1-13-09

Many of you are aware of the quest that has been going on to reunited Kim and Jake. At the last auction Kim was able to get the first name and phone number of the person who purchased Jake in 2005. We received this email from Kim this morning -

"I just hung up with Annie, the woman who purchased Jake from the Auction in 2005.
My heart is broken to have found out that our beautiful Jake (AKA) Geronimo had to be put down in the spring of 2007 due to a tragic accident with another horse.

"After talking with Annie I learned he could not have been purchased by a better person. She told me how much she loved him & how the auction day 12-11-05, she will never for get how Jake watched her & tracked her as she walked thru the auction yard, we both came to the conclusion that it was because Annie has Red Hair too.

"She told me of how her & her boyfriend named "Johnny D' feel in love with Jake at first sight. They lived outside of Lincoln on 10 plus ac. Jake was an instant family member.

"Jake was kicked on his back leg by another horse. The vet was called & it was confirmed Jake's leg had been broken. She was crying and very upset as she told me the story. Though hearing of this has completely broken my heart; I have great respect for Annie for calling me and having the courage to tell me the truth. I also am so thankful that Jake had a wonderful home & was cared for by two people who could truly appreciate his kind loving soul.

"I sent you a link to a band named Steel Horse Stampede. Johnny D - who is Annies boyfriend is the lead singer & wrote a Song about "Jake" called Geronimo. I could only listen to it once because its too painful for me at this point. I am amazed at the words which describe Jake's kind soul & his life. I loved that horse & I truly believed I would someday be able to love on him & kiss his nose again.

"I will never forget him. If it wasn't for Norcal Equine Rescue & your video footage, I would never had know Jake was so loved by someone else. This alone helps heal the pain.
Thank you for doing what you do & Thank You for all your help with finding Jake.
Please take a minute to hear the Song."

Using the song, we made a small music video, in memory of Jake, renamed Geronimo. May his story be a witness for the hundreds of horses who are dumped at livestock auctions. Click here to watch the video. This is why the blog it out so late tonight, Jason has been working furiously trying to get the video done.

This morning Mini Marvin, who Ron and Claire have been fostering, was taken to the vet as he has had a runny nose. They got some antibiotics for him and he should be up and going just fine very soon. He sure is a cute little guy. He is gaining weight nicely and is starting to look great, other than his runny nose.

Comet and Ferris were adopted today to some wonderful repeat adopters. They came out yesterday to visit the horses to see if there was a good match to add to their family. We told them about Ferris, one of the three horses the bad adopter took to the auction last Sunday, and they fell in love with him and they want to give him a great home where he will never more know abandonment.

The other horse, Comet, was one they fell in love with back in the summer of 2008. But, someone put a hold on him before they did, and adopted him. His adopter found that he had some lameness and he was not doing good on their hilly property. When his new adopters came out, they were overjoyed to see that Comet was back and they said "He is going to come live with us forever!" Today they took both the boys home. Thanks for giving such a wonderful home to these two sweet guys.

Today was rather slow at the rescue, after Ron came back from the vet he worked with the horses while Claire answered the phones and wrote emails.

Jason and Tawnee headed out for a drive to pick up a tractor! Yes, that is right, we have the use of a tractor for a month or so. Kim, Jake's old owner, and her husband own a tractor and have generously donated its use.

While we were at Kim and Rico's house, they introduced us to their horse. He is an almost 40 year old gelding, who Kim has owned for over 25 years. Kim is very dedicated to her horses, the only reason they ever placed Jake in a new home is that Kim was pregnant and she did not feel that it was fair to Jake, being as young as he was, to not be messed with on a daily basis. It's just really sad that there are so many crooked people out there that will take a horse, say they are going to give it a loving forever home, promise to bring it back if they ever want to get rid of it, and sell it at an auction 2 months later. It's amazing to see such an old horse in such good condition. Kudo's to Kim for knowing how to care for a senior horse.

The tractor got driven up onto the trailer effortlessly.

After the drive back to the rescue, Jason just had to unload it. Tomorrow it will be ready to work!