11-16-09

Thanks to some very generous donors today, the free euthanasia clinic fund went up $300 today, leaving only $140 left to go! Thank you so much! The euthanasia clinics are always so hard, but they are so rewarding in other ways knowing that these poor horses will never know the pain and suffering of being sent to slaughter, or of laying in their field for days, struggling to get up, waiting for the sweet release of death to overtake them.

This morning all the chores were done extra early and the horses were all happily eating their food.

The truck and trailer were hooked up, waiting to head off on a mission of mercy at a livestock auction.

The sun was barely peeking over the hills while heading down the road away from the rescue.

On the way to the auction, Jason and Tawnee got lost, but finally they were on highway 101. Tawnee pulled out the camera happily knowing they would soon be at the auction, when all of a sudden...

...there was a car parked right along the road with its door opened into traffic. Laying on the pavement was a lady who was experiencing a medical emergency of some kind. Jason and Tawnee were among the first to stop and call 911, they assisted as they could until qualified personal were on the scene. It's terribly sad and we hope and pray this lady is OK and that she wasn't seriously injured in some way.

Finally they arrived at the Petaluma Livestock Auction. We had contacted SAFER horse rescue yesterday requesting their assistance in this rescue. As you know, flat tires seem to be a routine, and we wanted a backup plan in case Jason and Tawnee did not get there in time for the bidding. SAFER is located close to Petaluma and they are used to attending the auction too. It is always nice to have an auction regular at the auction as they are all a bit different. Click here to visit SAFER's website.

Jason and Tawnee dressed casual today, not wearing their uniforms, hoping to attend at least once before being recognized. A lady was talking to Kate, from SAFER, about a KB and pointing out another. When she realized Tawnee was Tawnee, she was quite surprised and happy to see her.

There were a total of 4 horses at the auction. It is certainly a much smaller horse sale than Roseville was. It is a weekly sale, so it is common to have a small number of horses per sale. There were two older horses and two younger horses.

They have a very impressive signed posted that we would like to see at all the auctions. It says: "Attention: To sell a federal BLM Wild Horse or Burro you must have a title certificate. No title, no sale. BLM horses and burros identified by brand on left side of neck." They had the sign posted in both English and Spanish. Many times we have purchased BLM horses at Roseville Auction that did not come with their title, which is a violation of federal law.

This is a livestock auction, and Tawnee had in the back of her mind that there would be day old calves there. About a week ago she watched a video by the Humane Society of the United States which showed the absolute horror of an infant calf slaughter house. So many people think that drinking milk doesn't hurt the animals. Only cows that have given birth produce milk. One of the "byproducts," male calves, are more often than not sent to become veal. This video will change your life, but it is very hard to watch. A graphic warning for those that cannot bare to watch animals being butchered alive. They are only babies too. Click here or click the picture below.

Of course, at the auction there is the pen that holds the day old calves. Heart wrenching!

One little calf in particular caught Tawnee's sympathetic eye. He looked a lot like a calf she raised when she was a little girl. When Tawnee was little, her and her mom would go to auctions and buy day old calves. Sadly, all the ones from auctions died from being too weak because of being torn away from their moms at birth. One calf Tawnee did successfully raised was from a dairy that allowed their calves to nurse for a few days before selling them.

The goats, sheep and pigs had been sold off, when a man came into the calf pen and started stirring them up to get them ready for the sale ring. Tawnee made a mad dash for her seat in the auction ring. She sat down, a couple calves went through, and then one special little guy came in and Tawnee just had to spend some of her pocket change to buy him for only $5. As soon as the calves were sent through, the horses were sold. The two older horses were rescued, and the two younger horses went for a price far above meat price, a lady really wanted them.

One of the horses we got is an Arab cross mare who is completely covered in ticks. It is hard to see in this photo, but all those little bumps have ticks hiding under them. She is very easy going and we are told she is trained to ride. Horses at Petaluma are sold by the pound typically, it makes it easier for the KB's to calculate their profit. One known KB, who regularly attended Roseville, was there bidding on horses, it was a great sight to watch him drive away with no horses in his trailer.

The little calf was gently loaded into the trailer first. Somehow we didn't get any picture of the horses loading. Tawnee was probably too enamored with her new little calf.

On the way back to the rescue, Jason and Tawnee stopped to check on everyone in the trailer. The little calf was very hungry, but all we had was water. The calf was sucking on Tawnee's fingers, so she brought the water bottle up and it drank it with glee.

The sun was setting as they drove back to the rescue.

At the first Tractor Supply they came to, they stopped to get the milk replacer for the calf and a bottle. Once again, not using rescue funds. It's pretty sad that just the bottle to feed the calf was about as much as the calf.

The baby was so incredibly happy to get some milk in his tummy. Baby's are supposed to eat regularly, not be pulled from their mommy's at birth, tossed in the back of a trailer, dumped at an auction where they are shoved and pushed around for hours on end.

Back at the rescue, the horses unloaded without incident.

Both the horses are well mannered. One of them was a little spooky at the auction, but who came blame him? At the rescue he unloaded calmly and walked gently to his pen.

He was more than happy to drink some yummy water too!

Tawnee has decided to call the mare with the ticks Trixy. No one knows why, but that is her name now.

The calf now has a name too: Parcy. Tawnee is not entirely sure what the future is for this cute little guy, but she couldn't sit back and let him suffer the fate that is seen in the video when only $5 was in between him suffering or not. He has a limp one of his hind legs, no doubt from being drug around.

Little Parcy is sleeping peacefully now and is waiting for a new day and a new adventure. Tawnee says if we keep going to auctions with day old calves, there needs to be a fund named "The First Gift of Love." Saving these babies from a terrible death and giving them one of love and compassion is the least we could do. They're only babies!

We would like to thank Cindy M and Roberta A for their extremely generous donations today. Your support is greatly appreciated!