On December 31st 2009, an amazing 12 year old girl by the name of Zoey came to visit HartSong Ranch. About a week later, she emailed me the following essay. Her words touched me deeply.
Hartsong Ranch
During winter break I went to visit my gramma Gayla and grampa Mark in Sacramento. While we were there, my grampa Mark took me to his friends farm in which they save animals in need. The farm is called Hartsong Ranch, and I met the most remarkable animals while I visited there. I met a little blind black cow only 6 weeks old and fed him a bottle. I got to let him suck on my fingers, and although it was slimy, it was super neat! He got abandoned by his mother because he was blind, and that’s how he ended up there. I also got to meet some chickens named Dilly, Dally, and frizzle. Dilly and Dally are just egg laying hens, but frizzle was found in a farm where she was born with deformed feet. The other hens from the farm plucked all her feathers off, leaving her in agonizing pain. Kathy, the owner of the Hartsong Ranch, found frizzle with sores, scabs and scars left from the plucking but now she is a beautiful chicken with a huge and wonderful life ahead of her. I met some horses named Bess and Bridget. Both blind, they were both found in stalls that had been left unattended for quite some time and Kathy and her husband, Jim, rescued them. Kathy and Jim fed them and cared for them, and with just a little love, they recovered to full health. I also met a horse named Ciara; she was the first one I saw. Except, her problems started right after she was born. She was found in a breeding farm, where she was born just a couple weeks before. Usually, a baby horse is weaned away from his or her mother from 4 to 6 months. In this case, Ciara was weaned away from her mom when she was just a month old. On top of that, she’s blind. Kathy and Jim found Ciara in a pasture with no mother, and from the scrapes and scars on her body, it was noticed that she had been exposed to way too many sharp objects. Kathy and Jim gave Ciara surgery, to have her eyes taken out because they teared often and flies would constantly bug her. Ciara is now a happy intelligent, 2 and a half year old horse that is non-stop happy, and celebrates her life everyday. I met many more animals like pigs, goats, ponies, cows, and kittens. They all have their own special story, and they are all living life to its fullest. When I saw these animals, I automatically asked Kathy how I could help. She told me, that she and Jim has been trying to take in more animals in need, but don’t the money to do it. They have the room for animals, but not the money to provide them with medical assistance and food. When I left, and got back to my gramma’s and grampa’s house, I went on their computer, and found the website. I clicked on HOW TO HELP, and found their address. I am now mailing them 3 dollars a month and even that little amount can help them take in more critters. I have some peoples email addresses, but not every body’s so I emailed the people that I could. I’m going to put together a box that you put money in for Hartsong ranch, but for those of you that don’t feel comfortable with this. I have printed off the mailing address so that you can mail your money individually if you’d like. If you don’t have money to support this ranch that’s o.k. I just wanted to let you know that you can help.
Hartsong Ranch wants to take in more creatures big and small…
We Can help
On January 7th, 2010, I received the following email from Zoey…
Hi Kathy, Sadly, when i presented my hartsong ranch speech to my classmates at school. Nobody donated anything! All I found in my donation bowl this morning, was my own 5 dollars i donated, and a quarter. I’m miserable. I really really really wanted to help you. then a thought came to my head. I’m going to call all my relatives and ask them to donate. I’m also going to put a donation bowl on my front porch. my mom has a daycare so a daycare parent might donate. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out how i had planned.
On January 7th, I replied…Dear Zoey, Please don’t be discouraged. You are helping in more ways than you know. Just the fact that you took it upon yourself to do a presentation about HartSong Ranch is reward enough for me. In fact, it’s PRICELESS!
Thank You, Zoey!!! You are an inspiration to many!!!