Hello Everyone,
I want to share a story with you, it’s not the first story of its kind over all the years I’ve rescued horses, but when it happens it’s always special. In our last blog we talked about 3 horses that we had recently rescued. There was a piece of paper that said if someone could no longer keep Booyah that the original owner would like him back. We were planning on contacting the owner, but we posted the 3 horses on Facebook first. What we didn’t know was Booyah’s original owner had been following us on Facebook for over 2 years. She had us on the setting to see first, and when Booyah popped up, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Her whole day came crashing down on her, to see Booyah in that condition just broke her heart.
She had placed Booyah with a person, as she felt she was no longer the best home for him. Booyah has COPD, and their neighbors would burn tires, aggravating his condition. She loved Booyah immensely and in May of this year she felt she had found him the perfect home. The thing I want to stress here is if you have a horse with a lifelong medical condition, no one else is going to have the emotional connection and love for them that you do. When placing a horse with a medical condition like COPD, the new owner may like the horse, or think they can take care of it, but they are not emotionally attached to the horse. The person who owned these 3 horses was desperate to get rid of them, and could have taken them to the auction or put them free on Craigslist for a kill buyer to pick up. You are the best place for your animals!
It wasn’t two minutes after Booyah’s original owner saw him on Facebook, she got a call from Kristen telling her that Booyah was at the shelter. His original owner was so grateful to us. They had moved to a new location and she desperately wanted Booyah back home.
Booyah was so skinny when he came to us, but photos from his original owner showed that he was a very beautiful and healthy animal when she owned him. She said she will never get rid of him again, and he will be with her forever. She learned her lesson and feels so horrible that Booyah got into this condition.
When Booyah’s previous owner got to the shelter she gave him a huge hug. Booyah seemed relaxed and happy with his old mom.
I recognized her as one of the Big Lick protesters. I had not met her in person, but had seen her on video. To see her video, click here and fast forward to 4:30. She truly does love horses!
I did a live Facebook video of her talking about her story with Booyah. To watch the video – Click Here. Social media is an amazing tool. I know it’s not the first time it has reunited an animal with its owner, but every time it happens it is so special.
After the video Booyah was loaded up into her trailer and they headed home together. We can’t wait to see pictures of him when he’s all fat and happy again.
An update photo from Booyah shows him doing great and enjoying being pampered. I am so thankful he is back home, safe and sound!
The person who surrendered the 3 horses said that she did everything she could for them. We are so thankful that she made the right decision to surrender them to us, as she had many other options available. The harsh thing with social media is, there are many times animals do not get the help they need because people do not want to get embarrassed or bashed on the internet. Please, when you see someone reaching out for help, always focus on the animal and not attempt to shame the owner for doing the right thing. Bashing will only get posts deleted and the animals will not get the help they need.
I would like to thank everyone who donates to make our rescue and sheltering possible, it’s only because of donors like you that we could rescue Booyah and reunite him with his mom.
Tawnee Preisner – President
