Everyone has been very busy the last couple days and there just didn’t seem to be time to write the blog for Monday, we hope that you understand!
Monday was a very beautiful day at the shelter. The horses are enjoying the beautiful warm weather and it’s really helping the grass to grow taller each day.
Skippy had to be taken to the vet, there seemed to be some ongoing problems, so today was his chance to be checked out. He wasn’t in pain, we were concerned for his long term well being.
The drive to the vet was very uneventful.
At the vet Skippy was examined and it was found that he had something neurologically wrong with him. This made it extremely difficult for him to walk in a straight line. It didn’t cause him pain, but we wanted to find out from the vet what was the best for him as he is 28 years old. If he was going to continue to decline then we needed to make the tough decision.
After the examination Dr Weaver told us that he was actually a danger to himself and others as he could lose his balance and fall on someone, another animal or even hurt himself while falling.
As evening came we said “Goodbye” to Skippy as he watched his last sunset with Tawnee by his side. It’s always so hard, but knowing that Skippy never knew the horrors of the slaughter process and that the people at the end of his life cared for him and gave him love, made it all worth it.
Tuesday morning, everyone was up and going long before the sun was up. By the time the sun was starting to brighten the eastern sky the rescue rig with 2 staff and a volunteer was already far down the road.
After even more driving the sun finally came up over the horizon.
Where was the adventure heading? We have been in contact with a mortgage company lawfirm that handles foreclosures, and they were foreclosing on an organic farm that had about 90 animals, mostly cows, pigs and horses. The sheriff would be at the property at 8:00 am for a lockdown and we had to be there as we would be caring for the animals for the next 30 days to give the owners a chance to find a new home for the animals. If the animals were not removed from the property they would be coming to the shelter.
On the way there the road turned into a little muddy trail and the truck had to be put into 4 wd. Hauling hay and feed for 90 animals (all of which would have to be certified organic hay and feed) would be quite challenging! We had made tentative arrangements for a semi truck and trailer to bring in a load of certified organic hay, but upon seeing this road Tawnee gave up all hopes.
They finally arrived at the property. It was a really sad sight. You could tell the owners were stressed and sad about leaving their lovely home, their hopes and their dreams.
Thankfully the owners had gotten all the animals removed before the time of the lockdown. There were no animals that needed our help!
We were really impressed by this mortgage company lawfirm, that they will go to such great lengths and spend money to care for animals when their owners are forced to leave them behind. They had a vet come out to be on site on the day of the lockdown to look over all the animals with us to make sure they were all A-OK. They will also be compensating our shelter for the trip up there and the research done preparing for the care of these organic farm animals. So many times you hear the horror stories about foreclosure companies leaving animals behind that starve and thirst to death, well finally there is a good company!
The entire day was set aside for the lockdown, but with no animals to care for, in only a few hours everyone was back. Tawnee got a call on the media line that TV Channel 7 wanted to come out and do an interview and tour the shelter. Apparently it wasn’t a very busy news day or they just like us.
The reporter enjoyed meeting all the animals and interviewing Tawnee.
The reporter had never touched a cow and was delighted to meet Parcy and learn his story about how his life was saved as a day old drop calf.
Parcy made sure that he had lots of camera time. He stood there majestically looking at the camera, then meandered over and stuck his nose right into the camera. Shortly after this the reporter stepped away from her camera to talk to Tawnee and Parcy took this opportunity to take a bite on the camera to see if it tasted good. A quick move by Tawnee kept the camera from hitting the ground.
After the reporter left Shadow, who had been sleeping, decided to come over and see what was happening. Tawnee told her that next time a reporter comes out she’ll try to get her in the spotlight too.
Then Parcy came over and wanted his favorite spot under his chin scratched too. They sure have become best friends and are so cute together. It was nice for the reporter to see how affectionate and loving a “food” animal can be. She had also never touched a horse and loved meeting Phoenix and all the other horses.
They don’t put all their news clips online, but you can read a transcript of the news clip and see a picture by clicking here.
A huge “Thank you!” goes to Pamela N., Sara H., Gail G., and Tracy C. for their generous donations. You can see your name here tomorrow and help the animals at the shelter all at the same time! Click here.