4-25-10

First of all we would like to share a wonderful update we got over the weekend. "Twirl is now Belle. Linda took some pictures while doing some ground work with her. I am taking weekly lessons, and both of us are learning so much! It's always amazing how much there always is to learn. Our trainer really likes Belle, and keeps saying what a good student she is. Ray and I are so fortunate to have been able to adopt Belle, thank you so much." For those that do not remember Twirl, she came into our euthanasia clinic, was deemed adoptable by our vet and staff, came into our adoption program, and found a very wonderful home!

There was a lot of action today. The last of the horses loaded up into the big trailer for the short ride over to the new rescue. It was Dottie and Macho Man's turn to move out to the new property. Jason and Tawnee say they will miss them, but know they will enjoy being loved on at the new facility.

After Tawnee delivered the rest of the horses to the new facility, Alex came back to load panels. It's amazing how many panels the rescue has acquired over the years.

A visitor came that wanted to tour the old facility before it was closed to the public forever. They looked around the old place and then headed out to the new facility. Tawnee snapped this picture as the last visitor drove out the gate and away. Never again will trucks and trailer of adopters be stuck on the hill and have to be towed up.

The gate was closed and Tawnee examined the sign. Wow, it has actually happened.

Meanwhile Jason was at the Paradise Horseman's Association annual Gold Nugget Horse Festival. He met a bunch of wonderful people who were very supportive of our work. We would like to thank the Paradise Horseman's Association for inviting us and giving us a complimentary booth location.

Our good friends from Home at Last also had a booth at the festival. It was great for Jason to be able to kick back and visit with good friends during slow periods.

Out at the new facility, a Girl Scout Troop had been planned to come out. They finally arrived and they were so excited! Tawnee was glad that she had gotten Dottie and Macho Man there in time to meet a bunch of new friends.

They got right to work taking down some old fencing that was no longer needed. What hard workers they are!

While the Girl Scouts were hard at work, Dottie got tired of watching them work and sprawled out for a nap.

Dottie was a little embarrassed when she saw the camera on her. She explained that it looked like such hard work she just had to get a nap to rest her eyes.

She decided she had better get up and make herself a little more presentable just in case the camera came her way again. She still looked pretty sleepy from watching the girls work though.

These girls really know the meaning of work and would give the Boy Scouts a run for their money. They were not afraid to get dirty.

We had our first potential adopter come to the new facility today to meet a horse they were hoping to add to their home. That horse was not the perfect match but they really fell in love with Joey. They are previous adopters of Travis, who is doing great, and since they are already approved...

...the very first adoption took place at the new facility!

The Girl Scouts were still hard at work. Their plan is to build the white vinyl fence over the next few visits. We are confident they will get the job done in time.

The girls were getting pretty tired of hauling vinyl fencing, so they started working on a very important pen. When Tawnee was doing the blog photo's, she realized in this picture she doesn't look much taller than the 10 year olds.

While the girls were hard at work, the very first truck and trailer was heading to the new facility to surrender a horse they could no longer keep.

The very first surrender at the new facility happened today too.

Morsey is 23 years old, and has arthritis. She would make a wonderful pasture pal they said, but her riding days are over. It was a very hard "Goodbye." It was easy to tell they really love her.

Morsey settled in and enjoyed drinking some of the fresh clean water made possible by our well donors. Morsey says "Thank you for the yummy water!"

The paneled pen the Girl Scouts were working on is a very special and unique pen. The first of its kind in the United States that we know of. This pen is a Safe Surrender Site for horses. So many times horses are abandoned because their owners feel shame or embarrassment because they no longer have the means to care for their horse. Their excuses are over. Anyone at any time can anonymously surrender a horse into this pen free of charge.

We are looking for Safe Surrender sponsors for the horses. Sponsors we can count on to cover the cost of the Safe Surrender horse. We are not sure how the Safe Surrender Site will be utilized, but we are sure that it will be as horses have been dropped off through our gate before. Now there is a safe location where anyone can drop off a horse anonymously. If you are willing to pledge for the care of a horse when it is dropped into the Safe Surrender Site, it will really ease our minds. We need pledges that cover $200 per horse to cover their initial care and a holding period, so any amount that you can pledge will really help! We will start putting the word out there that this is available. Please contact us if you can help. Make the pledge, save a life. Click here.

We would like to thank the Girl Scout Troop for working so hard and getting so much done today. Thank you girls, you are amazing! We look forward to your next visit.

We all know what Macho Man's favorite shoes are, now you can own a pair just like him!

These are size 7 womens Converse black and white. They are only $8.50 and 15% goes to help the horses! Click here. Now you can be stylin' just like Macho Man.

A huge Thank You to Carolyn S., Gail G., Lari K., Kathie F., Judy H., Sara H., Lisa S., Kimberly H., Kathryn G., Erin L., Omar S., Pamela N., Howard N. for their very generous donations. We can't thank you enough!