As you know, we are an open door facility and we never turn horses away in need. Sadly, as a necessity, being an open door facility forces us to humanely euthanize the animals that do not find a home. We strive continuously to find ways to lower our euthanasia rate, and keep horses out of the slaughter pipeline all at the same time. We know that euthanasia is the kindest possible thing rather than turning unadoptable animals away to be brutally killed at a slaughter house.
Most owners who surrender their beloved friends at the shelter hope for the very best and want their animals to be adopted into great homes. It’s always easy to find healthy ridable horses a home, they are usually in adoption pending within no time. But realistically, how many people want to adopt a 25 year old untrained broodmare? While we do still find homes for some of them, it is very hard.
We have a new section on our surrender form this year. It says “Yes, I want to sponsor this animal at the shelter until it finds a home.” This means, as long as the owner surrendering the animal sponsors that animal, it stays on the available page indefinitely until otherwise directed by a veterinarian that its quality of life is gone. People are taking advantage of this like in Big Roo’s case.
If an animal has not found a home, the animal will be available for e-adoption. E-Adoption is a program where you can adopt an animal that joins the herd of permanent residents at the shelter. E-Adoption is free, and you don’t have to go through the adoption application process, and you don’t even have to clean their stalls! At the same time, you are giving an animal the best gift of all: life and someone who loves them. This gives people who live in an area where they cannot adopt an animal the opportunity to give a home to an animal.
The monthly care cost for your E-Adopted animal is, not counting unexpected medical bills, $150 a month for horses/pony’s, $100 a month for cows, $50 for miniatures, $45 for goats, and small fowl are $10 a month. The E-Adoption contract states that you are e-adopting this animal and you will provide the monthly care cost and veterinarian expenses that may occur. You would of course be welcome to come out and visit your e-adopted animal during regular business hours.
Phoenix (pictured below) was one of the first E-Adopted animals at the shelter, and it’s been a couple years now. He is still doing great and just loves people visiting him. We hope to be able to have web-cams eventually where people can see their E-Adopted animal 24/7.
We currently have 1 SAFE Surrender Site at Look Ahead Veterinarian Services at 1451 Clark Rd, Oroville. Horses can be surrendered anytime during the vet’s regular business hours with the $150 surrender fee, including horses that need to be euthanized immediately for health reasons. We are negotiating with a vet office down south and hope to be able to announce it in April.
We started the first ever euthanasia clinic for horses in Nov of 2008. It was hard to break the ice, but we knew that it would be keeping horses out of the slaughter pipeline, so we did. We have held free monthly euthanasia clinics ever since, the last few months we have not had specific fundraisers for it. We have seen some horses come into our monthly euthanasia clinics that should have never waited for the monthly clinic.
We haven’t been raising funds for the monthly euthanasia clinics for a few months now, but we have still be taking in charity cases. We need your help to continue the free euthansia clinics. Sadly, without financial support, we cannot provide euthanasia services to all the horses that desperately need a humane end to their suffering, but who’s owners find themselves unable to pay. Why should the animal go on suffering while their owner tries to scrape together enough money for the $150 surrender fee?
Each month, by the end of the month, our goal is to raise $1,500 to give the Last Act of Kindness to 15 horses in the following month at no cost to their owner. The clinic day is the 3rd Wednesday of every month at Look Ahead Vet or the 3rd Sunday at our shelter, but, if there is an animal that desperately needs euthanasia due to injury or illness, it can be taken to the vet anytime.
As always, our vet will evaluate each horse that comes into our clinic for quality of life and adoptability. Dozens of horses have gone on to loving homes that were brought to the euthanasia clinics. The owner does have the right to choose for their animal not to be evaluated for adoption. The next euthanasia clinic will be March 16th and we have raised $0.00 for this clinic. Please consider donating to the euthanasia clinic today! Click here.
The funds have been donated for 2 gelding certificates, which have already been claimed and are going to be used very soon. Thanks to your support, there are two stallions who will not be living in a little pen, dreaming of living with other horses. It is so sad that so many stallions live such a solitary life. Thanks to your donations, there are two colts that will never know that life. So far we have raised $285, out of $2,500, leaving $2,215 left to go. Let’s keep another one of those guys out of the reclusive lifestyle, donate now! Click here.
Many thanks to Stephanie J., Anita M., Linda K. and Cindy R. for their generous donations. It really means a lot!