freed and Safe forever

The Furvivors

Caravaggio

Caravaggio ’found’ us August 2020, with a horrible case of canker and was approximately 600 pounds underweight, as a result of starvation subsequently because his former owner lost business at their carriage tour company during Covid. They held onto him for three months then sent him and two other carriage horses to auction. We instantly fell in love with Gio and his insatiable desire for hay, but when he rested his head on us just hours before the auction was to begin, we knew he had to become a Furvivor! We outbid three of the killbuyers that day. And, it took Gio about eight months to heal, physically and mentally, but his canker unfortunately affected his coffin bone and caused some arthritis, so he will forever be on treatments for both.

His age has been estimated to be late teens/early 20s, but age is just a number. Gio is our OG Furvivor, a true success story.

Cassimo

Cassimo found his way to the Wonderland on Friday, November 13, 2021, just before he was scheduled to go to auction the following Monday, for the third time. He was a no-sale prior times, and we figure that was the universe working things out for him to find his way to us. You see, thankfully, his owner contacted us asking if we were interested in giving him the rehab he needed, before possibly ending up in the unsafe pipeline. We immediately said Yes! After a bit of research, we found that “Mo” is an Off-Track Thoroughbred known as Shy Humor, born 2009, a descendant of Northern Dancer. He raced for 2 years on the East and West Coast, then he went on to hunter/jumper events and then we traced him to the barrel racing circuit. During Cassimo’s rehab we have found that he is a bit anxious, loves to give kisses, only really enjoys cross ties for our farrier (but what ottb does), enjoys a great ear scratch, grooms well and very much enjoys being part of a herd. We continue to work on his trust in the ring and aim to find him a job as a pleasure/trail horse.

Rodeyo

We pulled our beautiful Rodeyo from an Oklahoma killpen in March of 2021 when she was ten months pregnant. She was in a herd of five pregnant mares, as a result of a ranch dispersal heading to Mexico, with just days to be rescued. She has three brands, none of which we have been able to identify, not that we haven’t tried. After months of research and dead ends, our friend Shawn Miner was able to determine that RoRo is more than likely from a ranch in South Dakota and all the mares with her, who greatly resemble one another, possible kin, were more than likely bred to a large blue roan Perch. Our RoRo is said to be a mustang-draft cross, approximately 10 years old. We jokingly refer to her as our mini clyde with her markings, stocky stature and insatious appetite. Girl can eat!! She came to us ‘unhandled’ and our team has determined that she suffers extreme amounts of trauma/ptsd, especially to her head. While she is the most amazing mother ever, and very trusting of select humans with her colt, we have every intention of bringing this girl around to be a pasture buddy who welcomes human touch.

Side note: Ro & Mo are the current resident Sweethearts

Dolcetto

Dolcetto was born April 19, 2021 less than a month after saving his mama from a slaughter truck deadline. Think about that, for our new visitors and those new to rescue. Baby Dolcetto was in mama’s tummy and was born just three weeks after we saved her from getting on one of those horrible dead-end trucks. Dolcetto is the cutest baby, and is very much attached to our Caravaggio, our senior percheron. Since his sire will forever be a mystery, it has been fun watching him buddy up with the one horse at Furviors who he most resembles. He is our first sanctuary foal and it is our intention to keep mama and he on property as long as possible. Right now, we are letting ‘Big Papa’ aka Gio do all the manners training, until he is old enough training.

Side note: We had his name chosen before we ever knew what he was going to look like, or who/what his sire ‘might be’ and trust us, we never in a million years thought he would be solid black seeing his mother. Dolcetto is a small black grape meaning ‘little sweet one’ used for wine making in Italy. It was meant to be.

Sally

Sally is a true Success Story. She is sweet little chicken who marches to the beat of her own drum. Sally was part of a flock that was hatched in the spring of 2021 and brought to our first farm by our neighbors who had great intentions of raising them as free range chickens to complement the ducks who also roamed freely. Sadly, within weeks of being on the farm, the property was sold and everyone had to find new residency. Including us. Sally’s brood was being adopted by a family friend in Maryland, but when they came to pick up the chickens, Sally went on her usual day long jaunts into the surrounding woods and missed the bus, so to speak.

She eventually came home and we found her hanging out with Gio in his stall laying eggs, and looking lost with her buddies nowhere in sight. Unfortunately, we could not bring fowl to our new farm. We were able to safely place Sally at a sanctuary ranch for smaller farm animals. She is living her best life.

Rosalie

Rosalie is an amazing duck who lost her gaggle of 8 in a terrible manner. As you read with Sally, Rosalie too had to find new residency after the farm was sold and one by one her gaggle was being adopted. Initially, our neighbors placed Rosalie with a family in Maryland who had a beautiful pond, but somehow she and her buddy escaped and found themselves in harm’s way and eventually BACK on our farm. After weeks of contemplation and racing against the clock, her owner agreed to allow us to place her in a permanent sanctuary. Rosalie is now living a long, safe, happy life with her feathered friends. We are so thankful we were at the right place at the right time for both Rosalie and Sally and very much look forward to the day of owning our own farm where we can expand our residents to include farm animals like chickens, ducks and whatever the universe may have in plan for us.

Bubbles

Bubbles is our sanctuary success calf! Hopefully one of many to come. He is a product of the dairy industry, which if you don’t completely understand the ways in which it goes about depriving milk to the intended baby cows, please google it, email us or look up #ditchdairy. His mother is a ‘milking cow’ on a local farm in Lancaster County. The universe did its amazing thing one night by putting us in Bubbles’ path when we found him in a tiny dark stall, calling for his mom, who was just 20’ away. It was heart wrenching. He was so curious and chatty that we had to inquire and the owners said they had just weened him and were more than likely going to take him to the ‘meat sale’ the Monday after Christmas. It was 12/23. We said please don’t, we will come get him and that we did. We put him in the truck, baby poop and all and the rest is history. His name came from his constant chewing of bubble gum, without the gum… Bubbles! This babe is so fun, curious, runs, plays, jumps, kicks, kisses, all of the things a puppy does. We cannot imagine life without him. We are trying to save mama, but she has a ‘job’ on the farm and until she expires or dries up, we are keeping a close eye on her. This story is not over…