There are so many stories to tell…. And every encounter teaches me something. Let me start by saying there are 3 kinds of animal rescuers. One is self-absorbing with a need to get that pat on the back. I am not that one. I really never felt comfortable with praise “oh you are an angel” Honestly that only cheapens anything you sacrificed to get the job done. There is also the rescue snob who probably starts out with good intentions but along the way sees so many of the first kind, that they have become jaded. They tend to think no one else can rescue and that only “they” should be called, only “they” have something of value to offer the rescue situation. Then there are the kind that I hope I am. The kind that fell into it and just does it because there is a need and it is what they feel is their purpose; Who does not mind the word “team” or even letting the organization get the pat on the back that they are working for or with. And, yes, I have a couple of awards and TV coverage, even an article.. Which is unfortunate because I am overweight and and not photogenic. The state of Texas gave my colleague and me a proclamation for our rescue efforts. It really was quite awkward as our department worked together as a team and at the time, I was only a volunteer. None the less as a woman of little outward accomplishment it is a fancy paper to frame and hang in my house and maybe one day a great grandchild will know animal care and responsibility is of great importance to our family. So on with our first rescue story
Bella and Butterscotch
One day Dawn Foil, (who is the equine coordinator of Humane Society) and I got a call from a lady in Aledo, TX. Her small barn had caught on fire and she had a momma Shetland and a 3 week old baby that had gotten caught in the fire. In previous cases, most horses do not make it past smoke inhalation. It damages their respiratory system and usually is fatal for them. We were prepared for this to be a trip of mercy euthanasia. So when we arrived, we were met with a very sad little family and two much burned ponies.
Their skin was hardened like cardboard and was stained with scorched yellow. We thought they were a palomino pair of Shetlands. They told us the moms name was Bella. Dawn and I took her to the shelter. I stayed in the trailer with the baby and Dawn took Bella outside to humanely euthanize her. The baby cried for her mom. I cried for the baby. We all cried for Bella. She was desperately trying to get to the baby, who was only 3 weeks old.
Dawn, tough as leather, mouth like a sailor and a heart as big as Texas said, “Dammit, Johanna. Put her back in the trailer. We are taking her to your barn”
And we did. We sterilized the stall the best we could. We did not have the authority to go willy nilly to vets and spend the organizations money in those days. We bought tarps and hung them and placed one on the floor and called Good ole’ doc Bruner for advice. We also looked around to see what we had on hand. We used a gastro liquid used to soak up poison in a horses gut. We gave her that by syringe 3 or 4 times a day hoping to get to the poison inhaled into her body. We kept her on sedative and put silverdine cream on the body. She lived. Then we had to deal with the hard skin. Doc said to use corona cream to soften it. We did and it did soften… to the point that the burned skin began to sluff off. I was beginning to be very nervous we were not going to be able to keep Bella progressing safely in her healing. By that time we had media attention.. Thank goodness.. And the funds and the go ahead to take the ponies to a local equine hospital. I have never been so relieved, tired and thankful to hand an animal to a vet. Also, I want to note, with much pride that we had managed to keep the burns clean and they had no infection. Infection of the burns were a giant risk, and the fact that we were able to keep her from acquiring any was a huge blessing.
I had stayed up nights, and then every 2 hours checked on Bella and her baby, who by the way acquired the name Butterscotch from one of my boarders. When media got involved, donations poured in. People were generous and donated thousands; Over a hundred thousand for Bella and Butterscotch. Those two little ponies actually began a huge fund for our vet needs that have grown into being able to care for many equine situations.
A year and a half in Dr. Josh Harvey’s capable hands, Bella was ready to come home. I adopted her and Butterscotch. Butterscotch had been in my care after weaning age of 6 months and we were the only home she could remember. I felt like they had been through enough and I was Butterscotch’s second mom. There was nothing else to do but bring Bella home. She is still the staunch protector over her precocious child. She lost her ears, she has a patch of hairless back that is remarkably smooth due to the excellent treatment Josh provided. She is blind in one eye from the fire and has a small diamond shape wound that is steal healing.
The lesson was nothing is black and white. While she suffered unspeakable pain, we were torn in what would be the right thing to do. We put ourselves in her place as a mom. We would want to live, no matter what the pain, to care for our children. Butterscotch was so young and still nursing. She nursed Butterscotch through all of this. There are instances in rescue that I feel like an organization just keeps an animal alive for the wrong reasons. Just because you can isn’t good enough. To keep one alive for the donations and the press is certainly not good enough. But for this little momma, her baby needed her and that was absolutely good enough.
