The following is a first-person narrative, written by one of our small, volunteer horse rescuers.
“Miss Doll was the 3rd horse to come to me. She was and is the reason I continue to rescue. Her lessons were of courage, faith in God’s wisdom, perseverance in even those things that seem impossible, and in the true beauty within each one of God’s creatures.
Miss Doll was rescued from an older couple who had been convicted of felony animal cruelty and sentenced to prison.
I happened to pick up a local paper and saw an ad for “one aged horse free”. When I called, they explained that she was a little underweight, but otherwise a fine riding horse and said she was almost 20 years old. Nothing in this world could have prepared me for what I saw when I went to pick her up… I literally could taste the blood in my mouth from biting my tongue. I was looking at a mare much older than 20 yrs. (My vet estimated her age at 40+ years.) How she stood I’ll never know. Sheer will to live, and the heart of a lion is all I can come up with. She was at least 400 pounds underweight. Her skin hung to her carcass like a plastic bag that had melted over a lightbulb…
We took her home crying and praying she’d be able to stand the trip. Miss Doll made it to our home. I did not see her lie down for 3 months. She just leaned on the panels of her pen to rest. With lots of A&M feed, rice bran, and senior supplements she gained weight steadily each day.
To say she touched my life would be a gross understatement. She graced my life for almost 3 years. The lessons she taught me I could not have learned anywhere else. We lost her on July 24th 2012. She died with her head in my lap. I think of her many times each day and will miss her the rest of my life.”
Animals Abused & Abandoned began purchasing fresh hay, food supplements and vet services for Miss Doll as soon as we got the call from this rescuer.
Help us help rescued horses, like Miss Doll, by making your kind contribution to Animals Abused & Abandoned here.