Our California Shelter Has Gone Wild
Shasta County has been keeping our shelter busy. We received a call late last month that Shasta County Animal Control and the US Forest Service were desperately trying to place several horses that had been dumped into National Forest areas. Both agencies knew that these unhandled horses could not be adopted to just anyone. These horses including several stallions would need experienced horse handlers.
Lucy and her filly Nina were the first to arrive at the shelter. Lucy is very thin and has been doing her best to provide to her filly. Both Lucy and Nina were pretty lethargic on arrival. Lucy has been very curious of all the comings and goings at the shelter. She watches everything so closely. She has learned our feed schedule and will whinny when she sees us start to load the feed into the dump cart.
Nina is just as curious as her mama. She loves to come up and have her neck scratched. Lucy is not to sure of us yet but she does allow Nina to come play with us.
Jax and Diva were the next horses delivered from the Shasta County group. Jax is a 2 year old stud and the first of the group to be haltered trained. This young man came right up every time we would feed. After just a few feedings he was allowing us to touch him. Jax is the first one to the gate waiting to greet us each morning. He’s already learning to lead and waits patiently for directions.
When Diva unloaded from the trailer we knew right away she was pregnant. With the pregnant belly she appears to be a healthy weight but she will need much more and soon.
Stella and Jack arrived the following day. Shasta County animal control let us know these two might be a handful. Stella is the lead mare of the group. Stella is a true survivor. It is believed that these horses have been in the forest areas for well over 2 years. Stella has kept the group together and safe. Jack is a 3 year old stallion and his hormones are definitely showing. He loves attention from our staff.
We thought Jack and Stella would be the last of the group but a week later Shasta County Animal Control called and said they were able to corral the last two horses. Stitch and Ally needed a little coaxing to get out of the trailer.
After a gentle wave of a flag inside the trailer both Stitch and Ally got out of the trailer and stood at their water buckets for quite some time. The 4 hour ride from Shasta County made them really thirsty. All these horses came to us without any financial help and we really need help to take care of them, to make a donation to help these horses, click here.
While Melissa and Elizabeth were busy outdoors working to gentle all the new horses Tanya was busy inside. She had a lot of paperwork to catch up on with so many intakes in just a few days. Tanya volunteers her time twice a week. When she saw all the paperwork she smiled and laughed and said “Wow, you guys really have been busy!”
Sadly we have some really sad news. With a heavy heart we had to say goodbye to one of our long term residents. Dottie suffered from a severe colic and despite everyone’s best efforts the vet said it was time to say goodbye to our sweet Dottie.
Dottie came to our shelter in 2006 and was our first original mascot. She was so dark when she first arrived. She turned all white over the years. Dottie has been to many educational programs, parades and even State Fairs.
Dottie loved all her people and would follow us anywhere. She was a good teacher and very patient for so many children. Dottie was a great babysitter to all the small animals that would come in scared and alone. If you were having a rough day Dottie somehow knew. She was a great listener and loved to cuddle up and make your day brighter. Our hearts are broken but we know Dottie will live forever in our hearts.
Thank you so much for your support!