Save a Horse!
I make trips to the Bakersfield Animal Shelter about every week. I talk to the KCAC crew, I make the rounds with the dogs, and I come home with a few four-legged friends. Behind the shelter is a make-shift horse stable that seemed to be increasing in size every week. Why were there so many horses accumulating at a dog/cat shelter? Officer Julie Sugg (a pal since I began Marley’s Mutts) and another staff member named Jessica explained to me the plight of these horses. Some were abandoned, some stray and several were seized from animal abuse cases. Their pasts were different but they shared a very abysmal and probable future. If the horses didn’t go to rescue or get adopted in the next week, the county had no choice but to send them to auction. Kern County Animal Control is fighting an underfunded and excruciating battle just to keep up with the dog problem and these horses cost thousands of dollars a weeks to care for. There was no other option but to send to send them to auction.
Horse rescue is not something that we, as a dog rescue, go out of our way to pursue. This operation came to be out of pure necessity: if someone didn’t act, these horses were going to auction which, all to often means slaughter. We undertook this endeavor because a handful of people knew it could be done, stepped up to the plate, and made it happen. We talked to our friends, made hundreds of phone calls, sent tons of emails and, before we knew it, we had a pretty darn good plan.
Kern County Animal Control lent all the support they could and were extremely accommodating. Friends and good Samaritans lent trailers, vehicles, harnesses and exerted blood, sweat and a few tears to make this happen. A week and a half into this effort we have liberated 15 horses and brought them up to the Tehachapi area. The horses are being kept at several locations and are being cared for by a solid (and growing) group of enthusiasts and supporters.
We still have a long way to go and with winter approaching (eventually), we will need to make sure that the horses have everything they need to be comfortable. You can help support the horses by donating time, money, feed or any of the other items that are on our “Wish List.” Thanks to the dozens of folks that made this happen and let’s keep on truckin’!!
Zach M. Skow
Click on Horse Rescue Page to see photos and bios of the rescued horses.
Donations can be dropped off at Bear Valley Equestrian Center, Tehachapi Pet Lodge, and Hemme Hay.
dont forget about the “wild west cowgirls” and their contribution…:)
You guys are great. Wereally appreciatethe support and I’ve got nothin’ but love for the Cowgirls. Sorry I dropped the ball and didn’t mention it in the summary. I’ll change it.
Hello,
I heard about your wonderful organization and wanted to offer any help I could !! I am presently not working so have a lot of spare time on my hands, I have 10 animals of my own that I have rescued, I have had horses that I rescued as well so have an adequate amount of experience with most animals., Unfortunately at this time I do not have any money to donate but would love to donate my time to be of service, Please feel free to call me at any time!!!
thank you and God bless,
Kim (714) 390-6437
Joanna,
Thank you for your time and contributions! It was so nice to meet you and hope to see you again soon…
Ann
Kim,
We will certainly be giving you a call…we can use all of the help we can get. Looking forward to meeting you,
Ann
Where can i paypal a donation to?
Robert,
Wow, we set this up so fast, I forgot to put the Donate link here. I will put it up right away. If you like, you can visit marleysmutts.com and use that Paypal link. Just click on “Add Special Instructions to the Seller” and say that your donation is for the horses.
Many thanks for giving me the heads up on that.
Judy
Thank you Marley Mutts for all you do for all animals. You truly have a servant’s heart. Please keep your chin up as you continue your dedication to the cause!
You are somewhat correct here and thank you for your posts. Linda IS a client of Erika and Casey’s. She was the main reason that Erika and Casey got involved. Originally, They were going to donate training time (that is why they got first pick of the horses)and Linda was going to take care of expenses. We were not in a rush to get them donations because Linda so graciously provided the original 50 bales. But, in no way would they have been forgotten. We repeatedly asked for receipts from vet we sent over and the farrier. To this day we have not seen a single receipt. There was confusion because these horses were the “best” to make a profit from and a non-profit can not be involved at that point of decision.
It is not wrong to turn the ones that can be trained and hold up physically, for the purpose of profit. They will have a great chance of never ending up in that place again after Erika and Casey have some time with them. But with that intent, Marley’s Mutts can not have ownership….this is a non-profit organization. There was never a problem with adopting them to Erika so they could sell them as they pleased. The problem was that proper paperwork had not been drawn up or completed. Erika was almost impossible to get ahold of, Zach running around like a chicken with his head cut off and more dogs and horses to tend to.
Some people got skeptical and accusing, rumors began, and negativity staterd it’s snowball course.
There was never a time that someone couldn’t have just called and gotten whatever they needed. Although we did this with no funds at all, and we have more than surpassed donations,everyone involved would have done whatever necessary to supply ANYTHING that these horses or fosters needed. Talk to the other four foster families and you will see the truth. Ask questions of people that have been there every step of the way. Because of all the small town talk, the truth is getting lost.
oh and sorry for the miss spellings.
I am sorry if I have offended you in any way, no name. It would be nice to know who you are for a confimation of what you are saying. If you truly know everyone, you would also know the truth. I mean no disrespect by that….it is just a fact.