10 Years of Rescue
My husband and i were talking the other day about the rescue. It's been 10 years since we moved to this farm and began the journey of becoming a nonprofit and a rescue. We have learned a lot in this time, about people, red flags and green flags about how to run a nonprofit, fundraising, building websites, writing grants, advertising and promoting (this is not my strong suit). About all the animals in my care and their specific needs and meeting those on a budget and with the limitations of our property. What can we fix and what do we need to work around? About who i am as a rescue and educational program.
It's taken 10 years but i have finally found myself, who i am as a rescue, nonprofit, and educational program. Our farm has truly bloomed into the magical dream i always had in my mind. You know how they say we grow up to be the person we needed as a kid? I am doing that, not just as a person, but as a program. My horse mom, Nina, worked so hard rescuing animals and lost children like me, but i learned lessons from her about managing compassion fatigue, setting safe boundaries with humans, and how to make those calls in rescue/hospice situations that we need to make, even when they hurt us the most. We must be focused on the needs of the people and animals we are helping, what's right for them, even if it hurts us.
We have become the program i always dreamed of, an open, supportive community for kids/teens and adults, who are unique, special, beautiful, and don't usually fit in out in the world. We are the home for the misfits, the lost and wandering. We are where its safe to be completely yourself and be loved and treasured for what makes you unique. This has become a beautiful community of incredible people. These people are world changers, compassionate, artistic, and so loving. They support us as and make our program what we are.
Then of course, the equines. We have found our spot in the rescue universe. There are many types of rescue programs out there. Most are focused on taking in able horses who can be rehabbed and retrained to be adopted out. This is the most efficient, you save the most lives by rehabbing and rehoming. But if they aren't rehabbable, few rescues can afford to keep those lost causes. That's where we come in. We are the home for the lost cause. For the ones who can't be rehabbed/rehomed, for the ones who deserve a soft landing they can call "forever". Whether they're retired, disabled, or on hospice care, they will know love every minute of every day, until their humane end. We are the home for the hopeless, the ones who don't have another step in their path. Our amazing human team makes sure these animals are cherished for exactly what makes them special, unique, and beautiful. Whether blind, neurological, broken and tired, we cherish the bright spot they bring to our lives.
We don't stop there though. When we get calls about animals needing homes who don't need a specialized farm like ours, we match make! When we get calls about adopters looking for horses, we connect the dots. We got 2 horses into great forever homes last year and this year we've already gotten 2 and 1 more in the works if they are placeable, we find them a place!
We have become a part of our community, in the beautiful York, ME, that i always dreamed of. We host classes, clinics, and events, all of them animal, art, and selfcare focused. All to become a part of our community, support a happier, healthier environment for us all to share. We can't be an isolated bubble, we need to change the world. We do that by spreading education and providing resources for special people to bloom. This is finally, truly taking shape.
This rescue is me, it is all my dreams, all my wildest fantasies, all my heart and soul. The animals, the kids, the kindred spirits, the fun events, they make me who i am.
And i have one special person to thank more than anyone. For 10 years my husband stood beside me, sacrificing his own peace of mind, to help me build this dream. He supported this dream financially, physically caring for the animals when i am unwell, and emotionally caring for, loving the animals and supporting me through the hardest of times of being a rescue. He has put more into it than most people ever see, because it all happens when no one else is looking. He supported me in every way to make this world a reality. I don't have enough ways to thank him for what he has helped to build. But i continue to work towards making the rescue independent and strong so it can stand on its own merit, with grateful help from all who support our mission. So he can rest with a little peace.