04/23/2020
A great horse rescue in SD needs our help!
Can we talk bluntly for a moment?
These two lovely babies, Belle and Archie, are very sick right now. It's likely a virus, a flu/rhino, which is pretty common in horses. It's one of the things we vaccinate for, but unvaccinated horses and young horses can get it. A couple other Kingsbury horses who have an unknown vaccination history also showed symptoms, but they are older and healthier and it doesn't hit them as hard.
Neither of these babies have an appetite and both have lost a massive amount of weight. Belle is so weak she struggles to get up on her own and we are having to assist her. Yesterday was a hard day. After struggling to get her up for nearly an hour, and with all the other stressors, I had a pretty big meltdown.
You see, we owe the vet a lot of money still from last year's huge seizure and all the various things that happened including baby Archie's week long stay in ICU. Because of that, we're doing our best to consult via phone or deal with minor things without incurring more vet expenses. We've paid off nearly $5000 of that bill already this spring ... but still owe over $5000.
And so, when Belle and Archie showed snotty noses and weight loss, we brought them up and put them in quarantine, offered any food they want, and gave it time. Yesterday it became obvious they needed to go in and be sure it was simply the flu and get them checked over to rule out any other issues - because even though their symptoms are gone they are still not really eating.
And that, Gentle Spirits, caused me to have a massive meltdown. Because I NEEDED the vet and I am so scared we won't be able to pay them that I was absolutely crippled by helplessness and shame.
Guys, we can't feel that way. If a horse needs the vet, we need to feel comfortable taking them. And our vets are amazing - they have never once made a big deal about our bill nor denied us service. But with everything uncertain, not being able to hold meet & greets and our spring spaghetti dinner fundraiser, and losing some key monthly sponsors ... well my annual meltdown and panic got to me. It's bad enough to have such very sick babies causing stress.
I need your help. WE need your help. We absolutely need to get that monstrosity of a vet bill off our shoulders so we can move on and focus on more important things like how we're going to facilitate adoptions and volunteer training while social distancing and being able to bring fun things like baby Riley pictures to you.
Two weeks from now is ... a grass roots campaign to try and help non-profits during these crazy times. Because we're still here, we're still doing everything we can ... and we're absolutely stuck because of the virus.
You've done it before, and I'm hoping you can do it again. Even $10 helps. GoFundMe has launched their charity platform and have a $1000 matching funds program for . Can we do our best to earn that and make another large dent in our vet bill?
https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/givingtuesdaynow-matching-funds-campaign
If you want to help, but prefer to mail your donation in, the address is 29571 419th Ave, Scotland, SD 57059 OR you can call Dakota Large Animal Clinic directly at 605.338.5558. If you do call them, please let us know, as they don't tell us who made the payment on our statements and then we can't thank you appropriately.
You all know I keep it positive and fun as much as I can, but right now, I'm throwing out a serious call for help.
PS - Belle and Archie did make the long trip to the vet yesterday, and bloodwork confirmed it's viral. However because they are flirting with pneumonia and still not eating well, they started them on SMZ antibiotics, and we're giving them banamine to encourage eating and Gastroguard to protect their stomachs. They have to eat - Belle's liver shows that her body is eating muscle for energy. They have unlimited food in front of them - grass hay, alfalfa, different kinds of fed - but just nibble, much like we do when we don't feel well. They just are smaller and don't have excess weight to lose being babies.
