HERO ANIMALS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
Spring Farm CARES is home to many animals with disabilities – beings who daily open our hearts to love, and teach us of courage, trust, and, most definitely, heroism. Many of them have long-term, even life-long, special needs. All require in-depth medical care/treatment and medications, nursing, rehabilitative care, and special, often creative, attention. Some require repeated surgical procedures or trips to a specialist. The medical bills are sometimes staggering. But we feel blessed by these angel animals, blessed and grateful that these teachers have come among us. They are quartered variously here at the farm, according to their needs, some sharing the on-site living quarters of our directors. Because of their various conditions and on-going needs for special care, none are up for adoption. They will be with us for life, however long or short those lives may be.
YOU CAN BE A HERO TOO
You can share in the lives of these extra-ordinary beings by sponsoring one, or more, of them. Your donations will help pay for their various special needs and help us continue to provide the high quality of care that they require for the remainder of their lives.
ANNUAL HERO-SHIP DONATIONS
Your donation will be used directly in the care of our special-needs animals. Choose your animal and your name will be placed next to that animal's story here on our website for one year. You may also donate in memory of a loved one, human or animal, and that memorial will appear along with your own name.
HERO-SHIP LEVELS
SILVER HERO - $150 / GOLD HERO - $250
PLATINUM HERO - $500 / ARK-ANGEL - $1,000
To Sponsor an Animal, call (315) 737-9339,
Mon.-Fri., 9AM-4PM or send a check to
Spring Farm CARES, 3364 State Rt. 12, Clinton, NY 13323
with the name of the animal you wish to sponsor. Or go to our Donations Page, and in the Comments section please let us know the animal you wish to sponsor along with the level of sponsorship.
HERE ARE SEVERAL OF OUR SPECIAL NEEDS ANIMALS
- ROCKY - Boxer with severe health issues
- HERO - Cat with Spina Bifida
- TANGENE - Duck with amputated wing
- RICHARD - Duck with broken leg and orthopedic issues
- MOXIE - Cat born blind
- BURNING BRIGHT - Cat with severe cleft palette
- BRADLEY - Cat with amputated leg
- TINY TINA - Cat with deformed front legs
- CORKY - Cat with spinal injury
- BOBBY - Dog with amputated leg
- SCOOTER - Dog who is deaf
- SASHA - Dog who is blind
- SYDNEY - Horse with Lou Gehrig's Disease
- SMILEY - Horse who is blind
- BREEZIE - Horse with fractured withers and sterile abscess
- MARIAH - Horse who is blind
- TJ - Horse who is blind
- ORION - Horse with severe laminitis (Founder)
- CORRIE - Pony who was born blind
- ECHO - Horse with sight problems and neurological issues
- PHOEBE - Duck with orthopedic problems
ROCKY'S HEROES
Silver Heroes
The Sean Temple/Jennifer Alberico Wedding of June 14,2008
ROCKY
Update: January 2008, Rocky is continuing to improve. His pneumonia is almost gone, his severe anemia is continuously lessening with his red cell count improving daily. He has put a total of 7 lbs. on and the veterinarian would like to see us get another 7 lbs before he is a more acceptable weight. Rocky has a mass on one of his testicles but cannot be neutered until his health improves enough to withstand surgery. Hopefully the cancer will not have spread by then but right now it is far riskier to put him under anesthesia. We will continue to post updates as he improves.
Rocky arrived just before Christmas, 2007. He is an 8 year old Boxer with extreme medical issues. We are working with him extensively with veterinarians as well as holistic practices and nutrition to see if we can help him recover. He came to us when his people could not properly care for his needs. He is extremely malnourished and has severe anemia and pneumonia. His red blood cell count is perilously low. But we are seeing him really try to make it and he is just starting to show some signs of responding to treatment. It will be a while before Rocky is out of the woods. But his wonderful temperament, and his will to try to get better is helping him tremendously. With us only a few short days, he has stolen 
everyone's heart completely. He has even started sitting in Bonnie's chair with her while she reads the morning paper. We will update Rocky's story as he progresses. We are hoping for another Spring Farm CARES miracle for him! Please contact us if you'd like to sponsor Rocky.
HERO'S HEROES 
GOLD HEROES
Pets with Disabilities & Dewey's Wheelchairs for Dogs
Anne Frederiksen
HERO
Hero came to us in May 2007 when our local humane society called and asked if we could make room for a special-needs kitty whose will to live had touched everyone who met him. Hero was about 12 weeks old when he arrived. Although not paralyzed, he cannot walk on his back legs for more than a few steps at a time without falling over. It appears that Hero has spina bifada, a birth defect which effects the spinal cord. He is also incontinent in both bladder and bowel. His care requires a large expenditure of time -- keeping him clean, expressing his bladder so that he doesn't urinate on himself, and of course taking him out of his enclosure to play. And play Hero does! He has boundless energy, and runs, chases toys, rolls and tumbles, gamely ignoring his uncooperative rear end. Caretakers and volunteers adore him and vie with one another to be Hero’s playmate. Due to his problems, Hero's life may be shorter than average, but, however long that life, we are sure that it will be a happy one. Is there a surgical procedure that can help Hero walk? Unfortunately, no. But costly surgery may become necessary once he is full grown, to help with his bladder issue. At the moment he is on medication to help him empty his bladder as much as possible, and he must be watched closely, as there is a high risk of infection in cats with this condition.
Great news, however. Thanks to Hero-ship donors at Pets With Disabilities, www.petswithdisabilities.org, and Dewey's Wheelchairs for Dogs, www.wheelchairsfordogs.com, Hero is going to be getting wheels! We can hardly wait to see what this incredible spirit will do once he can
really take off. As he grows, we will, of course, need to keep upgrading wheelchairs so that they fit him correctly and allow him to keep playing and enjoying life, purring his wonderful, continual purrs when people spend time with him. (And oh, how he also LOVES to snuggle.) This is one strong spirit, who is teaching us that life is JOY, and no problem is insurmountable. Not even the sofa. Please contact us if you'd like to sponsor Hero.
TANGENE
The beautiful Tangene, an Indian Runner duck, arrived in April 2007 after being found, injured, on someone’s lawn. One of his wings was broken -- a compound fracture. We got him to a veterinarian immediately. He was badly emaciated, and the vet found other injuries as well. His wing would have to be amputated. It was the only choice, the only way to avoid a possibly fatal infection sometime in the future. But he was not strong enough at that point to withstand surgery, so we took him home for rehab with medicating. Our wonderful staff nursed him and lavished TLC on the extremely friendly Tangene. Soon he had put on weight and was healed enough to withstand the surgery. His wing was amputated in early May and he is now healing. When healed, he will need to learn to move and balance himself without that wing before we can attempt to integrate him into our duck “herd’. If integration isn’t possible, he will need special accommodations, care, and companionship for life. But Tangene is game for whatever happens, and we’ll be there for him. His immediate medical bills were over $300. Please contact us if you'd like to sponsor Tangene.
RICHARD
Richard was hatched here at the farm in 2006 when one of our female Muscovy ducks out-witted us, hid her nest, and triumphantly produced 7 ducklings. Unfortunately, Richard tangled with one of our horses recently. It was an accident, both duck and horse were just moving around the arena minding their own businesses when suddenly one of our barn crew saw that the horse was standing on Richard's foot as Richard desperately tried to get out from under. Of course Richard’s leg was no match for the weight of the horse. It was broken in a lower joint area. Under anesthesia at the vet’s, his leg was set and splinted. We are working with him homeopathically to speed up the healing process. We hope that Richard will be able to take his place once again with his siblings and go strolling around the grounds of the farm. Whether or not he will be able to hold his own in the flock depends on how strongly he heals. If he’s not able to re-join them, he will need to be housed separately from them, with the elderly and/or other special-needs ducks that we maintain. Richard's vet bills and nursing care have been over $200 so far. Please contact us if you'd like to sponsor Richard.
MOXIE'S HEROES
SILVER HEROES
Anonymous Special Friend
MOXIE
Moxie was about 12 weeks old when she came to the farm. It was Christmas of 2006, and there are an awful lot of Good Samaritan Angels in Moxie’s story. People heard a kitten crying. They looked up and saw that it was hanging off the roof of a 2-story building! They wanted to get her down, but the building was being torn down and it was blocked off. They persevered and found the owner of the building, who cared enough to come and help to rescue her. Once they had her, they saw that her eyes were badly infected. These people were allergic to cats and couldn't keep her, but they wanted to help her no less, and they took her to a veterinarian. He donated his services free of charge in honor of the Christmas season and agreed to keep the kitten for a week at no charge until a home could be found. As it turns out, her eyes were not just infected. She was born with deformed eyes and is totally blind. One would never know it though, to see how she gets around. Once here at Spring Farm she developed into a feisty, playful, adventuresome little trooper. But with special needs for sure. Beyond just being blind, her eyes do not produce the normal tears that would keep them flushed out and clean. Special drops need to be administered daily and her eyes need to be cleaned and watched closely for any sign of infection. Her third eyelids are closed all of the time. That is what you see when you look at her. It is not that she doesn't have eyes, it’s that those that she does have are small and under-developed.
Moxie is aptly named. Nothing daunts this cat. She is bold, sometimes
cantankerous, and always in charge. Moxie is living in the quarters of directors Margot and Dawn, protected in the confines of two rooms which she now owns. She has another cat for company, and gets along fabulously and plays with the 8 dogs who also live in the house. Obviously, this kitten was in control of her destiny and on a mission, as evidenced by all those who stepped in to help her along her path. Please contact us if you'd like to sponsor Moxie.
BURNING BRIGHT'S HEROES
Dr. Paul Bookbinder, Upstate Veterinary Surgical Center
BURNING BRIGHT
Burning Bright was only a few hours old when he was brought to us in late 2005. Director Bonnie took on his bottle-feeding, as she has with scores of others over the years. He looked like a tiny tiger – perhaps a Bengal-X -- so Bonnie named him Burning Bright, after the Blake poem, Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright. Bonnie shortly found that B-Bright, as he is called for short, had trouble nursing. The formula kept bubbling out his nose. As it turned out, he had a cleft palette. A severe one. He couldn’t transition to solid food and could only be fed by the bottle, very slowly and carefully to keep the gruel that we developed to substitute for solid food from going up into his sinuses and causing infections. Even with that care, we began to see signs of upper respiratory illness that was hard to get rid of. Unfortunately, there was nothing to be done for him surgically until he was grown enough for the surgery to be effective, and B-Bright’s wonderful orthopedic vet, Dr. Bookbinder, warned us that chances were that B-Bright would not make it to that point. The odds were that infections would take him. We were devastated, as it was clear that this kitten wanted to survive, and so we kept on bottle feeding him his gruel, oh so carefully. And miracles just kind of keep happening here at Spring Farm. They are par for the course with us. Due to the care and perseverance of Bonnie and our staff, B-Bright beat the odds. He grew and grew and grew. And his cleft palette began to close. Until, finally, he was big enough, and the palette had closed enough that surgery could possibly close the hole all the way. Dr. Bookbinder decided that, not only could he withstand surgery, but, there was a chance that surgery could work.
B-Bright has had a total of 4 surgeries over the period of one year. We don’t anticipate more. The doctor feels that all that can be accomplished surgically is done. The cleft is almost, but not completely, closed. He can now eat food off a plate like a normal cat, but he will be forever prone to, his life threatened by, sinus infections. As you can see, he is stunningly gorgeous, with an equally wonderful personality and disposition. His surgeries and nursing have so far been over $2,000, and worth every penny. As might be expected, he is very bonded with his caretakers as are they with him. He will stay here with us, in the only home he has known almost from the moment of birth, stay with us, burning brightly in our hearts. If you would like to sponsor Burning Bright, please contact us.
BRADLEY
Bradley was brought to the farm for one of our monthly Trap/Neuter/Release clinics for feral/stray/barn cats. He had been caught in a humane trap, but the caretaker of the colony had never seen him before at her feeding station. When the veterinarians went to check him for neutering, they were horrified to see that one of his back legs was nothing but a bone sticking out. He had probably gotten caught in a leg hold trap and chewed his leg off to free himself. What was left of the leg would have to be amputated or he would soon die of infection, and, under the circumstances, it seemed that euthanasia would be the kindest thing. Spring Farm would be willing to pay for amputation at a vet hospital, but there would be tremendous nursing care afterwards, and he was feral. He'd need to let us handle him. One of the vets asked Dawn to come and talk with the cat, to find out what he, himself, wanted done, The cat told Dawn that he wanted to live, and he would try to cooperate, but he made us promise that, once healed, he would not be kept indoors, he wanted to live outside. So he was taken to a vet hospital and the leg amputated. Antibiotics were critical to his recovery, and the incision had to be checked multiple times a day. Bradley, as we named him, was true to his word. He hissed and spit like crazy whenever he was handled, but he let the staff do what they had to do. It was also critical that he would stand and walk, to keep the remaining legs strong and able to support his weight. Cats do well after amputation and actually learn to walk quickly. But because he was feral, we had to keep him crated, for fear we couldn't catch him in the large hall where he was kept. He had to be in a smaller area, where he could be left loose but remain accessible. Hence, we decided to take him up to directors Dawn and Margot's house, where there is a foster room for SFC cats. The cats in this room are docile, even though some are semi-feral, and the room is carpeted, which would give Bradley good traction. Dawn also hoped that, once he experienced being in a house, he'd change his mind about living outside. At first, let loose in the room, he was unapproachable, and would spring at us, hissing and spitting. Then one day, after about a week, Bradley suddenly walked up to Dawn, rubbed against her leg, and solicited attention. Bradley had not been feral at all. He’d just been outside so long that he had begun to act feral. Now he remembered a life he must have once had as an indoor cat and settled right in. He was rewarded by being moved into the house proper, and shares living quarters with Dawn and Margot, 7 other cats, and 8 dogs. He still has very special needs. He is both FIV positive and has urinary tract problems. Please contact us if you would like to sponsor Bradley.
TINY TINA
Tiny Tina came in late fall, 2004. She had been born in a barn and had leg deformities. Radiographs determined that Tina was born without the long bones in both front legs, which leaves her with front legs that are both short and curled inward. She is adept, however, at getting around. One of her favorite ways to sit is upright, like a woodchuck, and, even with problem front legs, she walks, runs, plays and jumps and has almost a normal lifestyle. She will obviously, however, always be prone to and in danger of injuring those vulnerable legs. Directors Margot and Dawn have Tiny Tina in their house where she shares her life with a very special cat friend named Sebastian, who cares for and looks after her. Although somewhat shy, she is a girl with incredible spirit. Please contact us if you would like to sponsor Tiny Tina.
CORKY
Corky came to the farm in 2005 when about 2 weeks old, becoming another of Bonnie’s bottle babies. Someone found her wedged into a chain link fence, seeming almost to have been pushed in, like a cork. She would have died there if not gotten out, but unfortunately, as they pulled her out, she sustained nerve/spinal damage to her lower spine and tail. Because of this damage, Corky is bowel incontinent. She gets regular chiropractic treatments as well as lots of care to keep her clean. Another sparkling little spirit, she lives happily with friends like B-Bright in our always-bustling supply/laundry room here at the farm. Please contact us if you’d like to sponsor Corky.
BOBBY
Near Christmas of 2001, a hunter found Bobby huddling in a thicket the woods with one of his legs shot. The hunter felt that the wound was not accidental, that another hunter had used Bobby for target practice. This kind-hearted hunter tried to get hold of Bobby, but Bobby was in so much pain that he bit him. Undeterred, the hunter summoned a dog control officer to the spot where Bobby was hiding, and, using a catch pole, they got hold of him and carried him to the truck. The animal control officer called us. We agreed to finance vet care and the officer took Bobby to our vet. The news was that, if Bobby’s life was to be saved, the wounded leg had to come off immediately. Even then, there was a question of how severe the infection was. No owner could be found immediately, so Bobby came back to the farm after surgery to recuperate. Within a week we did find his people, who came to see him. It was a tearful reunion, especially since they realized that they did not have the financial or physical ability to care for Bobby with his new needs. They asked us to find him a suitable home. Unfortunately, Bobby can be a biter, although a very predictable one. He always warns you. It’s just your tough luck if you ignore the warning. But, since we can never safely adopt him out, he is a permanent resident. Being three-legged does not slow this boy down at all. In fact, on some days, you can find him on top of a dog house in our dog yard, surveying his domain. He looks kind of like the Red Baron. Please contact us if you are interested in sponsoring Bobby.
SCOOTER'S HEROES
Silver Heroes
Janey
SCOOTER
Scooter is an almost 9-year-old Pit Bull. He was found when about 6 months old, curled on a snow bank on a bitter winter day, trying to warm himself with his own self. He was starving, covered with severe mange, and deaf. The dog control officer took him to a vet to be euthanized. Instead, the vet’s office called us. This dog was, they told us, one of the sweetest that they’d ever come across, and they couldn’t bear to put him down. Of course we took him. And he is our Pit Bull ambassador. He exemplifies the extraordinary kindness and sensitivity of the breed -- a breed that humans have messed up by breeding and training them to fight. The basic nature of Pit Bulls is the opposite of vicious, as attested to by the fact that, in the 19th and early 20th Centuries, Pit Bulls were the pet of choice for families with children. Scooter is all that a Pit Bull should be. He’s smart as well, and trained with hand signals. When he doesn’t want to "listen" to you, however, he simply turns around. No see, no “hear”. Needing special attention in his silent world, Scooter spends most of his time in director Bonnie's office/living quarters, where he tears up the quilts and pillows on her bed making nests for himself during the day, and cuddles beside her at night. Bonnie swears that nothing and nobody beats a Pit Bull for snuggling.
Sadly, Scooter has also been troubled by a rare blood disorder, while, just recently, he had a mast cell tumor that necessitated his tail being amputated to a stub. Please contact us if you’d like to sponsor Scooter.
Sasha's Heroes
Silver Heroes
Anonymous Friend
SASHA
Sasha is an elderly Maltese/Shitzu mix. She has back problems, and is blind and partly deaf – though some of us swear that her blindness and deafness is selective. She came to us in 2002, when a local humane society could not find an appropriate home for her and did not want to put her down. She’s a feisty lady. Never nasty, she loves to cuddle and play, but she lives life her way. And she absolutely hates to be groomed. Grooming gets her so stressed that she has actually been known to turn blue. As far as Sasha is concerned, there is no such thing as a bad hair day. Whatever way her hair is is just the way it is, and so, “Go away!” Our staff has to find creative and sneaky ways to do haircuts in small doses. She’s an amazing character who functions so well with whatever senses she has left, that you would hardly know her to be handicapped. Please contact us if you are interested in sponsoring Sasha.
SYDNEY'S HEROES
SILVER HEROES
Anonymous friend
SYDNEY
Sydney, whose real name is Heart’s First Choice, was 3 when she arrived here in 2004. A Thoroughbred, she’d suffered a severe neck/spinal injury at 10 months of age, was unrideable and largely unmanageable. Director Dawn first heard of Sydney's plight as Sydney was about to be sent to auction for meat. Since her first accident had happened in a trailer, Sydney was terrified of those conveyances. The plan, however, was to beat her onto a trailer and haul her, in whatever condition, to the meat auction. This is a horror that comes to tens of thousands of horses in this country each year, but this horse spoke loudly to Dawn's heart, and Bonnie and Margot agreed with her that SFC could make room for one more. Sydney’s owner, however, found the $300 she would get for slaughter more appealing than giving Sydney a chance at life, so Dawn, Bonnie, and Margot bought Sydney for the price of meat. It took a lot of patience, and help from our veterinarian, but Sydney was finally safely trailered to Spring Farm.
A couple of months after Sydney arrived, we learned that she has Lou Gehrig's Disease. This can be arrested in horses with treatment but the neurological damage cannot be reversed. So, while Sydney appears to be in remission, she has neurological damage which causes her to walk funny and makes it necessary for her to lie down more than would a normal horse. Sydney continues to be on expensive but necessary supplements. Please contact us if you are interested in sponsoring Sydney.
SMILEY
Smiley is a Standardbred gelding who is now in his mid to late 20's. Smiley came to the farm in 1997 after a racing career and injuries laid him up. Since his arrival, Smiley has gradually gone blind. First in one eye, then he lost almost all vision in his second eye. Relying on his herd when outside, he is still able to romp, play, and run with his friends in his hillside pasture. Due to his age and his eye problems, Smiley is on several medications and supplements. He is quite a character, and a gentle and brave soul. Please contact us if you would like to sponsor Smiley.
BREEZIE'S HEROES
Silver Heroes
Barbara Sanford
BREEZIE
Breezie is a Thoroughbred, born here on the farm in 1991. In 1998, due to the negligence of those handling Breezie, she reared up, flipped over backwards, and smashed onto the concrete aisle of the barn. She hit part of the hardware from a barn door and sheared off 3 vertebral tops, pushing one up through her withers. This injury would have left her unrideable, although Breezie already was unrideable due to behavioral issues. But worse than that, the accident left an open hole in her withers that constantly drains and occasionally gets infected. For 9 years, first Margot, and later our staff, has bathed that wound every day. And the accident left her more difficult to handle than ever. At heart she is a soft and gentle mare, but her fears often make her very dangerous to deal with. It takes a lot of patience to keep her focused and balanced when working around her. Please contact us if you are interested in sponsoring Breezie.
MARIAH'S HEROES
ARK-ANGELS
Sara, Raleigh, and Friends
Very sadly, Mariah passed away suddenly February 9, 2008. Please go to our memorials page to read her memorial.
MARIAH
Mariah is a Thoroughbred, born here on the farm in 1991. She was born with a shortened tendon in one leg, but, with a lot of physical therapy and special hoof trimming, she was able to live an almost normal life. Of course, she would not have been up to rigorous riding work. Unfortunately, life dealt Moriah yet another blow. Six years ago she suddenly went blind. Quite literally, we turned her out to pasture in the morning as a sighted horse, and when we went to bring her in that evening, we found that something was very wrong. She wouldn't move and was terrified of everything around her. It took us quite a while to realize that she couldn’t see anything. It took even longer to get her to calm down and trust us to lead her into the barn. The vet came and confirmed that she had gone blind in both eyes. What she has is irreversible.
Mariah had never been an easy horse to handle even with sight. Without sight, her world turned upside down. She wouldn't let us handle her and we feared that we would have to euthanize her. We had to start all over with her from scratch. Unlike some of our other blind horses, Mariah would not leave her stall. But she learned to feel her way around that stall and she began to feel safe there. More slowly, she learned to trust us to care for her. Although she still will not go out of her stall, we now have more of a relationship with her than we ever did before. She is a sweet girl and she still very much enjoys her life. She has her two horse friends/companions on either side of her for company. Although they do go out to pasture during the day, she knows they will return each evening and she doesn't mind. She has shown great courage and is an inspiration to us all in regard to overcoming great fears. Please contact us if you are interested in sponsoring Mariah.
TJ
TJ came to the farm in 1995. He is a Quarter Horse gelding, now about 20 years old. He had degenerative eye disease when he arrived, and it has worsened over the years to total blindness. But because TJ had once had vision and lost it gradually, he adapted very well to being sightless. Also, because of his very steady and low-key personality, we are able to do almost everything with him that we would do with a sighted horse. He is able to be led to a pasture where, as long as he has a sighted horse friend with him, he calmly grazes and enjoys rolling in the grass and soaking up the sun. Because of his eye condition, TJ is on many supplements and medications. Please contact us if you are interested in sponsoring TJ.
ORION'S HEROES
Silver Heroes
Ann Holbert
ORION
Orion is now in his mid-late 20’s. He is an Arab-X gelding. He came to us in 1993 when another rescue organization was closing and disbanding. He had been part of a serious animal neglect case and had been starved. Unfortunately, in the process of putting weight on him, the people at the rescue overdid it, and he foundered. Founder, or Laminitis, is a tricky disease which afflicts the hooves of horses. It is extremely painful. Often the pain is so excruciating, with no way for the horse to recover, that the horse must be put down. During his years with us Orion’s Laminitis has been treated by limiting his diet, and by medications and supplements, as well as special trimming and shoeing. He also receives regular chiropractic care, as do many of our animals who need it. Due to the diligent care of our staff, Orion has been kept comfortable through the years, even though his condition continued to deteriorate. It has now reached a critical point. He requires a lot of nursing care, as he is prone to abscesses in his feet, and to sore muscles in general. He can no longer go outside to pasture, as he cannot have grass. Grass would worsen his condition. But he still has a quality of life, he has his horse and human friends, and he is comfortable enough to stay with us. We will support and help Orion as long as he wants us to. Please contact us if want to sponsor Orion.
CORRIE
Corrie is a Shetland Pony gelding who came to SFC in 1993 at 2 months of age. His previous owners had a large herd of ponies, all in-bred, many with deformities, and neglected. Corrie was born blind, Twice in his first two months of life he wandered down to the pond on their farm and nearly drowned. His owners considered him a nuisance and asked if we could take him, since they couldn’t sell a blind foal. We agreed to take him, but only if his mother came with him, since we would not wean a foal at 2 months. They were reluctant to send us the mare, but in the end they did. Corrie thrived here at the farm, as did his mother, Dream. The deal was that we were supposed to return his mother when he was old enough to be weaned. Unfortunately, as that time approached, we could see that Dream was pregnant. They wanted her back because they knew that she had been bred. We ended up buying Dream so that she wouldn’t have to go back. Corrie’s sister was born in early 1994, also with severe problems due to the in-breeding. (See Echo below.) Eventually we ended up with a little herd of ponies from that place, a total of 5, all inbred, all with medical problems. Corrie is a very sweet, gentle guy, somewhat shy at first, but when he is in his herd of friends, he is able to get around just fine. Please contact us if you are interested in sponsoring Corrie.
ECHO
Echo was born here on the farm in 1994 when we purchased her pregnant mother away from a neglect situation. (See the story of Corrie above for details.) Echo was born with vision and neurological problems. She gets around fine, but she has a distinctive wobble to her gait. She is not totally blind, but her vision is compromised. Echo still lives with her mother, brother Corrie, and 2 other relatives in our pony herd. She gets regular chiropractic treatments to help her with her neurological problem. Although not in pain, we suspect that she will have special needs as she ages. She could very well develop arthritis in her joints. She’s a sweet-tempered little gal who just enjoys hanging out with her family in the sun. Please contact us if you wish to sponsor Echo.
PHOEBE
Phoebe is not only our oldest duck, but our oldest special-needs duck. Phoebe is amazing. She was brought to the farm in early 1994 after someone took her to a wildlife rehabilitator thinking she was a wild mallard. Phoebe is a domestic duck, however, so the wildlife rehaber brought her to us. Phoebe never really fit in with our other ducks. They didn’t like her. She was loud and bossy, you could always hear her quacking around the farm about one thing or another, but, most offensive to the other ducks, was the fact that she kept smashing their eggs. “It’s not the baby season yet,” she would say. She had been with us only a couple of months when she had an accident. She walked into an area where we had horses turned out, and one of our mares didn’t see her in time as she was running and she ran right over Phoebe. One of Phoebe’s legs was badly hurt. In fact, while one foot pointed forward correctly, the foot on the injured leg now pointed backward. Dawn rushed her to a local vet who determined that Phoebe’s knee was virtually obliterated, He recommended euthanasia. But, as Dawn stood there with Phoebe, she heard Phoebe say, “Don’t kill me. Fix it! Just fix it!” We had heard of a zoo vet about 2 hours north of us who worked with birds. So Dawn took Phoebe there. Fixing Phoebe’s leg was a massive project. Three surgeons actually got involved as they experimentally rebuilt Phoebe’s knee. There was a lot of rehab afterwards, and Phoebe actually started to use the leg. But it never got strong enough for her to be out with the other ducks. She has lived indoors with us now for 13 years, in a big nest that we made for her, and she loves it. In the summer, she has a wading pool in a pen outside, where she can go for swims, be in the sun, and receive visits from other ducks. In the winter she bathes each day in the utility sink. She is our office duck, cherished by the staff, freely sharing her opinions and advice with us. In her room, roaming free, are to be found a chicken, a couple of cats, and an African Grey Parrot. There is also a television set, which Phoebe loves to watch. She is now at least 14 years old, and one of the most unforgettable characters we have ever met. Please contact us if you wish to sponsor Phoebe.
