DreamCatchers
Equine Rescue Inc.

Hey Everyone!!!  The paint ballers are back...they have a tournament scheduled for October 2nd and 3rd here at DreamCatchers.

For more information check out their site at

www.dmsscenariopaintball.com

It was a very sad day Sunday, here at DreamCatchers.  We lost one of our "old farts" and good friends.

Levi came to DreamCatchers in the summer of 2007 from the Lake George area.  He was painfully thin and we soon discovered it was due to the fact that he had little or no teeth left.  He was literally starving to death.  The vet who examined him also said he had a heart murmur and we should probably just put him down.  He was old, unrideable and what was the point.

Well, as anyone who knows me will tell you, I usually don't take that kind of advice if there is an alternative.  Levi, despite his heart murmur and low body weight, had a spirit that could not be dimmed.  He had worked hard in his lifetime to please his people.  This was very evident in the scars along his withers from a poorly fit saddle, and the shoe boil on his elbow (Lisa Jo called it his bunny tail) and the knock knees from injuries who knows how many years ago.  He deserved a peaceful retirement.

He quickly took to Misty, the love who was with him til the very end.  They became inseperable.  When Misty became ill in March of this year, Levi stopped eating.  It was like he was preparing himself to go with her.  Well, Misty got better after a treatment with Dexamethisone (which Levi got as well) so they were both on the road to at least 6 more months of happy retirement.

Everyone who knew Levi will tell you, he had a girly whinny.  He got very excited at feeding time and would nicker repeatedly and it was like hearing a laughing hiena cackle.   It was so endearing.

I found Levi, Sunday, laying in the pasture.  He was sweating profusely but when I got him on his feet, he quickly trotted off to  be with Misty and the rest of the herd.  I thought, at that point, that he had just lain in the sun too long and/or rolled in the wet grass.

A few minutes later, I saw that he was once again laying down and the herd had moved quite a distance away.  I became concerned at  this point.  I got him on his feet again and began to lead him towards the barn.  He walked a few hundred feet with me and then he went down again.  At this point, I called for help.  I needed a halter and some bodies to help me get him up and moving to the barn so we could get to work on fixing him.  My good friend and most loyal volunteer, Mr. Ed came running, as did the love of my life, Paul, as well as a dozen others.  We virtually lifted Levi to his feet and then a half dozen people surrounded him and helped him to walk the several hundred yards to the barn.

Once there, I gave him a shot of banamine for pain, assuming it was colic, and called the vet.  I left a message for our vet and got down to the business of keeping him moving and trying to cure his belly ache.  I want to thank Paul, Mr. Ed, Brother John and Teri, Jessica and all the wonderful people who were so supportive.

Unfortunately, we found out soon that it was not colic that had afflicted our Levi but something much more serious.  He suffered a seizure and then another.  Misty was by his side, nuzzling him and nickering to him after the  first seizure and he actually regained his composure and seemed to be all better for just a few minutes.  Then the second one hit and  he was gone.

I take comfort in the fact that I know Levi had a good life while he was with us here.  No matter what came before that, he enjoyed his retirement with the people and horses here at DreamCatchers.  That is truly what I mean when I say it is all about the horses...that these wonderful beings who give us so much have the opportunity to live their lives in happiness and peace til the very end. 

I will miss Levi so much, his whinny, his stoic behavior that says he is afraid of getting too close but just scratch my butt please.

I caught myself yesterday calling to him when I called the old farts in for Dinner.....Miss you Levi...you will be with us always.

It is bitter sweet that Misty and Levi have responded to the recent treatment with steroids...Levi has regained his appetite and Misty is walking straighter, maybe a little slow, but still and all in a straight line.  That is the sweet part, but overall, that they responded to the steroid treatment means that there is most likely a tumor that is impacting Misty's motor skills and muscle control and the steroids have just relieved some of the pressure by shrinking it temporarily.

In Levi's case, he may have just responded to the fact that Misty is feeling better so he was willing to get back to normal cause she was not going to die any time soon or it could mean, like the vet suspects, that he also has a tumor in his adnoid that is pressing on his appetite center and the treatment also caused it to shrink, temporarily.

In any event, I will take whatever time we have left together while they are feeling good, if it is only another 6 months, I am going to make them the best 6 months of their lives...lush pasture, all you can eat senior feed, treats, whatever their hearts desire. 

Misty has taken to whinnying at me when she hears my voice.  I think I will surely miss her greeting.  She is such a wonderful old lady.

Those of us who care for our old farts daily are feeling a sense of dread.  It just never occurs to you that one of these beautiful old souls will ever leave us but we are steeling ourselves for what may be inevitable...Misty started having trouble walking in a straight line.  It seemed like her left rear leg had lost coordination.  This began while Paul and I were on vacation in March.

After consulting the vet, it was decided to start treatment for an inner ear infection so a couple of doses of penecillin and some banamine and she seemed fine, fully recovered, like her old self.  Then the weakness returned, but the strange thing was, this time it was the opposite side, it was her right rear leg that seemed weak and she was circling in the other direction while she walked.

She basically has to brace herself against a fence to rest and not turn circles.  Well, now the vet is as mystified as we all are, so we are now thinking it may be a tumor on her brainstem and the effect of the banamine caused it to get smaller for a short period of time, but when that cleared her system, the swelling and pressure increased again.

Well, now, on the advice of our vet, we have started a treatment of dex (steroids) to see if it improves her condition, which will tell us basically that it is most likely a brain tumor and she may have only months left.

Well, now, if you know Misty, you have to know Levi...her main squeeze.  I referred to them as Wayne and Evelyn (my dad and stepmom) because they are always sniping at each other and seem really irritated but try to seperate them and then you have trouble. 

Levi has stopped eating, for no apparent reason, he has just stopped eating.  Levi, minc you has always had a great appetite for his mash with Senior Feed and alfalfa cubes watered down into oatmeal.  His whinny is high pitched for a large gelding and gets even squeakier at dinner time when he wants his food. 

We are treating him for possible pneumonia but also with the same steroids, just in case.  After one dose of steroids, he actually ate a little at tonights feeding, but not like the old Levi who cleans his plate every time.  (all treatments are at the recommendation of our vet).

Misty is 30 and Levi is 29...they have been together since Levi arrived in 2007 which may not seem like very long but at their age, it is a lifetime.  I don't know if Levi's lack of appetite is related to illness or whether he is preparing for the end so that he can go with Misty to the rainbow bridge.  It truly breaks my heart that we may loose both of these wonderful old souls soon.  We will miss them terribly.

As most of you know, I lost my Little Bit on March 4, 2010.  She had a sudden and violent reaction to her annual vaccines and died nearly instantly despite having our vet on hand to administer epinephrine to try to counteract the reaction.

I thought this was just a freak accident, a one in a million type of thing and somehow Little Bits physiology had contributed to her death or maybe it was the rabies shot which she received for the very first time. 

Our vet called the vaccine manufacturer and they assured her it was an isolated incident that happens very rarely but occasionally does happen.  Whether they new it on that day or determined at a later date, they failed to acknowledge that one of the vaccines that I trusted to keep her healthy and safe could have been defective and actually caused her death.

Well, now they have at least admitted the possibility and are recalling all West Nile Vaccines produced by their company for this season.  I don't know yet what the defect in the vaccine is that caused her severe reaction and death.  They only say that they are recalling the vaccines due to "an increased incidence of adverse events related to the currently marketed serials".  We are still waiting on the report from the USDA which should tell us how many horses have been killed by this defective vaccine.

A representative that a friend of mine spoke to was asked how this could potentially effect the horses vaccinated in the long run, even if they did not have a reaction this time.  Could it cause them to be more sensitive to vaccines in the future and predispose them to an anaphylactic reaction in the future.  There is no way to know.  They are dealing with the current events at this time.

I am angry, not just for the loss of my beloved Little Bit but because they put every one of my horses at risk by not doing their job and producing a safe product.  They also put in jeopardy all of our rescue horses that we have fought so hard to save and protect.  Vaccinating is the right thing to do, don't get me wrong, but I will never use the products made by this company again...they cannot even say for sure if the problem is limited to the West Nile vaccine.  It could involve every product they produce.

Our vet has looked into a new vaccine manufactured by Berringer that is a killed virus and supposedly ultra filtered for safety. 

Entering the world of rescue is such an awakening.  There are so many uplifting moments, like when you take a horse that is so emaciated you don't know how it is still standing and you bring that horse back to health and vitality and the ultimate is when you witness that horse choose it's forever human soulmate.  I have seen this dozens of times now and it never loses it's magic.

Then there is the satisfaction of knowing that a horse like Freckels, rescued from Jefferson, CO in 2008, will be able to live her life out unmolested by the humans who have abused her for her entire life.  She grazes happily with her small herd and is at peace finally.   For those of you not familiar with Freckels, she is the older brood mare that was rescued from the Flying Ah "Rescue" in January of 2008.  Previous to that, she was rescued from a kill buyers feed lot by another rescue organization.  She had a 3 week old foal at her side and was desperately trying to protect it from the other horses in the feed lot.  The foal was too injured and had to be put to sleep and Freckels was so emotionally damaged at this point, she tried to kill anything that came near her, teeth bared and hooves a blazing.  When she came here, she was in foal again.  The person who ran the Flying Ah apparently didn't know the impact of having a stud running with their mares LOL, only there were several generations of inbred mustangs rescued from them...soooo that is the indescriminate breeding practices which we frown upon. 

Anyway, all of my ramblings aside, Rescuing these horses is my lifes passion...Making sure they have long, happy, safe lives is my goal...

This being said, I have to continue to do the thing that is the hardest for me and that is ask for all of you who visit and appreciate our website to take a minute and think of ways you can help our horses.  It is not helping me, or the other people here at DreamCatchers, it is helping the horses.  We put our hearts and souls and most of our personal income into saving and caring for these wonderful animals.  Even though there is no hype right now, no drama, we still have nearly 80 rescue horses to care for, feed, vaccinate, train, etc.

We are also trying to do our part for other rescues.  Most of those who are here on a regular basis know we took in 9 new horses on April 24th.  They are not here permanently, they are visiting, being babysat, while their rescuer, a wonderful, big hearted lady is allowed to take a break. She has been at it for over 10 years, all by herself, rescuing, caring for and finding homes for many many horses, dogs, goats, alpacas and any animal in need that crossed her path.  She has not had a vacation in a very long time and though she is not relaxing on some beach somewhere, she is resting her mind from her daily responsibilities, knowing that her "babies" are being cared for.  We will be returning these horses to their sanctuary on the 8th of May to clean pens and a refreshed caregiver who can then give them another 10 years or so without a break or thought of herself...There really are angels among us...

Then, on the 15th, we will make a trip to Northern Colorado to pick up 13 horses from another rescue who is downsizing their horse rescue program and has asked for our help.  We have helped this rescue before, when they were having difficulty and losing their property and had been saddled with several extra horses unexpectedly.  When they got back on their feet and found a new place to dwell, they took back the horses we were not able to find homes for.  They have made the same arrangement this time.  They feel we will have a better chance at finding homes for these horses.  I am very excited to meet one of the horses in particular...he is my little Skylar's 3 yr old brother...also a Paso Fino and reported to be beautiful.

Give what you can, money, feed, your time, your experience...I guarantee that you will get more than you give if you hang out here for very long.

Thanks to all our wonderful supporters and volunteers.

Sincerely,

Julie DeMuesy

President

DreamCatchers Equine Rescue

You have to love Colorado...we can have 4 seasons in one day, but you don't have to love the wind. 

The past week has been filled with wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour.  It makes for hard times at the rescue.  The horses are irritable, the people are irritable, the hay blows away before it can be eaten.  Buckets go flying, and dust is everywhere.  I guess the March Winds just decided it was too cold in March so they plan to plague us in April when we should be getting showers...

On a lighter note, we took in two adorable Morgan Mares in March and they now have a sponsor who has paid to support them for the next 3 months while she gets to know them and see if they are the right fit for her family and while her property is being prepared to bring them home.   So far so good, both Brandy and Lady are looking stunning as she grooms them and braids their tails.

Spring shots are almost complete thanks to the AAEP's donation of 40 west nile and 30 - 5 way vaccines.  It was a huge relief to have most of the shots provided to us at no cost for our awesome rescue horses.

It will be 2 weeks tomorrow since the tragic day when I lost Little Bit to  a freak reaction to vaccines.  When I say it was a freak occurrence, I mean it...in talking to people about this over the last 2 weeks not one person had ever heard of this type of reaction to a vaccine.

When Dr. Hill reported the incident to the pharmaceutical company, their  veterinarian informed her that in his over 30 years of practice in large animal medicine, it has only happened twice that he is aware of...once it was a reaction to pennicillin and the other to a vaccine.  In both cases, the reaction was so swift and severe, there was nothing that could be done.

I wanted to clarify the rarity of this type of reaction so that anyone who reads my blog about Little Bit does not overreact and refuse to vaccinate their horses.  There is far more benefit to vaccinating than there is danger of a severe reaction.

Just today, I mustered the courage to finish my vaccines...Tigger, Samson, Skylar and Taz all received their shots with no negative reactions at all.  We are all set for an awesome spring and summer.

While I still miss Little Bit terribly, it is getting easier to think about her and remember all our times together, the good and the bad...She was an awesome baby and grew into a beautiful and elegant young mare.    I hug everyone twice now, once for me and once for her...

I wish I were the eloquent writer my sister is or the professional writer like my friend Jan.  Then I might be able to put into words the feelings I have surrounding the events of last Thursday better...it was supposed to be just another day the vet visited to float teeth, geld one of our colts and do a few rechecks on previously treated patients like Rio, who we were trying to stabilize his cushings syndrome.

I asked her to bring shots for my personal horses for the spring.  We are still waiting on the shots for the rescue horses being donated by AAEP but I wanted to get my kids out of the way.  I told her she didn't need to give the vaccines, I could do it as I have for many years without incident.

I gave Raven hers first, rabies, 5 way and west nile with no incident, same with Beau and then Pistol.  I had brought Little Bit up to have her teeth checked so she was next in line for her vaccines.  I gave them in the same order as the others, she didn't flinch, what a good girl...I then proceeded to dispose of the sharps and pack up the other 5 shots to take to the fridge til I could bring the others up for their turn. 

As I rounded the corner of the barn, I saw Little Bit struggling against her lead tied to the fence next to Beau.  At first I thought she had had an altercation with Beau and was pulling back in response trying to get away...I rushed to her, untied her lead and got her back on her feet.  She stood there trembling for just seconds, whinnying to the others in a tone that said she was in a panic, her eyes were wide open with terror...I immediately realized something was very wrong and I yelled to the Vet,"Judy, she is having a reaction".  Judy immediately drew a shot of epinephrine to counteract the anaphylactic reaction but before she could inject her, Little Bit went down again and this time she couldn't get up, she was having a seizure, her eyes rolled back in her head...Judy injected her with the first shot intra muscular and then drew another shot and while Little Bit lay there with her legs jerking back and forth moving her whole body, somehow,  Judy managed to find her vein and give her another injection intravenously...I held her head on my lap waiting for the shots to work....it seemed like hours but it was literally seconds, she jerked one last time and lay still...I looked at Judy and she at me, we felt for pulse and respirations but there were none, she was gone....I straddled her chest trying to give her chest compressions and get her heart started again, all with no effect.  She was gone, in just a matter of minutes...I cried and hugged her, held her head in disbelief...how could this have happened...she had received her shots regularly every year for 5 years now with no reaction.  The other 3 who had received their shots were fine, no reaction. 

There is no rhyme or reason for this...there was no warning, I miss her terribly, try not to think about it, it hurts too much right now.  Was this my fault somehow.. everyone who witnessed the tragedy said it was not but I still feel responsible...she was my baby, I have loved her since the day she arrived at my pasture when she was 7 months old.  I saw her the day she was born on July 4, 2004. How could she be gone in the blink of an eye.

We have said it all along, there is a special human for every horse and vice versa but this week at the rescue it was more true than ever.  Candice and her husband John came looking for a companion for their older gelding so he would not be lonely when their youngster was sent out for training.  They thought a mule or donkey would fit the bill so they came to visit Lily and see if she was the one.  While visiting Lily, I decided to introduce Candice to one of our horses that has had a hard time fitting in with new families.

Santana was "donated" to DreamCatchers in September of 2008 and was instantly adopted by Glenda.  She had him for nearly a year and when financial hardship befell her, she asked if she could return him as she couldn't afford to keep him so back he came in July of 2009.

No sooner had he settled in again here than a nice lady named Connie from Kansas came looking for the perfect horse for herself and also a horse for her children to learn on.  She rode Santana and instantly decided on him for herself and a few weeks later, Baby Doll came to the rescue.  She was the perfect older QH mare for the kids to learn with so Connie and her husband made the trip and picked her up and took her home to join Santana and their herd was complete, or so they thought.

Santana, being a 7 yr old Arab at the time, can have a lot of sass.  He is georgeous and he knows it but in a very sweet way.  He is also a horse that will challenge you and make you earn his respect and cooperation.  Connie works very hard as an xray tech at a local hospital in her community and only had a limited amount of time to spend with Santana so she needed him to be more automatic and less of a challenge.  After struggling with this for a month or so, she made the hard decision that he was not for her and she returned him to the rescue in September 2009.

Well, that revolving door was not about to stop for Santana, he was just too good looking to not be noticed and desired, which is exactly what happened when Brooke of Colorado Springs spied him.  Her family owns Arabians and though she was somewhat of a novice rider, she wanted him and was willing to do whatever her parents thought necessary to have him, riding lessons, working with a trainer, extra hours at the stable etc.

Well, being a teenager, we all know how long the attention span is and when Santana continued to challenge her, Brooke grew frustrated and decided he was not for her and asked us to pick him up, which we did just about 2 weeks ago.

When Candice met Santana, the attraction was something to behold...John knew he was screwed and that Candice would have this horse, so he relunctantly said goodbye to Lily and his dream of owning a cute little mule and hello to his wife's new soulmate (of the horse persuasion...John is the human soulmate)  Candice has visited and ridden Santana twice now since their initial visit last Friday (2/26) and they are a perfect match.  Santana balks occasionally but Candice works him through it and if you could see the two of them together, they are like two peas in a pod...

Santana will have his vet check on Thursday but I don't think it matters to Candice, she loves him no matter what.  He will remain at DreamCatchers for the next month while they have their barn finished at home and then he will be going home to join the others Noir the 4 yr old paint (soon to be going to the trainer) and Tucks the 20 something Morgan Gelding who has been Candices best steed since he was about 2 yrs old.  Tucks is retired now due to health concerns but will live with Candice and John til his time comes to cross the rainbow bridge.

I suspect we will be seeing a lot of Candice over the next month while Santana stays with us.  She found it very hard to say goodbye to him today after our ride and lingered til well after dusk then relunctantly drove away but texted me at least 3 times on her trip home. 

There is really nothing like it when you find the ONE...magical.