Jason and Tawnee headed down to Sacramento on Saturday night after the chores were done. They stopped in at the familiar gas station to fill up, this time with the big trailer. There was going to be an auction rescue on Sunday.
Somebody was hiding in the big trailer, it was Dottie! With all the attention Macho Man was getting, they thought Dottie might enjoy meeting new friends and adoring fans too.
Dottie and Macho Man were definitely glad to be together once again.
Dottie needed a bath to spiff her up for the days events. Tawnee took her for a walk and had to come back and give her yet another bath, there was some dirt that worked itself out during the walk.
Then it was off for the adventures at the Expo. Tawnee and our little mascots started heading off to the booth when a lady began running after Tawnee yelling "Mini lady, come back here, we want the minis on the news!" Tawnee went into the arena for the news. Dottie was still a bit damp, and of course the first thing she did was roll, making herself look terrible. Jamie and Deb took her off for her 3rd bath of the day while Macho Man stayed behind to be in the news.
There was also a little Zebra in the arena. It was so cute!
Finally it was Macho Man's turn. This is Macho's first official news appearance. He did great.
Click here to watch Macho Man on KCRA channel 3.
Dottie was back, clean once again. Macho Man was all spiffed up for the day but Dottie needed a bit more.
Tawnee headed off to Build A Bear to get some shoes for Dottie.
And soon Miss Dottie was quite spiffy looking herself.
About this time Tawnee and Becky headed off to the livestock auction as the horse auction was about to start at Cal Expo. Cal Expo's auction would be high prices, Roseville Livestock Auction would be low priced with unsavory characters bidding on horses. April and Larry were already at the auction and had been keeping Tawnee updated.
Tawnee had arranged to meet up with another rescue from the bay area, and together 12 horses were rescued. There were not very many horses and prices were high. An out of state guy was there with deep pockets, and soon Tawnee figured out what he was up to.
SAFER rescued this cute little donkey with a very crippled leg.
April gave the little donkey a big hug so he knew he was loved.
Then they sorted the horses and put them into the holding corral. The following are the horses that were rescued today.
SAFER took 4 of the horses to their rescue for rehab and adoption...
...along with the little donkey.
Soon they were loading up.
Back at the holding corrals Tawnee climbed up on a fence and looked down at the horses. On the left are some of the horses that we rescued today, and on the right are some of the horses that a person from out of state was preparing to load into his big trailer. Notice: fat, chunky horses on the right side, no doubt heading across the border very soon. How incredibly sad!
Tawnee did manage to buy one of the thin horses out of the right hand corral after some haggling, a price was decided and the mare was taken to the safety of the left side. They wouldn't sell the heavy horses.
It was sad seeing the mare looking back across the fence line, looking at her friends wishing they could come with her. It is nice knowing at least that she is safe.
After the horses were all sorted, settled and comfortable Tawnee, Larry, April and Becky headed back to the expo. By this time the expo had ended and the remaining volunteers all posed for this group photo. We can't thank all the volunteers enough who worked so tirelessly to make the expo a huge success. You are a great group of people and we couldn't have done it without you. We wish you all could have been in this photo!
The booth was in the process of being taken down. Many items had been donated from vender's at the expo. Feed, tack, etc etc. Thank you all so much for your generosity, we cannot tell you how much each donation really helps.
Dottie and Macho Man headed back to the rescue with April and Larry. Their little shoes had done such a great job, and now they were sitting on the table ready to be packed for next time.
Some of the donated bags of feed needed to be tied shut. One of our Board of Directors, Scott, pitched in and got it done.
Soon the back of the truck was piled high with lots of feed.
The booth kept looking emptier and emptier.
The whole building, that had been buzzing with activity just a few hours before, was rapidly being emptied as everyone packed up.
Soon our booth was completely empty.
The auction horses are spending the night at the auction yard and will be transported to the rescue tomorrow. It has certainly been a busy weekend!
1 comment:
Great to see your booth at the Horse Expo. Even got to see the Channel 3 morning show with you on. Wish they had spent more time about what you were doing rather than the news gal on horseback. Oh well, every bit of free publicity helps. When we came by we showed the pictures on our cell phones of Jackson and Beauty. They are doing fine. I will try to get you some better pictures of them for you to post when I finally remember the darn camera. We're so pleased that Charlie Boy is doing well and happily adopted. You pulled off nothing short of a miracle with him. Thank you.
As you know the foreclosures are causing our firm to file lots of bankruptcy cases. Sadly, it is only a matter of time before I will end up with clients who have to give up their horses as they have nowhere to go. Don't be suprized to see the Fraleys and their stock trailer bringing you more horses.
Our son Joshua got out of the Marines last summer (no more trips to Iraq, thank the Lord) and was given an Arab from a friend who was giving away her whole herd (45+) I just got in from the pasture where at 1:30 A.M. she delivered a beautiful filly. He laid beside her and the mother to do imprinting. The mother was very trusting and allowed both him and our daughters 3 1/2 year old step-son to get to know them both so we have had a long day as well.
You all are great. Thanks for your efforts.
--Gary & Nedra Fraley
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