Happy Autumn!
It is a balmy
80 degrees today, and this "stay at home" mom is going
riding for a bit before the kids get out of school! Before I
go, thought I'd share some events of the past week or two. Some
will make you giggle - some will make you cry..........
I am not sure
where we are at in terms of the three Standardbreds that were
headed to auction on Saturday. I am anxiously waiting to hear
if they were rescued - ASAP offered to accept them into care
and ship them until they could be adopted if someone would pay
the $300 each for a total of $900. We had a donation of $300
come by Pay Pal towards the purchase of one of the horses, but
so far no word on what has transpired. I'll be sure to let you
know as we receive information.
Four new kittens at ASAP
We just received
another piece of disturbing news on two horses - a mare and
a gelding - who are being given away or "done away with"
by a cold-hearted man in Wisconsin - we have a woman who is
willing to pick them up from the farm if someone will take the
19 year old mare with a torn vulva and enlarged knee, and the
gelding, who is younger and sound, but does have puss draining
from his eyes. WE have so many awesome ambassadors out there
willing to do the work it takes to save horses - and you are
all appreciated. We also want to thank those who are scanning
horse classifieds on the internet sites (there are many) and
reporting those adopters who may be attempting to sell ASAP
horses! One such mare was noted on dreamhorse.com last week
and ASAP immediately addressed the issue with the foster family,
who promptly removed the mare from the site. Why any adopter
or foster care provider would attempt to sell an ASAP outright
is unfathomable, but we do get individuals, once in a great
while, who will attempt this illegal activity. When adopters
ask why our placement contracts are so strict, this is one reason
why they are so lengthy and have so many stipulations - to prevent
people from feeling they have any right whatsoever to sell a
horse. Anyway, before I get too wordy or emotional on this subject,
I'll just say "thanks" to those of you assisting our
program and keeping people honest!!
I woke up Saturday
morning knowing that several people would be visiting our farm.
One truck and trailer pulled in from the Upper Peninsula in
Michigan and I went outside to greet them and begin the adoption
process. About ten minutes after I went outside, a sheriff's
patrol car pulled in the driveway. Although I knew why he was
coming, the adopters didn't (never a dull moment at the Wellman's).
I had to explain to them that the officer was coming to pick
up our foster son to take to detention as consequences for violation
of a court order which I won't go into detail about. I escorted
the police officer into the house while the adopters' watched............and
out came my foster son with the officer and me. Now, the mother
in me made me quite sad for my foster so, yet knowing he was
responsible for his consequences I looked on as he was frisked
and then handcuffed and placed in the back seat of the car.
I reassured him that I would come and pick him up Monday morning,
but he just gazed ahead and didn't answer. I wish I could prevent
him from going through those hard times, but my job as a Treatment
Foster parent is to allow him to make choices in life, and then
reap either rewards or consequences for his actions. That must
be how God feels when we are going through the joys and challenges
we face in living every day - that we are allowed to live our
life as we want to live it, but also must go through things,
good or bad, as a result of it. The important thing I wanted
my foster son to know was that I loved him nconditionally, and
would be there for him when his time was fulfilled at the juvenile
detention center. Sadly, I watched the car drive away. Today,
I am happy that he is back with us and back in school and has
the assurance that we continue to be there for him no matter
what!
Explosive MS did
find a home with the adopters from the UP on Saturday, but she
was the only one that had a current coggins to travel. Please
remember that if you are from out of state and come to look
at horses, you will only be able to take a horse home with you
IF there is a 2003 coggins on a horse and IF we can contact
a veterinarian in our area to complete the mandated interstate
health certificate necessary to cross state lines. It can be
a bit of a hassle, but is required!
T-Bone and Callie
will be going to Iowa to live with the much-admired Lori H.
She has been so faithful about sending sheets and first aid
supplies during T-Bone's recovery, and recently ordered two
special blankets for Callie and T-Bone to better endure the
winter months that are approaching. I couldn't be more pleased
with Lori - and she is getting two very very special horses
who will reward her with years of love.
I am about to
embark on quite a journey, and am quite nervous about it. Craig
and I are traveling from ASAP to California, via South Dakota
and Montana, at the end of October! Bold N Rare and EV's Mack
and possibly one other STB are going to their new homes at that
time, and we are busy getting the necessary paperwork for them
to travel. This will also give me the chance I have been waiting
for - to go home to San Jose, California for a visit while getting
to meet Bold N Rare's adopter, Cathy! I would ordinarily be
ecstatic about this trip, except for one thing: Wolfie is not
feeling well.
Wolfie was accidentally
run over by my 16 year old daughter in May. After this occurred
he began having a runny nose......which, over time, became infected.
He also began sounding very gutteral when he was breathing.
We began Clindamycin tablets to combat any bone infection, along
with anti-inflammatories. Blood started draining from his nose
in addition to the mucus. Two weeks ago I took him in for x-rays
at the vet clinic, and thank goodness - they did not detect
a tumor. They prescribed the same medication to run for a longer
term. Still no change. Last week I took him in again, this time
for a nasal swab which was sent in to the university. This swab
test is supposed to determine whether he has a foreign body
lodged up inside his sinus cavity or maybe a mass of some kind.
We will go from there, but I feel I cannot wait to know what
is wrong with Wolfie. I hate to see him suffer! He has had several
seizures now, and usually every time involves him biting down
on something which involves his soft palate, which must be pressing
on a part of his brain. He quickly recovers from them. Wolfie
is going to be 14 in February - so we get into ethical issues
in treating him. Should I transport him and have a CT scan done
and pay $500? Should we euthenize him ? (isn't gonna happen).....or
just hope it heals on its own with the help of medication?
I just cannot
go somewhere 2000 miles away and not worry about him! I am seriously
wondering if I should pack him up in the horse trailer and take
him along with us, but this may be equally traumatic to him.
Anyone have any suggestions? I am eagerly looking for a round-the-clock
care person to stay at our house and watch him while we are
gone. I guess I am just too protective. This has been a very
tough year, as I have had my pets for so long that now we are
in the geriatric phase on many of them and they require lots
of care, which is both emotionally taxing and financially draining.
They have given our family so much, that I am sure to spare
nothing to make their lives as healthy and happy as possible!
I am happy to
see so many more local referrals of horses as the word gets
out about our program. I just heard the story on Chance, the
yearling Belgian, who is coming into our program. He is the
sweetest little draft with big, sad eyes that you ever saw!
The woman who is donating him purchased him this year at an
Amish auction for $50. He was not wanted because he has a special
nose - it looks as though it was stomped on or run over by a
wagon wheel and has a "distinctive" shape. Other than
this he is 100% sound!!!! We will have him gelded before he
comes to ASAP, so if anyone is interested in this rescue turned
adoption, please let me know.
The weanling colt
in Iowa got a home with Stacey, who adopted Table Nonsense and
Nealie, and his new christened name is "Rudy"!! He
is so happy, and Table Nonsense aka Bob thinks he is daddy to
him! He is getting around well and we hope that his hip heals
completely. Thanks to Stacey and also to Libba for giving this
special little guy a second chance at life!!!
I am looking forward
to a March retraining clinic with Ray Waters now rather than
November - I feel that we are trying to rush to get things finalized
and if we plan for March we can have a better silent auction.
I would love to hear from you as to which weekend in March you'd
like to attend. It will be a 2 day clinic with $100 per horse
and we want to get at least 15 riders in order to be able to
pay Ray and the arena fee. I know we have a horse expo in early
March, so I am thinking the second or third weekend?
Thanks for your
continued support,
Susan
