continue and grow that, get love for sure and hopefully some healing on some level.

“The Nederland community and the way people have welcomed us and jumped in to help, the generosity has been really special and we just feel so fortunate.” 

Osborne’s vision for ToTC includes being a comfortable place for people in the community to come, not just to enjoy the sanctuary as a visitor, but to feel the intrinsic warmth and positive energy as a volunteer as well.

“We have something for someone of every ability and energy,” Osborne added, explaining how working at ToTC isn’t all shoveling poop. “If you just want to come and sit with the dogs and tell them how beautiful and handsome and smart and clever they are, that’s just as valuable as anything else.” 

Some of these animals came to ToTC after being discarded and disregarded, considered no longer “useful” by society’s design, or no longer wanted as pets because of their complications, because of their baggage.  

But just like people, all animals have merits beyond how they serve us, and all animals deserve a chance to be loved. 

The reciprocal love and energy that radiates from these animals, from having been given second chances, from being shown small kindnesses, encouragement, and empathy, can be felt all around Osborne’s sanctuary. 

It can be felt in the way the goats follow your every move, enjoying skritches and playfully nibbling at your coat’s buttons; and in the way the dogs gleefully welcome you and usher you about the house, then lie comfortably in your company after having been formally introduced. 

That warm solace of sitting under the mountain sky, harmoniously together with the dogs, the horses, the goats, or even young and sassy Tallie the yak, is truly healing.

Thanks to the hard work and care of Jess and Myles Osborne, of Bob and Deena Segil, and of all the friends and family who volunteer their time and effort, Tails of Two Cities Animal Sanctuary has already become a beacon of light and hope, where these special animals return the love and affection they’re given tenfold. 

Tails of Two Cities is located at 326 Twin Sisters Road. For more information on how to donate to their cause, sponsor an animal, sign up to volunteer, or arrange a visit, go to: https://www.tailsoftwocitiessanctuary.org.