Ducky Weather We Are Having!

Yes, Just Ducky!

I have been waiting for a duck to come out way since one of our two ducks became ill and died. We have had one lonely duck for many months. I tried a Rubber Ducky but that didn't work. Guess it didn't Quack!

An email from Athens animal control saying they had a duck needing a home made my heart smile. We made a few calls and managed to get Ducky transportation to the rescue farm. Everything is looking like fun in the sun, fun in the rain, fun in the snow and fun in all kinds of weather. Yep, it's just Ducky now.

Bernice A Fast Friend, a Quick Loss.

http://dealwithitdaily.blogspot.com/

Elizabeth's Rescue Ramblings on her Blog features the mare we got at the Monday auction, free. She was going to cost time and money to bury her. She named her Bernice. Neither of us had the pleasure of meeting her but we were both involved in her life, and her death.

I was hoping we could bring her to the rescue for at least a day of love and carrots but she couldn't have made the trip. I know the volunteers would have loved her. Reagan called me after midnight and volunteered to take her to the vet so it would save the vet trip charges. That was very sweet of her. Reagan and Dr White told 'Bernice' wonderful stories about the Rainbow Bridge and she told them she was ready to go. Now she is happy and at least knows some humans are kind and caring.

I wish I had a better ending for this mare but it was the best we could give her, Peace. The other 4 horses we purchased at-re getting fed and are thinking they must have taken the 'right' turn somewhere. Grain and food every day! A warm place to get out of the cold, Life is Good. For them it is. They will be available for adoption in a few weeks, after the quarantine period. How many horses are not so lucky. They may be one a mile from you or I. Keep your eyes opened and get involved. Be the voice for the voiceless, Please. Their life depends on it.

Can You Help Our "Wounded Warrior" This Holiday Season?

I've written on this blog about our "Wounded Warrior", Ez Breeze and his struggles with his accident and then surgery. During this Holiday Season, can you find it in your heart to contribute towards this Warrior's struggle? Please just click on the "ChipIn" button above, it's through paypal so your transaction will be secure. Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Ellie has traveled from far out West being a Wild Horse to being caught and put into captivity. Many wild horses living freely on America's public lands have been captured and held in small pens for months while the taxpayers, you and I, pay millions to keep these American Icons waiting for a place to go. Some may never get a home, most will never see freedom again.

Ellie somehow ended up at animal control in NE Georgia. She is not only very frightened but she is very pregnant. She was branded by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) who was hired to 'watch over the herds' of Mustangs on public lands. Her brand is not legible and needs to be shaved to be able to read where she came from and when. The problem is Ellie is still a wild horse. She comes to humans for food but knows how to keep her distance so she can't be caught. Why should she trust us? Humans made her lose her freedom. Humans put her captive. Humans chased her. Humans made her leave her wild horse family that she grew up knowing the safety of. Now she is here with us. She is in a foster home at the GA Wild Horse and Mustang Rescue.

This will be a project horse to a very patient person. She needs a loving human who wants to help this horse learn to trust. Why should she ever trust a human? She is available for adoption to a new home. Soon she ill be the mother of a foal. Help us help Ellie stay safe until she finds her permanent loving home.

If you are interested in sponsoring her, donating to help pay her hay and feed bills or interested in giving her the special home, please contact me at Horseinc@aol.com

Warm and Toasty

Yep, I am warm and toasty but not all the horses across the street are. People donated some nice waterproof blankets. We really wanted to put a blanket on all the skinny horses but some of them just wouldn't stand for it, literally! Some stood and then turned and looked at the blanket hugging them...then they walked happily away. Some of the horses were just afraid to have any human get too close to them and refused out efforts to keep them warm and toasty.

The journey of these horses is not exactly known. There was a Craigslist ad that offered 60 horses, mostly Tennessee Walking Horses and a few Quarter horses FREE. There was an article in a TN newspaper and TV News station featuring some malnourished horses left in a pasture stating the owner was unknown. The photos matched some of these horses. They must have been loved when they were born but through no circumstances they had any control over, they ended up at an auction. These were some of the lucky horses that now have daily hay and feed and soon will have new homes. Many auction bought horses aren't so lucky.

Stay warm and toasty everyone and thank you for your support.

Sweet Scare

11:30 last night, Sweetie was happy to see me bring her the nightly hot mash. At 32 years old, she appreciates a good hot meal. I am happy to provide what she needs every night, every day. I always say 'Good Night' to her. I never know what tomorrow will bring.

Well is was this morning that Tom called me when he arrived early to help feed, to tell me Sweetie was down. I got the tractor and grabbed the straps we use to make our sling-type rigging to get her up. When Sweetie falls or goes down, she cannot get up with out help so we have had plenty of experience. She has a stroke in February and was down over 7 hours. It took a crane and several firemen and volunteers to get her up.

We tried but Sweetie wouldn't help. Her legs were cold indicating she was down half the night. We rubbed and moved her legs but they were not holding her up this time. The tractor held her in a hanging position in the straps with out any fight to live on her part. I had to ask myself if this was the time I had to make that dreaded decision. Was Sweetie going to make it? Would this be her last try?

We lowered her and got warm blankets, covered her. We didn't know if Sweetie was ready to give up but we were not! We called Cherokee Fire Dept and asked for help. When they arrived, we all got into positions to hold her if we were able to get her to use her legs. "Come on, Sweetie" I shouted as I moved the bucket on the tractor she was strapped to up. All the firemen and volunteers grabbed her legs to steady her, rubbing her legs to get circulation going. She was standing! Yea! I felt like cheering. My arms were in the air! Yes, Sweetie made it another day.

Hard to Do

I think the Blog has been hard for me to do because of so many sad, scary and heart breaking things that have happened with the past few weeks. I want too write about happy things but I must write about sad things, too.

Look at the picture of MuffyDog. Everyone loves the Muff. She greeted everyone, especially children, with love and enthusiasm. She had 7 puppies when we found her in 1996. She must have been at least a year old then. She has loved happily amongst the others dogs, the horses, sheep, goats, pigs, duck, chickens and our Albert. Rarely a problem for Muffy. A perfect Farm Dog, a perfect Mutt. Never sick, never mean, never missed a meal.

Last week, she laid the the driveway near the barn. A bit older and longer to get up, she was hit by a car. Of course, by accident. They rushed her to Dr McGrueder in Cumming. I rushed to get there. Dr McGrueder had already xrayed her and told me she had 4 breaks in her pelvis and a huge herniated area on her stomach. Was surgery an option for my sweet old girl? When I went to see her, she was just taken off of the oxygen. She was grasping for air and wringing her body in pain. I had to let her go. She couldn't be in pain, poor MuffyDog. It was so Hard To Do.

Karen Sumlin sent me this lovely picture of Muffy. She was happy and healthy. I want to remember her that way always.

Last Weekend Catch Up.

EZ Breeze was slowly recovering from his tragic fall into the ravine. Lisa was coming daily to help with he swelling therapy. Alisa was coming when she wasn't at work to give him love and comfort and everyone shared time caring for his needs. By Sunday night, the swelling was down enough for Dr Amanda to get a good xray. It showed he had broken fragments in his jaw on the left side of his face. The best thing to do was to remove as much as we can as soon as we can. Tuesday was slated for the surgery.

While this was going on, Tiffany and Pam were tending to Obie aka ObamaMomma, our 3 yo injured TB mare that needed her wound cleaned and redressed.

Dr Duval has been helping diagnose our 3 y o TB mare, Social Diva's, leg injuries. Both front legs have had accidents but one seems problematic. She is not happy when you try and touch her shoulder. Monday morning, after examining Social Diva, Dr Duval suspects nerve damage called 'Sweeney' in her shoulder. Acupuncture was done. Now exercise is needed. Walking and stretching her as she walks over poles and moving more on a daily basis to make the shoulder recover . Miss Social Diva needs a human to walk her and record her progress as she improves weekly. It we have 7 people volunteers to work with her, that's one day a week. If you can do more days, please volunteer!

Weekly Blog?

I would have love to been keeping up with the blog but I have been keeping up with the rescue.

It was Thanksgiving when my phone rang. Kathy, a caring foster mom, was telling me Zeppelin was kicked by a mare in his pasture. Not wanting Zepp to be a lonely horse, a neighbor offered her mare as a companion to Zepp. They lived in peace for a week until Thanksgiving day. No one knows what happened but hearing the commotion outside, Kathy and her husband ran out to find the mare kicking Zepp over and over as he just stood without fighting back. They quickly jumped it and chased the mare far from the injured Zeppelin.

Zeppelin is a rare horse. Beautiful and most, I really mean, most kind horse. He wasn't the type to kick or start a fight with a human or a horse. Dr Ken Marcella checked out Zepp to discover a horse in a lot of pain and swelling. He took some belly fluid but it didn't give any concise answers to how much internal damage might have been done. Zepp felt a little better with some pain relievers but he still needed more time to be able to better find out what was wrong. He was in shock and transporting him with internal damage, if there was any, was not a viable answer. The drive could kill him, so we waited. That evening, Zepp had eat a little grain and drank some water. At 7:30 everyone had a small sign of relief. Morning would bring better news.

I pulled up to the pasture about 9:30 pm. Walking with my flashlight, I looked for Zeppelin. It wasn't until I get close that I realized he wasn't lying down, he was dead. What a shock. My hand was trembling so bad I kept fumbling as I tried to call Dr Marcella. He was just as shocked as I was. I think he always knew it was a possibility but we were all very hopeful Zepp would be OK.

Friday was a real Black Friday for all the people at the rescue. We buried Zeppelin. Rest In Peace, Sweet, Sweet Zeppelin.