Athena and Al both came from a slaughter yard in Kansas, Missouri.
Athena
Athena is a buckskin mare who is approximately 3 years old, untouched by human hands, very frightened and was slated to get on a truck to Mexico for dog food. She was at the Peabody Kansas Horse Pen when it was brought to my attention she was not being saved I had to step in. She was sent to a quarantine farm in Kansas and after her initial assessment the decision was made to drop her off at Hector Uribe's ranch in Arizona on the way to California. Hector worked for many years with Monty Roberts and has a gentle and kind style in working with these wild horses. Poor thing is terrified of humans but In one week she is accepting his touch and he has gotten a halter on her. I have a suspicion she is pregnant and will keep everyone updated as her training progress.
Al
Al is a 10-month-old palomino colt who was destined to get on a truck to Mexico for dog food. He was at the Peabody Kansas Horse Pen when it was brought to my attention he was there. I did not realize you can send anything over 6 months to slaughter. We sent him to a local quarantine farm while we could assess his leg. He had an injury to his knee which had developed into a large abscess. The local vet lanced it but unfortunately the after care at the holding facility was not the greatest, the wound closed and the abscess grew bigger.
When he got to our facility I had the vet out we had to re-Lance the abscess. It really took a lot of pushing on his leg to get all of the infection out and put a drain in his knee. He was a champ and didn’t fight us at all.
He is healing well, and is a love sponge he loves to have his forehead, rubbed, and is already learning to walk nicely on a lead.
Phantom (of the Opera)
The story of Phantom (of the Opera) is one that no animal should ever have to go through. This beautiful boy was posted on a Facebook group called ‘Last Chance Direct Shipping’ in Texas. This group combs the slaughter yard taking pictures, trying to save horses that are set to ship to Mexico. I was amazed that a one year old baby that looked healthy, aside from being beaten up by the other horses and has poorly feet, was headed for slaughter. I sat and watched the clock, in hope that someone would take him in, but when it was down to the final two hours before he was headed for that truck, I just had to step in and pay his bail. It’ll take some time for him to be treated and to heal, the marks you can see on his body are from where he has been bitten by the other horses, he has some issues with his eye and his feet but he will make a full recovery. He is beyond sweet and loves to be kissed on the nose!
Jasmine
I came across a post on a Facebook group I belong to, for pigs in need, that there was a pig found wandering around the railroad tracks in East LA. I just knew that we had to help her, so we did. When we found her, she looked so vulnerable but whilst being a little skittish, we were able to collect her and bring her home. We called the shelter to enquire if there was any action out on a missing pig as I thought a pig this lovely must have been brough up by someone, but there was nothing to be found. Jasmine is a very sweet and friendly little girl and she absolutely loves belly rubs!
We’re sure she has been fixed but we have an appointment to take in to get checked out and also find out what information we can about what type of pig she is. This baby deserves all the love and belly rubs in the world, please help us find her her forever home!