“Memory
Turn your face to the moonlight
Let your memory lead you
Open up enter in
If you find there
The meaning of what happiness is
Then a new life will begin…”
From “Cats” based on a poem by T.S. Eliot
"Equine Advocates is elated to share some great news about CJ, the 19-year-old Thoroughbred gelding rescued out of a kill pen last month,” said Equine Advocates President Susan Wagner. "Not only has he been recovering well, but he is expected to be healthy and fit enough to travel after the required 30 days in a quarantine facility, which will be at the end of this month. If he continues to progress and shows no signs of having a contagious disease, we will ship him to Cornell for a complete examination. This is to ensure that by the time he arrives at the sanctuary, we will know the state of his health, what issues he has, if any, and how best to manage his care going forward."
The gentleman who owns and operates the quarantine facility where CJ is staying has developed a real affection for him. He said that when CJ first arrived, he had a really bad case of "the kill pen snots," which at that point could have been Strangles, a very contagious disease, but fortunately was not. He added that since regaining his strength and appetite, CJ “talks” to him when he knows he is about to be fed and is eager to eat. As part of his diet, CJ is getting alfalfa, a rich hay, that he really enjoys along with his grain. Since he is still very much underweight, the extra calories in alfalfa are helping him to gain weight.
CJ’s kind and gentle temperament was mentioned in our initial post about him last week, but according to his caretakers at the quarantine facility, he grows sweeter by the day. They said he is a joy to be around and is steadily improving. It is amazing how an animal who has been so badly abused, neglected, and dumped in a kill pen could be this forgiving.
"No wild or domestic equine should ever experience this cruel and unspeakable fate," Wagner continued. "Our government has been failing America’s horses miserably for decades. If we want to finally reverse this trend, then effective legislation needs to be passed. The current bills have little to no appropriations for enforcement, low fines that would hardly be a deterrent, and loopholes so large that violations are inevitable. To be effective, rather than restricting the slaughter of horses for ‘humane consumption’ only, the language should instead read, ‘for food’ or ‘for consumption,’ which addresses both the human and pet food markets, thus closing a giant loophole."
We cannot wait to welcome CJ to the sanctuary!
Stay tuned for more updates.
