****Forever in our Hearts****
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
Author unknown
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Please visit our page dedicated to our little Vinny to read his story and
help us to keep his loving memory alive.
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This is the story of "Mom", as told by Julie DeMuesy
I want to tell our story of Mom...
She came to us the day after Thanksgiving, 2007 from a seizure by Custer County Animal Control, with the assistance of Park County Animal Control. There were 4 other horses with her, but she was obviously the matriarch of the herd. She had a shaggy winter coat and long whiskers but you could see that she was stunningly white, a rare color for a horse that is not albino.
From the moment she set foot on the ranch, she moved our hearts. She had a look about her that said, I want to love you and be close, but I am so afraid to trust you because I have been hurt badly and scared by others. She had a halter that was nearly embedded in her skin it was so tight. We were able to remove it after just a few days, she seemed grateful to be rid of it.
She was always the first to nicker at you when you walked by, she was the first to accept grain from my hand and allow me to scratch her nose, but all the while, she kept her distance, if not physically, mentally.
The first signs that she was not well came just about a month from the day she arrived at the ranch. We had started to have colder weather, so we changed our hay to a mix that included a small amount of alfalfa. All the horses loved it, especially Mom. She ate all that was offered to her as well as the grains we had been feeding her since her arrival.
Unbeknownst to us, Mom had not been fortunate during a good portion of her life as to receive good nutritious feed and hay. Apparently, due to her diet, the prescence of heavy metals such as old scrap metal of cars, old batteries, etc in the pasture where she was kept, or most likely noxious weeds such as loco weed, she had suffered irreperable damage to her liver.
On the morning of 12/31/07, I arrived at the ranch to find Mom in serious pain. She was foaming at the mouth and turning circles to her left and biting at her belly. My immediate assumption was that she was collicking (sp) so I began trying to get her into a halter so that I could get her to the barn. She let me touch her and get the halter on, this really worried me because she had not allowed anyone closer than to hand her grain in the time she had been with us. It seemed as if she was pleading with me to help her. I made a promise to her that I would make her better.
I began walking her in the yard and to my amazement, she passed a stool, which meant that her bowel was moving at some level which is a good sign, but she was still obviously in extreme pain in her belly. I then thought that maybe she was choking because she was drooling and did not appear to be able to swallow.
I called our vet and asked if he could come immediately. Unfortunately, he had several emergencies on his hands so he referred us to another vet who specialized in horses and was especially adept at treating collick or other gastrointestinal problems in horses. Dr. Robinson came to the ranch and examined Mom. She gave her pain medication and a sedative which seemed to calm her for a little while but she was obviously still in pain. She drew blood and headed back to her animal hospital to test it for possible causes of the pain. We followed her shortly bringing Mom to the hospital so they could better treat her.
When the blood tests revealed that her liver was failing, and consequently, this condition causes release of toxins that effect the brain, Mom quickly detiorated and in spite of IV fluids and additional pain meds and anti inflamatories, she lost control of her motor skills, she could not eat or drink due to the toxins attacking her central nervous systems.
We made the painful and heartwrenching decision to have her humanely euthanized there at the vet hospital. When I said good bye to her that day, I felt horrible that I could not help her to live, but I knew she was going to go to a pasture so green and plentiful that she would never be hungry again. She would also never be hurt by a human's neglect and abuse again. She would truly be happy and saved.
I miss Mom's nicker...it was so welcoming as if to say, Hi, come and see me for a minute.
I love you Mom.
2008 was a very busy and rewarding year for DreamCatchers. Despite all of our successes in saving, rehabilitating and re-homing the horses who came to us, we had our share of losses too.
We want to say goodbye with love to
King Bar Nowata
Colonel Hugs
Jenny the Donkey
Polly
Cheyenne's Foal
Baby's Foal
We will see you all again at the Rainbow Bridge
Saddly, we say goodbye to Cochese who came to live with us for his retirement last June. He suffered with Cushings Syndrome so his hair was extremely long and shaggy, hence his nickname, Shaggy. Cochese was a 21 yr old QH Paint Gelding. He spent the last 6 months of his life happily toodling around the pasture. He passed January 13th, 2009. We will miss you Shaggy.
2009 is nearly gone and gratefully we have had a successful year placing horses in their forever homes. We have, however, lost 2 of our friends
J.D., an 8 yr old Mustang gelding who came to us in late 2008
and
Lady Diva
