1-11-10

It was early in the morning when the rescue rig's lights were turned on the engine was warming up for the day.

Before the truck had started, everything was calm and quiet, with a thick layer of fog overhead.

We hadn't raised the full auction fund yet, but today was going to be an auction rescue anyway. The big trailer was hooked up, volunteers were lined up to feed and care for the horses, so Jason and Tawnee headed off to hopefully make it to the auction in time.

They were very thankful that the fog had lifted and they didn't have to drive through fog all day.

They arrived at Petaluma Livestock Auction a little after 10:00, early for once. Tawnee went to see if there were any horses. There was one horse at the auction today. Jason and Tawnee went in to watch the livestock auction, pigs, goats, cows, etc. As you all know, Tawnee has a huge problem when it comes to keeping her hands down when poor bedraggled critters are brought into the auction ring.

When the horse came into the auction ring, everybody seemed to want him, and the price went far above meat price. There is no reason to spend a lot of extra money for a horse that is obviously wanted, when that same money could be used to save a lot of other horses that are not wanted.

Back to Tawnee's bidding problem. A really poor goat came into the ring, it could barely stand, and when it went to $5 and no one was bidding on her, Tawnee's hand couldn't stay down. When the auction workers were bringing the goat out to be loaded, she couldn't stand and so the workers grabbed her horn and just drug her out to the loading chute, until they noticed Tawnee watching them, at which point they changed their method and carried her.

Once she was in the trailer, she just collapsed and couldn't move. She is nothing but a little skeleton with skin tightly wrapped around it.

Her stomach is so empty it is sucked up together and literally touching on either side. You can reach up through where her stomach is supposed to be and feel the bottom of her spine. She is the skinniest goat anyone at the rescue has ever seen.

She started trying to eat the wood shavings on the floor of the trailer she was so hungry.

Soon she was able to enjoy a nice bucket of senior feed. It is terribly sad that there are folks out there that will let their animals get into this terrible of condition. And then, when their animals are in this condition, dump them at livestock auctions and walk away as if nothing is wrong, hoping to get a few measly dollars for them.

She continued eating while Tawnee sedated her to make her more comfortable for the trip. It's truly sad to see a poor animal in such terrible condition.

The calf blog has not been active due to everyones tight schedules, but 3 little day old calves were also rescued today.

From the auction, Jason and Tawnee headed off to pick up a horse that was being surrendered today in the same town the auction is held at.

The owner was no longer able to keep her magnificent boy named Strider. His companion passed away and he was very lonely. He started showing some signs of aggression and his owner thought he was bored and lonely and would like to be with other horses.

He is a very good boy, very easy going. We are told he is a great trail horse. He loaded right up into the trailer for the ride back to the rescue.

Even though no horses were rescued at the auction, Jason and Tawnee were glad they were not driving back to the rescue with no horses today. Strider's owner said he enjoys playing with a little soccer ball, we can't wait to introduce him to our giant horse ball. He should really have some fun.

Then it was the long drive back to the rescue.

The sun set, and yet the drive kept on and on. Jason and Tawnee had a short business meeting in Loomis which gave the critters a chance to have dinner and make sure the goat was comfortable.

Strider was more than happy to get out of the trailer and was quite calm in his pen for the night. He is really a beautiful boy.

Many thanks to Erin A. for her generous monthly support and to Diane P. for placing Tacoma in adoption pending.