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Forever Home Donkey Rescue
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Rescuers
are Special People at the Rainbow Bridge Unlike
most days at the Rainbow Bridge, this day
dawned cold & gray, damp as a swamp &
as dismal as could be imagined.
All the recent arrivals had no idea
what to think, as they had never experienced
a day like this before.
But the animals that had been waiting
for their beloved people knew exactly what
was going on & started to gather at the
pathway leading to the bridge to watch.
It
wasn’t long before an elderly animal came
into view, head hung low & tail dragging.
The other animals, the ones who had
been there for a while, knew what his story
was right away, for they had seen this happen
far too often.
He approached slowly, obviously in
great emotional pain, but with no sign of
injury or illness.
Unlike all of the other animals
waiting at The Bridge, this animal had not
been restored to youth & made healthy
& vigorous again.
As he walked toward The Bridge, he
watched all the other animals watching him.
He knew he was out of place here &
the sooner he could cross over, the happier
he would be.
But, Alas, as he approached The
Bridge, his way was barred by the appearance
of an Angel who apologized, but told him that
he would not be able to pass.
Only those animals that were with
their people could pass over The Rainbow
Bridge. With
no place else to turn to, the elderly animals
turned towards the fields before The Bridge
& saw a group of other animals like
himself, also elderly & infirmed.
There weren’t playing, but rather
simply lying on the green grass, forlornly
staring out at the pathway leading to The
Bridge. And
so, he took his place among them, watching
the pathway & waiting.
One
of the newest arrivals at The Bridge didn’t
understand what he had just witnessed &
asked one of the animals that had been there
for a while to explain it to him.
“You see, that poor animal was a
rescue. He
was turned in to rescue just as you see him
now, an older animal with his fur graying
& his eyes clouding.
He never made it out of rescue &
passed on with only the love of his rescuer
to comfort him as he left his earthly
existence.
Because he had no family to give his
love to, he has no one to escort him across
The Bridge.
The first animal thought about this
for a minute & then asked, “So what
will happen now?”
As he was about to receive his answer,
the clouds suddenly parted & the gloom
lifted. Approaching
The Bridge could be seen a single person
& among the older animals, a whole group,
was suddenly bathing in a golden light &
they were all young & healthy again, just
as they were in the prime of life.
“Watch & see” said the second
animal. A
second group of animals from those waiting,
came to the pathway & bowed low as the
person neared.
At each bowed head the person offered
a pat on the head or a scratch behind the
ears. The
newly restored fell into line & followed
him towards The Bridge.
They all crossed The Bridge together.
“What
Happened?” he asked.
“That was a rescuer” the second
animal answered.
“The animals you saw bowing in
respect were those who found new homes
because of his work.
They will cross when their new
families arrive.
Those you saw restored were those who
never found homes.
When a rescuer arrives, they are
allowed to perform one final act of rescue.
They are allowed to escort those poor
animals that they couldn’t place on earth
across The Rainbow Bridge”
“I think I like rescuers”, said
the first animal.
“So does GOD”, was the reply. Author unknown
RAINBOW BRIDGE
UPDATE:
Sha’ba was euthanized September 27, 2011,
due to probable cancer in his stomach or
intestines.
He was very special to a lot of people
that appreciated how much adversity he had in
his life, but he still managed to be very
gentle & special.
LUCY: +/- 1989 to 3/2011: Lucy
was euthanized March 10, 2011 due to pedal
osteitis. Inflammation of the coffin
bone had caused major internal damage to
her feet, & she could no longer
stand without terrible pain in
both front
feet. Lucy came to us when she was going to be put down because her feet were very bad & she was wild. She had a nasal discharge when we picked her up, & after treating it, we found a home for her & her daughter. After a few months the discharge was only getting worse & she had lost a lot of weight. We brought her back to the sanctuary & hauled her to the Equine Clinic at Gilbert for evaluation. She was diagnosed with guttural pouch disease, which is treated with surgery. Her owner couldn’t afford the expense, so we took her back permanently & had the surgery done. She enjoyed the rest of her years here.
The
morning of August 9, 2009, John went out in
the morning and he found Max dead. He
was laying in his resting place beside the
pens, although there was a little blood from
his nose, he had not struggled. Max
came here in 2002 after being diagnosed with
a neurological disorder called EPM. He
had been thru 2 owners, 3 vets & never
been tested. He had problems with his
hindquarters & the "assumption"
was EPM, although there are many other
neurological problems that present with
similar symptoms. After
being here 5 years & starting to have
more problems, we had him x-rayed &
discovered he had an old break in his neck,
& the ensuing time & arthritis was
causing major problems. We were afraid
he would get down or fall & break a leg
& we would have to make a decision.
I guess he made it for us.
Shag
came to us in June 2008 from a good home,
although he had been eating too much &
was very overweight, which is not unusual for
mini horses. He was born clubfooted,
& had problems with his right rear leg,
which we had planned on having diagnosed
& hopefully treated. Shag
was euthanized 11 days after he got here, due
to a broken rear leg. He had blended
into the herd & during play probably lost
his balance & either fell or twisted that
leg. Equines are not made to walk on 3
legs & with the additional weight he was
carrying, there was no way the break could
have been fixed. Although
he was only here a little while, he had
already become part of the family & will
be missed by all, especially Rusty the mule,
that had chosen Shag as his special little
friend.
CISCO I: We
bought Cisco from a horse trader in Marana in
May of 1999. He had been sold thru a local
auction & had at least 3 owners in a
short period of time. He had been used for
roping & had many summer sores caused by
habronema larvae. Our Vet had little
experience with habronema, & we had none.
He was very distrustful of people & was
very difficult to doctor on a regular basis.
The sores itched so intensely that he would
bite himself & cause horrible ragged
sores. In January 2000, he had bitten his
sheath so badly, that because of lack of Vet
surgical facilities in Cochise county, our
only option was to have him euthanized.
MURIEL: Muriel,
the mule, had a very bad accident at sometime
in her life. Her pelvis has been broke, &
the muscles on the inside of her rear legs
are no longer connected. She uses her
hamstring muscles to move her back legs. Her
jaw has also been broke, probably at the same
time. The consensus of opinion is, probably a
horse trailer accident, or perhaps she was
hit by a car. She has been passed around,
& is very distrustful of adults. She
likes children & the rescuer we got her
from said little kids can climb her legs
& do just about anything with her. She
will finally take carrots from us, & will
stand still for us in the corral. But if she
is loose on the property, she will not let us
get close to her. She is an unusual color
called Claybank.
Muriel coliced on November 30, 2005, & after 2 1/2 days of treatment, had no gut sounds. She was euthanized on December 2, 2005.
Snowy
had been in a small pen for 7 years with very
little exercise. She was suppose to be 24
years old, but the equine dentist said she
only has 3 teeth total in the back of her
mouth, so she could be older. She can’t eat
hay, so her meals consist of low starch &
sugar feed pellets, timothy hay pellets, beet
pulp & rice bran. Everything is mixed
together, water added to make a mush, which
she seems to enjoy very much. She has been
here since July 2005, & has put on
weight. Her hair is longer & much thicker
than it should be, & has been diagnosed
as insulin resistant. On
April 21, 2007 Snowy was down in the morning
when we went to feed. We had been watching
her day to day all winter, as she became more
frail & unable to lay down to rest. Even
if we could have gotten her up, chances are
she could not have stayed up. So the call to
the vet was made & she was euthanized.
We got
an e-mail from another rescue in Cochise
County about a donkey that was going to be
confiscated by the livestock inspector
because of neglect. The inspector had called
them about taking her, but they do
rehabilitation. This was an older donkey
& whatever the outcome she would probably
not rehabilitate. We were told she had
arthritis & didn’t walk very well. The
owners had been given 2 choices, either they
euthanize her or the inspector would
confiscate her & then euthanize her. Or
if they could find someone to take her, &
there would be no citation or court order by
the county against the owners. We agreed
sight unseen to take her. When we went to
pick her up, when we first saw her I thought
her fetlock had been broken & turned
backwards, causing her to walk on the top of
her foot.
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