A Love Story at Mylestone Equine Rescue

February 1, 2010February 9, 2010 / still a dreamer / 2 Comments

The following is a story from Mylestone Equine Rescue, New Jersey’s oldest all-breed horse rescue. They work tirelessly saving lives, rehoming horses and providing education about the problems faced by horses today. Please visit their site, sponsor a horse, or even send a special Valentine Sponsorship. All help is greatly appreciated.

Once upon a time, there were 2 horses named Josie and Clyde. They were very different horses … in almost every way. They were different breeds – he a big Tennessee Walker, she a Quarter horse. Clyde was a dark bay with many signs of age in his body and graying face; Josie was jet black and rather flashy. Clyde had worked hard all of his life, most recently at a hack stable, and not been treated kindly; Josie had belonged to someone who rode her and showed no signs of having been mistreated in any way. He tended to be a bit grumpy; she was gentle and grateful.

The one thing they did have in common was that no one wanted either one of them anymore. Clyde was in the kill pen facing a trip to slaughter, and Josie was abandoned at the farm where her owner had boarded her, and faced going to auction.

Clyde was rescued, and when he arrived at Mylestone, the telltale kill pen sticker was still affixed to his rump. He was unused to being outside on his own and enjoying open space. He hung back, lonely and afraid, preferring the safety of his shed. When turned out, he ran the fence line.

And then came Josie. Like an angel on a mission of love, she reached out to Clyde. When first turned out with Josie, Clyde decided to simply ignore her, like a child putting his fingers in his ears – lalalalala, I can’t hear you!

But that was not acceptable to the patient Josie. She stood next to him and nudged him, as if responding to a pain he felt but couldn’t express. It was as if Josie knew. She stood close to him, insisting he let her be his friend. And little by little, he did. Soon, he settled down. The fence running became pacing, the pacing became walking, and the walking became standing still … next to Josie. Soon they were grazing right there — right smack in the middle of the once-feared paddock — together.

Josie and Clyde soon became best friends. Each eagerly awaited their being taken to the field to while away the days together, their friendship a balm to the scars of difficult days in their pasts. All was well.

Then one day, Susankelly and a volunteer went out to take some pictures of the two lovebirds for the Valentine Gift Sponsorships*. Susankelly shook a treat jar, and that’s when the fighting began.

“Me first!” insisted Clyde.
“Why not me?” demanded Josie.
“Get out of my way,” said Clyde, as he lightly body slammed her.
“Hey!” said Josie, “stop being so pushy!”

Their ears lay flat, and there was huffing and puffing and much snorting, and many disparaging remarks bandied about. (We won’t repeat the nature of these comments; they were just terribly rude and hurtful. And terribly unlike the accepting and sharing relationship Josie and Clyde had developed.) What just happened?

At Susankelly’s insistence, Josie and Clyde finally settled down for a nice photo or two. They were too embarrassed by their own behavior to not look nice for their Valentine’s picture, especially because you would be able to give that photo as a gift to someone special! Soon the two women were gone, and so was the jar of treats. The jar of treats that started the fight.

Josie and Clyde walked back to the center of the paddock together, side-by-side, happily bumping against one another, and nuzzling each other’s faces.

“What just happened back there?” asked Josie.
“I don’t know,” said Clyde. “Do you think we have food issues?”
“I didn’t think we did,” she said. “Maybe we should just stick to grazing and our hay and grain.”
“Good idea” said Clyde, and they wandered off as happy as they once had been, secretly hoping their photos came out so wonderful that you would just have to send one as a Valentine Gift Sponsorship* to someone you love.

Because chocolate … might just start a fight.

* The deadline for Valentine’s Gift Sponsorships has passed, but you could still sponsor Josie or Clyde separately with a standard Gift Sponsorship at any time of year!

Be A Better Writer and Feed the Hungry

May 9, 2009May 9, 2009 / still a dreamer / 4 Comments

Having a great vocabulary is just one of the hallmarks of a great writer. Whether you write novels or picture books, or just a letter to the editor, a broad vocabulary is a tremendous asset. Good grammatical skills are another plus. So here’s an idea – why not strengthen your vocabulary and sharpen your grammar skills and help feed hungry people around the world? You can do both at FreeRice.

When you visit the FreeRice site, you have the opportunity to play a vocabulary game. For each correct answer, FreeRice will donate 10 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program to help end world hunger. It’s multiple choice – if you get the answer correct, you will get another word challenge which will be more difficult. If you get it wrong, you will be offered an easier word challenge. You can even hear a vocabulary word pronounced if you’re unsure about it.

The site opens on the vocabulary section, but you may also choose grammar, famous world paintings, geography, math, chemistry or foreign languages. For every correct answer, FreeRice tallies your grain donation, first by grains, then by bowls. You can indicate on another page if you would like to have your last scores and grain donations remembered for your next visit.

FreeRice has two goals: 1. Provide education to everyone for free. 2. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free. How can you go wrong?

So get working on your vocabulary; get feeding some people in need, and get going!

WARNING: This is very addictive!

Animal Artists and Authors Join for A Cause

November 3, 2008November 3, 2008 / still a dreamer

Do your gifts tend to have an animal theme? Then stop by and do some holiday shopping and support a great cause! Eight animal artists and authors, including myself, Jeanne Balsam, are participating in Paw Prints – an art and book sale fundraiser to help Animeals. 20% of all our sales will benefit this charity who delivers pet food, supplies, etc. to the homebound, indigent and handicapped, a kind of Meals-on-Wheels for pets.

The following artists and authors will be participating:

Doris Ettlinger, children’s book illustrator
Andrea Gianchiglia, pet portrait artist
Mark Mueller, wildlife artist
Jerilyn Weber, Equine and pet portrait artist
JoAnn Dahan, dog trainer and author, Kids Training Puppies
Loren Spiotta-DiMare. author, pet-reference books for adults and picture books for children
Diana Tuorto, Horse Columnist, Today in Hunterdon. Author, middle-grade horse books for children,
and of course, yours truly, artist, author, and illustrator.

Date: Saturday, Nov. 8th

Time: 1:30 pm – 4 pm

Location: Clinton Community Center, 63 Halstead Street, (next to the Public Library) Clinton, NJ

I will be there with animal themed Christmas cards, blank note cards, prints, etc. Check out some more artists’ and authors’ offerings on the PAW PRINTS flyer.

Hope to see you there!

Box in the Road

August 30, 2007July 11, 2012 / still a dreamer

What’s better than spending a weekend with your oldest friend in the world? Spending a weekend with your oldest friend in the world AND helping an animal survive!
The day was getting late, and our plan to head on over to the local farmstand looked like it might not happen. Then I remembered they had that wonderful little deal that you can actually still find in places like this – a secure lock box! A testimony to faith in human nature, a secured box for payment of roadside fruit and veggies so customers can come at odd hours to purchase them still amazes me. Customers are trusted to pay the right amount for the produce they choose and to not steal whatever cash is currently in the box, (or the box itself), until the farm owners come out and remove it. That’s one of the reasons why I like living in the country. But that’s not the box I’m writing about.

We left for the farm – about a 3 or 4 mile drive, and about what it takes to get to any decent thing you want to get to out here. As we drove down the two-lane blacktop, I noticed something in the opposite lane. It looked like a large rock, but not really. When animals occupy such a large portion of one’s brain, red flags go up fairly often. `Did you see that?’ I asked, already wondering at its odd shape. Kathy, on the passenger side, hadn’t gotten any better look, so we agreed to check on the way back.
After getting a small stash of seasonal goodies, we turned back to go home and whoosh! we watched the car ahead of us whiz down the lane, straddling the not-so-likely rock. Shortly after, we did the same, and I wasn’t convinced a rock had gotten in exactly that spot. So finding a safe area, I turned the car around once again.

On the return trip, I pulled alongside and rolled down my window for a better look, and my suspicions were correct – the `rock’ was a box turtle. Probably had a big idea to cross the road, and with just enough cars, became petrified to go further. Luckily, there’s not a whole lot of traffic on that road and he was smack in the middle of the lane. I pulled over.
My partner in rescue jumped out and picked up the stranded box turtle, who peeked out at her briefly before slamming his shell and plastron shut. But she’d noted which way he was headed, and walked him into the brush a good 10 feet and far enough away from danger. Hopefully, that was his direction and he continued on into the woods to his home.

One of the best feelings there is … whether the beneficiary be animal or human … is saving a life. And we both smiled a good long time after our turtle rescue. Good luck, little guy!

Need professional illustration? I can help!

The Gift

August 21, 2007January 19, 2012 / still a dreamer / 2 Comments

Not long ago I received a gift. No, it wasn’t John Beresford Tipton with a check for a million dollars and my future security. It was a gift for my heart … two gifts, actually.
The first was an e-mail from someone who adopted a rescue dog from me many years ago. Larry wrote that he and his wife Jeannie had searched me out on the web to tell me that Deuce had passed away and to thank me for “the best dog they ever had”. In quiet tears, I responded … to thank them for letting me know, and indeed, what a wonderful dog Deuce had been. I was so grateful that Larry and his family had adopted him.
It wasn’t but three weeks later that the second gift arrived … another e-mail. Jon and Diane also searched me out on the web to let me know that Spike had just passed away at 13, also to thank me for “the best dog they ever had”. Again, I responded in kind.
For ten years I ran a rescue for, I believe, the most difficult dog to place – the American Pit Bull Terrier. I placed Deuce and Spike well over 12 years ago when they were just youngsters, and before e-mail. Although we kept in touch, it wasn’t easy when one’s lives were consumed with multiple jobs and, in my case, a demanding rescue on top of it. But the best thing about placing Deuce, Spike, and all the other `pits’ I placed, was I never had to look back. I knew, through my extensive screening, breed education and adoption requirements, that these pups were now set for life. (Ask any of my adopters – they were grilled!)
Rescuing `pits’ presented tremendous challenges – they are truly misunderstood dogs. Their history, their true temperament, their genuine love of people – what the public needed to know was not what they heard. Instead, they were slammed with horrific, isolated incidents where unstable and undoubtedly abused pit bull terriers attacked humans. As if there were no other news going on in the world.
Pit bull terriers were … and are … horribly abused, tortured, made insane and killed — for not being good enough fighters. Imagine the worst … they suffered much more. Some, still alive, were simply wrapped up in plastic bags and dropped in the garbage. Just not good enough.
My heart was broken more times than I can tell in saving these dogs’ lives. So many were, and are, stable, loving and kind dogs, euthanized nonetheless for simply being born the wrong breed and being bred to excess.
Yet, as a rescue, I received so many gifts. I was truly blessed with people who came forward to help me save this wonderful dog no one wanted. Vets, trainers, foster homes, experienced rescue people to guide me in effectively screening … all appeared. The pit bull terriers I had the fortune to know and help were themselves gifts I will never forget. But perhaps the greatest gifts, for both the dogs and me, were the truly caring and devoted people who took them in.
These rescue dogs lived long, healthy lives, and then I received one more gift.
An e-mail to let me know.

Note: This article was published in the July 2007 issue of The Animal Companion. Although I have not actively operated my APBT rescue for over 7 years, these wonderful people contacting me inspired me to write about one of my many experiences in rescue and with the breed.