Door County Style

Return to Rory of the Peaceable Kingdom…

Posted on 27. Aug, 2008 by Norbert Blei in Literature

This essay on Rory Walter written by Norb Blei was originally published in the DoorCountyCompass.com on December 11, 2002 but it deserves to be shared once again. Find more of Norb’s latest publications at
Blei’s Door County Times.

It’s been a while since I last checked in with the greatest Caregiver for Creatures on the Continent–certainly the greatest that County Door has ever known but as some wise-guy once said: the more things change, the more they remain the same. Some of the old dog characters like Nimrod may be gone, but there are always others looking to hang out in her place: Dufus, Pearl the bloodhound, Itchy, Snuff, Helen the basset hound. A population of 150 to 300 creatures on any given day. Farm animals included.

The good news: Rory is still in place, (All Creatures Home for Animals, Box 155, Baileys Harbor, WI 54202) still dedicated to her special animal-calling life, still laughing, still a little crazy at times, trying to keep her whole kingdom of fallen-down houses, broken trucks, and sick, hurt, aging, abandoned and lonesome animals together. The place has become a kind of Olds Folks Home for old animals. A kind of hospice for others. The Old Ones garner her special attention. She turns no one away. And continues to spend her last cent to make any sick creature’s life as comfortable as possible to the very end, “Some people think it’s out of control. But I can do it. It’s more of a healing thing.”

To engage her in conversation is an experience in multi-voice channeling: you and her; you, her and the dogs; the dogs and the dogs, and the cats, horses, sheep, goats, cow, pigs, donkeys…with the thread of conversation between the two humans frequently lost to a growing conversational chatter of creature sounds, and Rory periodically calling out, “Time-out, guys,” in the gentlest of tones. And the miracle of miracles: everything becomes still again. You can almost hear a dog’s thinking.

“A lot of people who do this work walk out if it eventually,” she admits. But if you know Rory, here’s a creature with a human heart so big, hands so strong, determination so boundless… her life has definitely “gone to the dogs.” In the most positive, giving, spiritual way of living imaginable.

On the bad news front: It’s still money and physical assistance she needs to keep her special Ark afloat. Since my last visit, her old house is gone-gone beyond repair–totally uninhabitable. And rumors that she’s moved into the barn with the animals a few years ago for her own shelter, are true. Friends helped her secure a tiny, insulated room there (9′x18′) with a small oil heater for winter. “I am warm for the first time,” she tells you. She loves where she lives, “I can hear the pigs snoring, the babies being born.” So what if she has no hot water! And is in need of a new house probably more than a newcomer to Door building his/her third vacation home.

There’s a lot of negative energy out there, she admits. People who don’t understand her. People kind of snooty… people who might complain they don’t want to live near an animal shelter. People with unexplainable (and unfounded) fears-like “dogs running in packs.” Which just ain’t true. Not her peaceable creatures. But for the most part, she assures you, her neighbors are very supportive.

Well, it’s Christmas time in Doordom again, folks. And instead of buying a little more of what you probably don’t need, keep this good woman and her cause in mind. Here are Rory’s Christmas wishes. Be thoughtful and generous. It’s time to help all creatures, great and small, who make all our lives so miraculous. Help a real Caretaker who cares, keep the peaceable Kingdom alive and well:

1. Donations:

All Creatures Home for Animals
c/o Rory Walter
Box 155
Baileys Harbor, WI 54202

2. Food drop off:

Place food items in the barrels located at all of the major grocery stores.

3. And some real specialty items:

Skilled labor. More housing. Repairs galore. A pole building. A dependable truck. Drop her a note, give her a call.

“Every moment is so full,” she says. “It a wonderful life here. I’m deeply happy here.”

And that’s about all she wants for Christmas …”Except if Denzel Washington should be driving by and his car breaks down…”

Tags: animal welfare, Baileys Harbor, Norb Blei, Rory Walter