Short term animal/medical expenses
Donation protected
I have loved animals since I was a child. I had only indoor cats while living in my apartments for many years. In 2002 I was able to buy a house in Oroville Washington and some acreage; This was the first opportunity to open my home to more animals in need of a loving forever home.
My love for animals expanded and I had an opportunity to learn to care for dogs, chickens, goats, a pig and horses. All of these animals would have met their demise had I not taken them in. A friend once told me I could have retired if not for all the expenses for all of the animals. And that is likely true. However, I get so much pleasure in just watching them live out their lives in peace and without any threat of slaughter.
I am still working at 70 and had no problem financially caring for them until I had a major accident on 4/15/17 while helping a neighbor fix a washed out bridge. Several injuries were sustained including a right hip fracture and dislocation and a broken femur. I was taken to the emergency room and had surgery but now need a revision.
I have missed 5 months of work since the accident and now will miss at least another 2 after this new surgery. I am now out of money and need financial help for the animals until I get back to work.
Who you will be helping:
Montana is a 35 year old Quarter horse gelding that was given to me when he was 28. He was quite thin and only had 4 teeth. The prior owner was moving to Colorado and did not want to send him to the auction where he would have certainly been sent to slaughter. He is an expensive horse to feed as he needs a combination of three types of soaked pellet feeds and supplements to maintain weight and support joint health. He also requires a very high grade of hay to nibble on throughout the day to prevent boredom. His costs not including hay, are approximately $300.00 a month.
Shabla is a 33 year old Arabian mare. She came to me 3 years ago. She has all of her teeth and can eat the hay with no problem but requires Equine Senior and Super Weight Gain to maintain her weight. When she came her feet were in terrible condition and she tripped over herself on flat ground. Her owner was a neighbor and asked if I could take her or she was going to be put down the next week. I thought Montana would love a stable mate but that could not be further from the truth. He had been in a pen alone his whole life and was not about to share space now. He bit a 7 inch gash in her right hip while chasing her. They were separated and had to have her own barn and fencing to the tune of $4500.00. Both horses are doing well now and have benefitted from natural hoof care. Shabla's previous owner was shocked at how well she walked and was no longer falling.
The Goats and Pig
Fern and Fawn are two Pygmies who are the daughters of one of my first goats, Sweet Pea who died of a stroke at age 13. Fern and Fawn are now 11 years of age.
Polka Dot is a 6 year old Nubian and came from a goat farm and would have been used for meat because she didn't look healthy enough to breed at that time.
Sophia is a 4 year old La Mancha who was going to be left for the coyotes if I didn't take her in. She was kept in a dark container for days until we could get her safely transported to my house.
All of the goats have approximately 3 acres of extremely substantial fencing to keep them safe from predators so they can graze in peace. Their only job is to keep the weeds down and provide poop for the garden.
Zig the pig lives with the goats and has his own bedroom in the barn. Zig is 11 years old and came with 2 goats who are no longer here at approximately 6 months of age. He loves his life grazing with the goats and lounging in his pool on hot summer days.
I have 5 large dogs currently. Sparkler, Chance and Lacey came to me about 4 years ago because their owners were being evicted from their property and they were going to shoot them. They are all loving dogs and very happy in their home, Sparkler developed Grand Mal seizures and fortunately has responded to 60 mg of Phenobarbital twice a day. He is skittish of many people since the seizures began and is pretty much just a mama's dog.
Verde came to me 4 years ago with a severe disability with his left hip. I immediately took him to the local vet who referred him to Pullman Veterinary college. He had sustained a fracture at 2 months of age which caused a deformity of his him and the bone to go through the growth plate. The surgery was $1900.00 and they were not sure he would be able to use the leg afterwards. He is doing very well but still has problems going up the stairs and laying down but runs like the wind. He is Autistic and was not able to socialize with the dogs for several years and had to have his own dog house on the porch as they would not let him in theirs.
Cookie is the oldest dog here and came from a home which simply didn't want him any longer. He is about 13 years of age. The dogs join in song every night to serenade the neighborhood and guard my house on the front porch. They have a large pen to run and play in.
I have 3 indoor cats.
Ben is about 11 years old and was brought to me by a neighbor after being injured by dogs. He was bitten down the bone on both front legs and was skinned completely on one side. He dripped blood when he went to the cat box and was kept in a safe place out in the shed with a heater at that time. He recovered and was made and indoor kitty. he is diabetic and required insulin twice a day; he has been on insulin for 7 years. He also requires thyroid medicine once daily. He is a beautiful black Domestic Long Hair. He almost died when I was hospitalized from difficulty with the neighbor in giving his medication. And depression from thinking his mother was never coming back.
Skeeter and Kitty Bell came from homes that no longer wanted them.
I have a rooster and 6 hens who provide me with eggs. The newest members were not able to integrate with the rest of the flock and required new pens and shelter.
I love all of these animals and will keep them for their entire life but need some assistance with bills that have accumulated the last 5 months and for the next 2 months I will be out of work recovering from yet another surgery which is scheduled for October 4th for a hip revision as the hardware has loosened and shifted since the first surgery. I attempted to go back to work at the hospital which hastened the loosening of the hardware and I was only able to work for 4 days.
The monthly costs just for caring for all of my animals is around $630.00 a month baring any kind of veterinary emergencies. My medical bills will accumulate to around $4000.00 out of pocket for both surgeries.
Once I am healed and back to work I will be able to care for my animals once again without assistance but at this time I do need immediate help financially for my animals without going into more credit card debt.
I have donated to multiple animal and environmental organizations for years and now, I need help temporarily.
Pictures, video and Dog Song to follow. Thank you for reading my story.
My love for animals expanded and I had an opportunity to learn to care for dogs, chickens, goats, a pig and horses. All of these animals would have met their demise had I not taken them in. A friend once told me I could have retired if not for all the expenses for all of the animals. And that is likely true. However, I get so much pleasure in just watching them live out their lives in peace and without any threat of slaughter.
I am still working at 70 and had no problem financially caring for them until I had a major accident on 4/15/17 while helping a neighbor fix a washed out bridge. Several injuries were sustained including a right hip fracture and dislocation and a broken femur. I was taken to the emergency room and had surgery but now need a revision.
I have missed 5 months of work since the accident and now will miss at least another 2 after this new surgery. I am now out of money and need financial help for the animals until I get back to work.
Who you will be helping:
Montana is a 35 year old Quarter horse gelding that was given to me when he was 28. He was quite thin and only had 4 teeth. The prior owner was moving to Colorado and did not want to send him to the auction where he would have certainly been sent to slaughter. He is an expensive horse to feed as he needs a combination of three types of soaked pellet feeds and supplements to maintain weight and support joint health. He also requires a very high grade of hay to nibble on throughout the day to prevent boredom. His costs not including hay, are approximately $300.00 a month.
Shabla is a 33 year old Arabian mare. She came to me 3 years ago. She has all of her teeth and can eat the hay with no problem but requires Equine Senior and Super Weight Gain to maintain her weight. When she came her feet were in terrible condition and she tripped over herself on flat ground. Her owner was a neighbor and asked if I could take her or she was going to be put down the next week. I thought Montana would love a stable mate but that could not be further from the truth. He had been in a pen alone his whole life and was not about to share space now. He bit a 7 inch gash in her right hip while chasing her. They were separated and had to have her own barn and fencing to the tune of $4500.00. Both horses are doing well now and have benefitted from natural hoof care. Shabla's previous owner was shocked at how well she walked and was no longer falling.
The Goats and Pig
Fern and Fawn are two Pygmies who are the daughters of one of my first goats, Sweet Pea who died of a stroke at age 13. Fern and Fawn are now 11 years of age.
Polka Dot is a 6 year old Nubian and came from a goat farm and would have been used for meat because she didn't look healthy enough to breed at that time.
Sophia is a 4 year old La Mancha who was going to be left for the coyotes if I didn't take her in. She was kept in a dark container for days until we could get her safely transported to my house.
All of the goats have approximately 3 acres of extremely substantial fencing to keep them safe from predators so they can graze in peace. Their only job is to keep the weeds down and provide poop for the garden.
Zig the pig lives with the goats and has his own bedroom in the barn. Zig is 11 years old and came with 2 goats who are no longer here at approximately 6 months of age. He loves his life grazing with the goats and lounging in his pool on hot summer days.
I have 5 large dogs currently. Sparkler, Chance and Lacey came to me about 4 years ago because their owners were being evicted from their property and they were going to shoot them. They are all loving dogs and very happy in their home, Sparkler developed Grand Mal seizures and fortunately has responded to 60 mg of Phenobarbital twice a day. He is skittish of many people since the seizures began and is pretty much just a mama's dog.
Verde came to me 4 years ago with a severe disability with his left hip. I immediately took him to the local vet who referred him to Pullman Veterinary college. He had sustained a fracture at 2 months of age which caused a deformity of his him and the bone to go through the growth plate. The surgery was $1900.00 and they were not sure he would be able to use the leg afterwards. He is doing very well but still has problems going up the stairs and laying down but runs like the wind. He is Autistic and was not able to socialize with the dogs for several years and had to have his own dog house on the porch as they would not let him in theirs.
Cookie is the oldest dog here and came from a home which simply didn't want him any longer. He is about 13 years of age. The dogs join in song every night to serenade the neighborhood and guard my house on the front porch. They have a large pen to run and play in.
I have 3 indoor cats.
Ben is about 11 years old and was brought to me by a neighbor after being injured by dogs. He was bitten down the bone on both front legs and was skinned completely on one side. He dripped blood when he went to the cat box and was kept in a safe place out in the shed with a heater at that time. He recovered and was made and indoor kitty. he is diabetic and required insulin twice a day; he has been on insulin for 7 years. He also requires thyroid medicine once daily. He is a beautiful black Domestic Long Hair. He almost died when I was hospitalized from difficulty with the neighbor in giving his medication. And depression from thinking his mother was never coming back.
Skeeter and Kitty Bell came from homes that no longer wanted them.
I have a rooster and 6 hens who provide me with eggs. The newest members were not able to integrate with the rest of the flock and required new pens and shelter.
I love all of these animals and will keep them for their entire life but need some assistance with bills that have accumulated the last 5 months and for the next 2 months I will be out of work recovering from yet another surgery which is scheduled for October 4th for a hip revision as the hardware has loosened and shifted since the first surgery. I attempted to go back to work at the hospital which hastened the loosening of the hardware and I was only able to work for 4 days.
The monthly costs just for caring for all of my animals is around $630.00 a month baring any kind of veterinary emergencies. My medical bills will accumulate to around $4000.00 out of pocket for both surgeries.
Once I am healed and back to work I will be able to care for my animals once again without assistance but at this time I do need immediate help financially for my animals without going into more credit card debt.
I have donated to multiple animal and environmental organizations for years and now, I need help temporarily.
Pictures, video and Dog Song to follow. Thank you for reading my story.
Organizer
Pat Gauthier
Organizer
Oroville, WA
